High rise buildings

[emmagleb]

Can anyone name the oldest high rise building in the world? So far I've got to the original Sears building in Chicago (built 1905) which is 18 storeys high, but is this the oldest? Thanks, Emma

[rsd2525]

Does this count?

Lincoln cathedral, first building to be taller than the pyramid remained the tallest in the world for two hundred years, today it still has the tallest tower in Europe(without a spire)

obviously this is not as high as Sears but is a lot older

[jake-the-peg]

The Flatiron Building in New York is often quoted

http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Flatiron_Building.html

1902

[Peter Pedant]

Yeah I agree it is usually taken as the flat iron building

(It looks like a flat iron by the way - and ironically for a building less than a 100 years old, they dont know how the rooms originally were arranged - plans lost)

[gary baldy]

This is one of those question where you have to be very specific.
It was only with the development of the steel framed building (and the elevator) that buildings could go above a certain height. Previously building built of brick and stone would face the possibility of literally collapsing under its own weight.
As rsd points out there were very tall buildings before steel frames and there were steel framed buildings before the flatiron but the flat iron is generally considered the first stell framed building to go above a certain height. There are however taller (and earlier) buildings elsewhere all claiming to be the first 'skyscraper' - its very complicated but for arguments sake the flatiron is usually considered the first.

[gary baldy]

As ever wiki gives a good description including the distinction between 'high rise' and skyscraper.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skyscrapers

[xrayspecs]

The pyramids or an Inca temple are technically tall buildings