The 100 Tallest Buildings That Have Been Voluntarily Demolished

In February, JP Morgan Chased announced their plans to demolish their current 52-story headquarters located in Manhattan.  Turns out, when that demolition is complete, it will also break the record for the tallest building ever voluntarily demolished.

In that article, we cited an incomplete Wikipedia list of tallest buildings ever demolished. Since, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) has released an official list of the 100 Tallest Demolished Buildings. The current tallest building on record to ever be demolished is another New York City building once known as the Singer Building, which stood about 614 feet high and was torn down in 1968. It’s held the current record for almost 50 years, so it’s fitting that another NYC building would take its place. JP Morgan’s headquarters is 707 feet tall, so it will eventually break the record by 93 feet.

New York is not only a fan of building large buildings, but also tearing them down, as NYC accounts for 23 of the top 100 buildings ever demolished. In total, the United States had 53 buildings in the top 100.  The tallest of those buildings to be demolished by way of implosion is Detroit’s Greater Hudson Store, which was 410 feet tall and demolished in 1998.  

The 100 Tallest Demolished Buildings

1. Singer Building

Location: New York City

Height: 614 feet

Year Completed, Demolished: 1908, 1968

2. CPF Building

Location: Singapore

Height: 561 feet

Year Completed, Demolished: 1976, 2018

3. Morrison Hotel

Location: Chicago

Height: 524

Year Completed, Demolished: 1925, 1965

4. Deutsche Bank

Location: New York City

Height: 518 feet

Year Completed, Demolished: 1974, 2011

5. UIC Building

Location: Singapore

Height: 499 feet

Year Completed, Demolished: 1974, 2013

6. One Meridian Plaza

Location: Philadelphia, PA

Height: 492 feet

Year Completed, Demolished: 1972, 1999

7. Menara Tun Razak

Location: Malaysia

Height: 492

Year Completed, Demolished: 1983, 2014

8. City Investing Building

Location: New York City

Height: 486 feet

Year Completed, Demolished: 1908, 1968

9. The Ritz-Carlton

Location: Hong Kong, China

Height: 466

Year Completed, Demolished: 1993, 2009

10. Grand Prince Hotel Akasaka

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Height: 463

Year Completed, Demolished: 1982, 2013

#11-100: visit CTBUH’s article on the World’s Tallest Demolished Buildings

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