The United States has some of the world's greatest skyscrapers—the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, the Sears Tower (I refuse to call it the "Willis Tower"), the Guardian Building. We're not short on tall buildings. So I gotta say I'm not too impressed by this one:
Steinway Tower skyscraper is a powerful statement, tapering elegantly but dramatically from its tip. A triplex penthouse overlooking Central Park sits at the top.
The architects said their main goal was to create a new and bold interpretation of the New York skyline, while also celebrating the location's historic roots.
Yeah yeah yeah.
I'm sure Steinway Tower a beautiful accomplishment and an architectural triumph and whatever what-have-you et cetera.
You know what is, in so many important ways, a much better tower? The famed "Newby-McMahon Building" in Wichita Falls, Texas, better known as the world's littlest skyscraper!
Like so many great landmarks and institutions in the United States, the Newby-McMahon Building begins with an oil strike: Specifically, a petroleum reservoir was discovered in Wichita County, which led to a predictable business boom.
With little existing infrastructure in the town of Wichita Falls, "major stock transactions and mineral rights deals were conducted on street corners and in tents that served as makeshift headquarters for the new oil companies."
The Newby-McMahon Building promised to change all of that:
According to local legend, when [local railway director Augustus] McMahon announced in 1919 that he would build a high-rise annex to the Newby Building as a solution to the newly wealthy city's urgent need for office space, investors were eager to invest in the project. McMahon collected US$200,000 (equivalent to $2.9M in 2020) in investment capital from this group of naïve investors, promising to construct a high-rise office building across the street from the St. James Hotel.
Imagine the excitement in Wichita Falls when a local magnate proposed to build a towering monument to commerce directly in the middle of downtown. It must have felt like the great wave of 20th century prosperity was cresting right there in their little old Texas town!
Alas, it was not to be:
The key to McMahon's swindle, and his successful defense in the ensuing lawsuit was that legal documents listed the height as 480" (inches) as opposed to 480' (feet). Investors didn't seem to notice, and McMahon never verbally stated that the actual height of the building would be 480 feet (150 m). The proposed skyscraper depicted in the blueprints that he distributed (and which were approved by the investors) was clearly labeled as consisting of four floors and 480 inches (12 m).
Just so we're clear: 480 inches is...40 feet! It's tiny. Needless to say, the investors were not happy.
Alas, the whole thing was—strictly as a matter of law—legit:
Investors brought a lawsuit against McMahon over the size of the building, but to their dismay, the real estate and construction deal was declared legally binding by a local judge.
Always read the fine print, kids!
McMahon prudently fled Wichita Falls before his investors could send him on a one-way trip off the top of the 40-foot building he constructed. Since then it has understandably become a unique sort of tourist attraction, even drawing the attention of international fans:
One guy even built a replica of it in Minecraft!
Another enterprising visitor posted a tour of the interior to YouTube; the building has been used as a furniture boutique, hence all of the boutique furniture lying around.
The next time you're in north-central Texas, be sure to swing by Wichita Falls and see this beautiful monument to American engineering might!
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