Wikipedia

List of tallest structures in the United States

The height of structures in the United States has been poorly documented. However, the data is a matter of public record, appearing in documents maintained by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

This list is populated heavily by antenna masts. The engineering aspects of super-tall masts are highly specialized. Only four companies erect the majority of such structures: Doty Moore Tower Services (Cedar Hill, Texas); Kline Towers (Columbia, South Carolina); LeBlanc Royal Telecom (Oakville, Ontario); and Stainless Inc. (North Wales, Pennsylvania). The design and construction are largely governed by RS222E Electronic Industries Alliance standards. A 1,000-foot (300 m) tall mast costs between $0.7 and $1.1 million to build, while a 2,000-foot (610 m) tall mast costs $2.4 to $4 million. Prices generally vary depending on tower capacity and wind loading specifications.

A common misperception is that landmarks such as the Stratosphere Tower are the tallest United States structures, but they are in fact the tallest buildings. Likewise, Taipei 101 was often misrepresented as the world's tallest structure (although it was the tallest occupied building, before the certification of Dubai's Burj Khalifa as such), but in fact is far eclipsed by antenna towers in over a dozen states in the United States and in other countries.

In the United States, the FAA and the FCC must approve all towers exceeding 200 feet (61 m) in height. Furthermore, it is very difficult to get permission for structures over 2,000 feet (610 m) tall. The FCC presumes them to be inconsistent with the public interest, while the FAA presumes them to be a hazard to air navigation, resulting in poor airspace usage. A significant burden of proof is placed on the applicant to show that such a structure is in the public's best interests. Only when both agencies have resolved all legal, safety, and management concerns is such an application approved.

Since 1978, the United States has maintained 11 tethered aerostats sites along the southern borders. These balloons rise to 18,000 feet (5,500 m), carrying radar units for drug interdiction purposes. However, since the balloons are aided by buoyancy and are not permanent, they are not considered true structures.

State-by-state listing

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Alabama

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  • WTTO Television Tower (Birmingham WB-21)
    • Windham Springs (33°28′51″N 087°24′03″W / 33.48083°N 87.40083°W / 33.48083; -87.40083)
    • Year built: 1986
    • At 2,000 ft (610 m), this structure ties 19 others around the United States as the seventh-tallest structure in the world[1]
  • RSA Battle House Tower
    • Height: 745 ft (227 m)
    • Mobile, Alabama
    • Tallest freestanding building in Alabama
    • It has a fiberglass spire on the top of the building that supports the antenna
    • The building has a crown inside it which is visible up to 30 mi (48 km) away
    • 35 floors

Alaska

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Arizona

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Arkansas

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California

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Colorado

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Connecticut

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Delaware

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District of Columbia

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Florida

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Georgia

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Hawaii

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Idaho

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Illinois

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Indiana

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Iowa

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Kansas

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Kentucky

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Louisiana

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Maine

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Maryland

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Massachusetts

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Michigan

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Minnesota

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Mississippi

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Missouri

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Montana

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Nebraska

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Nevada

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New Hampshire

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New Jersey

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New Mexico

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New York

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North Carolina

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North Dakota

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Ohio

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Oklahoma

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Oregon

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Pennsylvania

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Rhode Island

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South Carolina

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South Dakota

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Tennessee

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  • WIMZ-FM Tower
    • Height: 1,752 feet (534 m)
    • Knoxville (36°08′06″N 083°43′29″W / 36.13500°N 83.72472°W / 36.13500; -83.72472)
    • Year built: 1963
    • Owner: South Central Communications
    • The tower is home to WIMZ-FM 103.5, whose antenna is at the top. The tower is located 1 mi (1.6 km) east of House Mountain and stands 1,752 ft (534 m) above ground level. When used for television broadcasts by its former owner, Multimedia, Inc. (former licensee of WBIR-TV, Knoxville) it was shielded by mountains from the audience in the western Knoxville suburbs such as Farragut, Oak Ridge, and Oliver Springs. This tower was built because the owners of WBIR-TV could not obtain land atop nearby House Mountain, because the only land suitable for a television tower base on the mountain had been purchased by the station's main competitor WATE-TV, Knoxville. When completed, it was, for a short time the tallest man-made structure on Earth.

