Skyscrapers in the US and UK often avoid labeling the 13th floor due to triskaidekaphobia. In Manhattan, over 13% of high-rise condos with over 90 stories call the 13th floor something else. Some use it for other purposes, such as mechanics or a pool floor. In Asian countries, floors with the number four are skipped due to its similarity to the word for “death.”
It’s hard to imagine that an entire industry would succumb to a fear of the number 13 (technically called triskaidekaphobia), but skyscrapers in the US and Britain routinely avoid labeling the thirteenth floor in their buildings. In Manhattan, for example, more than 13 percent of high-rise condominiums built with more than 90 stories call the 13th floor something else. Sometimes the elevator buttons go straight from 13 to 12, or that floor is labeled “M” (the 13th letter of the alphabet), or the entire 13th floor is used for other purposes. CityRealty in New York City estimated that of the 14 mid-rise and high-rise apartment buildings in Manhattan, only 13 are brave enough to tag the 13th floor. GabWarshawer, director of communications at CityRealty, says it’s all about maximizing sales. “It’s not an issue that matters much to the real estate community,” he says, “but from a developer perspective, even if there’s a 13% chance it will affect prices, why take the risk?”
These facts may put you down:
During the skyscraper’s early days of construction, New York architecture critics warned developers not to exceed a thirteenth-story height. They predicted increased road congestion, threatening shadows and lower property values.
Some buildings get around this in other ways. Some use floor 13 for the mechanics of a building, some create an entire pool floor, and some find a restaurant in it. Chicago’s Trump Tower, for example, uses the 13th floor as a mezzanine.
In Asian countries, there are similar phobias about floor names. The Chinese skip any floor with a four – 4, 14, 24, etc. In Mandarin, the pronunciation of “four” is eerily similar to the Mandarin word for “death.” Eight, on the other hand, means prosperity.
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