Skyscrapers in Lower Manhattan

Aerial photo showing skyscrapers of Lower Manhattan looking northwest toward buildings on Broadway. Hudson River is in the distance. Photograph dated March 11, 1927 (10:30 A.M.). Source: Records of the Army Air Forces / U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.

The Woolworth Building at 233 Broadway, is the tallest building on the right. It was completed in 1913, being the tallest building in the world until 1930, when it was surpassed by 40 Wall Street. The Transportation Building, next to the Woolworth, was completed in that year, 1927. The neoclassical tower, on the left, is the Bankers Trust Company Building, at 16 Wall Street, completed in 1912.

The frenzy of building skyscrapers in New York City continued until the early 1930s, when the pace of construction slowed due to the Great Depression.