Texas

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Height data according to FCC's ASR entries.

Utah

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Vermont

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Virginia

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  • American Tower Corporation Tower Suffolk
    • Height: 1,254.9 feet (382.5 m)
    • Suffolk at 36°48'31.8" N and 76°30'11.3"
    • Year built: 2003
    • Owner: American Tower Corporation )
    • WGNT, WHRO-TV, WTKR, WTPC-TV, WTVZ-TV

Washington

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West Virginia

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Wisconsin

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Wyoming

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Puerto Rico

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An incomplete list of the tallest structures in Puerto Rico. Main reference: U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) database

Structure Height (ft) Height (metres) Year built Structure Type Use Place Comments
Aguada VLF transmission mast 1,205 ft (367 m) 367.3 m ? Guyed mast VLF/LF-transmission Aguada Operated by US Navy
Telemundo WKAQ TV Tower 1,105 ft (337 m) 336.8 m 1971 Guyed mast UHF/VHF-transmission Cayey
Cayey Pegasus Broadcasting Tower 1,091 ft (333 m) 332.5 m 1966 Guyed mast UHF/VHF-transmission Cayey Destroyed by Hurricane Maria on September 20, 2017
Arso Radio Tower 682 ft (208 m) 208 m 1996 Guyed mast UHF/VHF-transmission Cabo Rojo
La Cadena del Milagro Tower 548 ft (167 m) 167 m 1991 Lattice tower UHF/VHF-transmission Utuado Destroyed by Hurricane Maria on September 20, 2017
Arecibo Observatory 492 ft (150 m) 150 m 1963 Radio telescope Radio and Radar astronomy Arecibo World's largest radio telescope

By structural type

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Tallest structures in the United States for different uses/structural types. Please expand and/or correct, if necessary

Category Structure City Height
Guyed mast KRDK-TV mast Traill County, North Dakota 2,060 feet (627.9 m)
Skyscraper One World Trade Center New York City 1,776 feet (541.3 m)
Guyed mast insulated against ground VLF transmitter Lualualei Lualualei, HI 1,503 feet (458.1 m)
Chimney Homer City Generating Station Homer City, Pennsylvania 1,217 feet (370.9 m)
Concrete tower Stratosphere Tower Las Vegas 1,149 feet (350.2 m)
Free-standing lattice tower WITI TV Tower Shorewood, Wisconsin 1,081 feet (329.5 m)
Bridge Royal Gorge Bridge Cañon City, Colorado 1,053 feet (321.0 m)
Suspension Bridge Golden Gate Bridge San Francisco 746 feet (227.4 m)
Dam Oroville Dam Oroville, California 770 feet (234.7 m)
Masonry Anaconda Smelter Stack Anaconda, Montana 585 feet (178.3 m)
Monumental column San Jacinto Monument La Porte, Texas 567 feet (172.8 m)
Stone Washington Monument Washington, D.C. 555 feet (169.2 m)
Electricity pylon Sunshine Mississippi Powerline Crossing [3] Plaquemine, Louisiana 540 feet (164.6 m)
Industrial building VAB Kennedy Space Center, Florida 526 feet (160.3 m)
Church Riverside Church New York City 392 feet (119.5 m)
Aerial tramway support pillar Roosevelt Island Tramway New York City 250 feet (76.2 m)

See also

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Notes and references

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  1. ^ List of tallest structures in the world#Current
  2. ^ "Louisiana's tallest tower collapse adds to Ida broadcasting outages | Wireless Estimator". September 2021.
  3. ^ "FCCInfo Structure Registration Results".
  4. ^ "FCCInfo Structure Registration Results".
  5. ^ "FCCInfo Structure Registration Results".
  6. ^ "Licensee for Ozarks Public Television reaches $3.2M settlement from 2018 tower collapse". 22 March 2021.
  7. ^ "Office Buildings – Skyscrapers || World Trade Center".
  8. ^ "FCCInfo Structure Registration Results".
  9. ^ "FCCInfo Results".
  10. ^ "LORAN-C General Information". www.navcen.uscg.gov. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
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