Fears Of Terrorism Haven't Stopped Skyscrapers

"SAN FRANCISCO – The rivalry between Los Angeles and San Francisco permeates life in California, infiltrating debates on everything from sports and weather to cuisine and water consumption. When it comes to competing for the West Coast's tallest building, though, few would expect this city to enter the fray, much less end up on top."

"Six years after many architects and urban planners predicted the indelible images of Sept. 11, 2001, would stifle Americans' enthusiasm for iconic skyscrapers, San Francisco is not the only U.S. city where the landscape is moving up. Instead, fueled by high land costs, disenchantment with suburban sprawl and urban one-upmanship, the nation is experiencing its biggest high-rise construction boom in decades.

From Miami and Las Vegas to Chicago and New York, buildings that would either eclipse or stand spire-to-spire with the 1,250-foot-tall Empire State Building are promising to reshape skylines. The 1,200-to-1,375-foot-tall tower that is supposed to help finance and attract riders to San Francisco's new public transportation hub is one of 11 buildings nationwide either planned or under construction that, if completed, would make the list of the 20 tallest buildings in the United States.

"Many people thought 9-11 would sound the death knell for tall buildings, and it's been the opposite," said Antony Wood, executive director of the Chicago-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. The collapse of the World Trade Center "probably induced the largest introspective analysis of the whole typology that has ever happened – is this a viable part of our cities or is it not? And like it or not, that has resulted in a resounding yes.""