You can see who the visitors are in New York. They walk around looking up all the time! New York is famous for its skyscrapers. There are many different styles of building. Some are beautiful, some are not. Together they are one of the most wonderful sights in the world.

The first skyscraper was built around 100 years ago. Before that, tall buildings were not possible. Each year brought different styles of building. There were two main reasons for each new style—builders skills and city rules. The earlier buildings had to be smaller at the top than at the bottom. Later builders could make buildings that went straight up like big boxes. But in the last few years, New York City has introduced new rules. People do not want the streets below to be too dark in the shadow of big buildings.

New York was the perfect place for skyscrapers. On a small, crowded island, there was only one place to go—up. But this was not the only reason. New York was full of people with big dreams. The city's great buildings, reaching for the sky, were like a mirror to these big dreams.

Most of the city's skyscrapers are in the central area of Manhattan, known as "midtown." There is another group of skyscrapers in the financial area to the south.

Some of the city's most famous buildings are:

The Empire State Building

The builder of the Empire State Building, William F. Lamb, was asked to make it big. He did, finishing the world-famous building in 1931. It has 103 floors and is 1,454 feet (443 meters) high. It was the tallest building in the world until 1970. The building fills one complete city block. Tourists can enjoy the views of the city from the 86th and the 102nd floors. On a clear day, you can see almost 80 miles (130 kilometers) from the 102nd floor!

The Empire State Building has been in many movies over the years. For example, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan meet at the top of the building in Sleepless in Seattle. But the building's most famous movie is 1933's King Kong. At the end of the movie King Kong climbs to the top of the building. He fights off airplanes.

The Flatiron Building

When the city's first skyscraper, the Flatiron Building, was built in 1902, many people called it a big mistake. "It is ugly!" they said. "It will fall down!" "It looks like the front of a ship!" But now the Flatiron Building, with its unusual shape, is one of the favorite sights in the city.

Many people were grateful to Rudy Giuliani, New York's mayor at the time, in the difficult months that followed. The mayor was able to help the people of the city in their terrible sadness.

From March 11 until April 13, 2002, New Yorkers could look at two towers of light in the sky. They could remember the people who died on September 11.

The Chrysler Building

For many people, the Chrysler Building is the most beautiful in the city. It was built between 1928 and 1930 by the car company Chrysler. It was the tallest building in the world ... but only for a year. Then the Empire State Building was finished. The Chrysler Building was built to look like a car wheel. When it was finished, the first floor was a car showroom!

The World Trade Center

After 1973, two buildings in lower Manhattan looked down on the rest of the city—the two 110-floor towers of the World Trade Center.    Around    50,000 people worked there. Tourists could view the city from the 107th floor of one of the towers.

On September 11, 2001, New York City changed forever when two airplanes were flown into the two towers of the World Trade Center. The buildings were completely destroyed and more than 3,000 people died. Many firefighters died, bravely trying to help the people in the buildings. The terrible pictures of that day were seen around the world.

Vicky Shipton “New York”