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The Washington Monument was once the world’s tallest building, but is now the tallest free-standing masonry structure. The Burj Khalifa in Dubai is currently the tallest free-standing structure, with much debate over what constitutes a building versus a structure. Other odd “tallest” winners include the Great Pyramid of Giza, Stockholm’s Ericsson Globe, and Valle de los Caídos in Spain.
When the Washington Monument was finished, it was the tallest building in the world. It lost that title to the Eiffel Tower just five years later, but at about 555 feet (about 170 meters) tall, the Washington Monument is still the tallest free-standing piece of masonry in the world.
Other talking points about tall structure:
As of December 2010, the tallest free-standing structure in the world is the Burj Khalifa building in Dubai. It is 2,717 feet (828 meters) tall. To put that into perspective, you could stack the Great Pyramid of Giza on itself six times and still not reach the building height of the Burj Khalifa.
There is much debate as to what constitutes a building versus a structure. For example, there has been much debate as to whether the height added by the antennas atop the Sears Tower should count towards its overall height. As a result, there are several categories — and winners — for tallest building, tallest room, tallest observation deck, and tallest cable-stayed structure.
Some other odd “tallest” winners include the tallest tomb, which is the Great Pyramid of Giza; the tallest sphere, which is Stockholm’s Ericsson Globe; and the tallest memorial cross, which is Valle de los Caídos, Spain.
