Tallest in the US, excluding buildings

[urbanjim]

This thread concerns other "tallest" man-made structures in the US besides multi-storied buildings. Just some "fun facts" for those who find this kind of stuff interesting (like I do):


Most of us know that the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor is the tallest statue in the US (151' tall, or 305' including pedestal and foundation.) And the second tallest? Seems that after Lady Liberty, there aren't many other such monolithic statues in our nation. The statue of the Roman God at Vulcan Park in Birmingham (56') may well be the next tallest. Can anyone name one that exceeds 56 feet?

Next: Observation towers. (No, we're not talking about observation rooms/decks in tall buildings.) The Stratosphere in Las Vegas is clearly the tallest observation tower in the US (1149'). In second place is Tower of the Americas in San Antonio (750'). Third tallest is the Space Needle in Seattle (594'). Reunion Tower in Dallas (560') is #4, and fifth place goes to Paris Las Vegas' Eiffel Tower (540').

Monuments: I categorized monuments separately from observation towers, although most do include observation areas. The tallest in this category is the Gateway Arch in St Louis (630'). Next is the San Jacinto Monument in the Houston area (570'), followed by the Washington Monument (555'). And my best estimation for the fourth-tallest monument in the US is Perry's Victory and International Peace Monument, Put-in-Bay (near Sandusky), Ohio (352').

Okay, one more: The tallest free-standing cross in the US is the Great Cross located at Our Lady of Le Leche, St Augustine (208'). Second place goes to a cross in Effingham, Illinois (198'), and third-tallest is a cross near Groom, Texas (190').

If I've overlooked anything, forgive me, and let's hear about it!
What are some other "tallest" titles in the US?

[rick1016]

KVLY-TV Mast

[urbanjim]

^The tallest TV mast in the US..... Good one!

From Wikipedia: The KVLY-TV mast (formerly the KTHI-TV mast) is a 2,063 ft (629 m) tall television-transmitting mast in Blanchard, Traill County, North Dakota, United States, used by Fargo station KVLY channel 11.

The tower is located three miles west of Blanchard, North Dakota, halfway between Fargo and Grand Forks. It became the tallest artificial structure upon the completion of its construction on 13 August 1963.

Me: I believe this makes the mast the tallest man-made structure in the Western Hemisphere.

[xzmattzx]

I'm pretty sure it was the tallest structure of any kind in the world until Burj Dubai topped it last year.

[DarkFenX]

You should include bridges which I think the tallest is the Golden Gate Bridge in SF.

[urbanjim]

Originally Posted by DarkFenX

You should include bridges which I think the tallest is the Golden Gate Bridge in SF.

True. The towers of the Golden Gate are 746' each, making them the tallest of any in the US. These towers extend 500' above the roadway. Pretty massive structures!

Not to be confused with the highest bridge in the US. That title goes to the Royal Gorge Bridge in Colorado, which is 1,053' above the river. I think it's also the highest suspension bridge in the world.

Here's another "tallest" I found:
The tallest roller coaster in the US is at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, New Jersey: 456' tall. Wow!

[Czas na Żywiec]

Originally Posted by xzmattzx

I'm pretty sure it was the tallest structure of any kind in the world until Burj Dubai topped it last year.

Not quite, it was a wee bit smaller than the Warsaw Radio Mast.

"The Warsaw radio mast was the world's tallest structure until its collapse on 8 August 1991.

The mast, which was designed by Jan Polak, was 646.38 metres (2,120.67 ft) tall. Its construction started in July 1970, was completed on 18 May 1974, and its transmitter entered regular service on 22 July that year.

After the collapse, the KVLY-TV mast outside Fargo, North Dakota, USA, regained its title as the world's tallest structure, standing 628.8 m (2,063 feet) until the Burj Dubai unofficially exceeded this height in April 2008."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw_Radio_Mast

[davsot]

Statue of Liberty

Roman God at Vulcan Park

The Stratosphere

Tower of Americas

Space Needle

Reunion Tower

Gateway Arch

San Jacinto Monument

Washington Monument

Perry's Victory and International Peace Monument

Great Cross

[davsot]

As an added bonus: Cross in Ponce, PR
It's half cross, half observation tower!


Couldn't find one of the cross overlooking the city...

[urbanjim]

Great pix! Thanks!

[xzmattzx]

Originally Posted by Czas na Żywiec

Not quite, it was a wee bit smaller than the Warsaw Radio Mast.

"The Warsaw radio mast was the world's tallest structure until its collapse on 8 August 1991.

The mast, which was designed by Jan Polak, was 646.38 metres (2,120.67 ft) tall. Its construction started in July 1970, was completed on 18 May 1974, and its transmitter entered regular service on 22 July that year.

After the collapse, the KVLY-TV mast outside Fargo, North Dakota, USA, regained its title as the world's tallest structure, standing 628.8 m (2,063 feet) until the Burj Dubai unofficially exceeded this height in April 2008."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw_Radio_Mast

So I was correct, it was the tallest structure in the world until Burj Dubai passed it.

[davsot]

San Jacinto's star is awesome...