40 Wall Street - briefly the world's tallest in 1930

Completed in 1930 as the Bank of Manhattan Trust Building, 40 Wall Street held the title of the world's tallest building for a short period during the skyscraper race of 1930. The tower opened amid a flurry of competing high-rise projects in Lower Manhattan and was soon surpassed later that year by the Chrysler Building's concealed spire. The building has since been a prominent component of the Financial District skyline and is commonly referenced in accounts of early 20th-century skyscraper competition.