Willis Tower in the context of "American Bridge Company"

The world's first skyscraper was built in Chicago in 1885. Since then, the United States has been home to some of the world's tallest skyscrapers. New York City, and especially the borough of Manhattan, has the tallest skyline in the country. Eleven American buildings have held the title of tallest building in the world. New York City and Chicago have been the centers of American skyscraper building. The 10-story Home Insurance Building, built in Chicago in 1885, is regarded as the world's first skyscraper; the building was constructed using a novel steel-loadbearing frame which became a standard of the industry worldwide.

Since its topping out in 2013, One World Trade Center in New York City has been the tallest skyscraper in the United States. Its spire brings the structure to a symbolic architectural height of 1,776 feet (541 m), connoting the year the Declaration of Independence was signed, though the absolute tip (or pinnacle) of the structure is measured at 1,792 ft (546 m). However, the observation deck elevation and the height to the highest occupied floor of One World Trade Center are surpassed by Central Park Tower, 432 Park Avenue, 111 West 57th Street, and Chicago's Willis Tower, which was formerly and is still commonly known as Sears Tower. Tribune East Tower in Chicago, 350 Park Avenue, and 175 Park Avenue, in New York City will also have higher occupied floors and roofs upon their completion.

The buildings and architecture of Chicago reflect the city's history and multicultural heritage, featuring prominent buildings in a variety of styles. Most structures downtown were destroyed by the Great Chicago Fire in 1871 (an exception being the Water Tower).

Chicago's architectural styles include the Chicago School primarily in skyscraper design, Chicago Bungalows, Two-Flats, and Greystones. The Loop is home to skyscrapers as well as sacred architecture including "Polish Cathedrals". Chicago is home to one of the largest and most diverse collections of skyscrapers in the world.

The original One World Trade Center (also known as the North Tower, Tower 1, Building One, or 1 WTC) was one of the Twin Towers of the original World Trade Center complex in New York City. It was topped out in 1970, and completed in 1972. It stood at a height of 1,368 feet (417.0 m), and was the tallest building in the world until 1973, when surpassed by the Sears Tower in Chicago. On the 106th and 107th floors of this building were a complex of dining, meeting, and entertainment venues known as Windows on the World.

It was distinguishable from its twin, the original 2 World Trade Center, also known as the South Tower, by the 360-foot (110 m) telecommunications antenna on its roof. Including the antenna, the building stood at a total height of 1,728 feet (526.7 m). The North Tower was 6 feet taller than the South Tower because floor 43 was 2 feet taller and floor 67 was 4 feet taller than the standard ceiling of 12 feet. These two floors were used by the Port Authority. Other things that made the North Tower distinguishable from its twin was a canopy connected to the North Tower's west facade on street level as well as two pedestrian walkways that extended from the west and south promenades of Three and Six World Trade Center to the North Tower's north and south facades on plaza level, all of which the South Tower lacked. The building's address was 1 World Trade Center, and the WTC complex had its own ZIP code (10048) due to its large size.

The tallest structure in the world is the Burj Khalifa skyscraper at 828 m (2,717 ft). Listed are guyed masts (such as telecommunication masts), self-supporting towers (such as the CN Tower), skyscrapers (such as the Willis Tower), oil platforms, electricity transmission towers, and bridge support towers. This list is organized by absolute height. See History of the world's tallest structures, Tallest structures by category, and List of tallest buildings for additional information about these types of structures.

New York City is the most populous city in the United States, with a metropolitan area population of over 19 million as of 2025. Its skyline is one of the largest in the world, and the largest in the United States, in North America, and in the Western Hemisphere. Throughout the 20th century, New York City's skyline was by far the largest in the world. New York City is home to more than 7,000 completed high-rise buildings of at least 115 feet (35 m), of which at least 106 are taller than 650 feet (198 m). The tallest building in New York is One World Trade Center, which rises 1,776 feet (541 m). The 104-story skyscraper also stands as the tallest building in the United States, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, and the seventh-tallest building in the world.

The city is home to many of the earliest skyscrapers, which began to appear towards the end of the 19th century. A major construction surge in the 1920s saw the completion of some of the tallest skyscrapers in the world at the time, including the Chrysler Building in 1930 and the Empire State Building in 1931 in Midtown Manhattan. At 1,250 feet (381 m) and 102-stories, the Empire State Building stood as the tallest building in the world for almost four decades; it remains among the city's most recognizable skyscrapers today. Following a lull in skyscraper development during the 1930s to 1950s, construction steadily returned. The Empire State Building was dethroned as the world's tallest building in 1970, when the 1,368-foot (417 m) North Tower of the original World Trade Center surpassed it. The North Tower, along with its twin the South Tower, held this title only briefly as they were both surpassed by the Willis Tower (then Sears Tower) in Chicago in 1973. The Twin Towers remained the tallest buildings in New York City until they were destroyed in the September 11 attacks in 2001.

Tribune East Tower is a 1,442 ft (439.5 m) mixed use supertall tower to be constructed on the eastern side of the Tribune Tower property, in the Streeterville area of Chicago. The building plans were approved on May 8, 2020. When completed, the tower will be the second-tallest building in Chicago, after the Willis Tower, and one of the tallest buildings in the Western Hemisphere. As of 2023, construction was expected to begin in the first half of 2024 and to be completed by September 2027. However, construction has not yet begun as of 2025.

SOM, an initialism of its original name Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, is a Chicago-based architectural, urban planning, and engineering firm. It was founded in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel Owings. In 1939, they were joined by engineer John O. Merrill. The firm opened its second office, in New York City, in 1937 and has since expanded, with offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., London, Melbourne, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seattle, and Dubai.

Notable for its role as a pioneer of modernist architecture in America and for its groundbreaking work in skyscraper design and construction, SOM has designed some of the world's most significant architectural and urban projects including several of the tallest buildings in the world: John Hancock Center (1969, second tallest in the world when built), Willis Tower (1973, tallest in the world for almost twenty-five years), One World Trade Center (2014, currently the seventh tallest in the world), and Burj Khalifa (2010, currently the world's tallest building). The firm's notable current work includes the new headquarters for the Walt Disney Company, the global headquarters for Citigroup, Moynihan Train Hall and the expanded Penn Station complex, and the restoration and renovation of the Waldorf Astoria in New York City; airport projects at O'Hare International Airport, Kansas City International Airport, and Kempegowda International Airport; urban master plans for the Charenton-Bercy district in Paris, New Covent Garden in London, Treasure Island in San Francisco, the East Riverfront in Detroit; P.S. 62, the first net-zero-energy school in New York City; and the design of the Moon Village, a concept for the first permanent lunar settlement, developed with the European Space Agency and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.