<P> The early years of the 20th century saw a range of technically sophisticated, architecturally confident skyscrapers built in New York; academics Sarah Landau and Carl Condit term this "the first great age" of skyscraper building . Some were relatively conservative buildings in a classical style, such as the Mutual Life, Atlantic Mutual, and Broad Exchange Buildings, all designed by Clinton and Russell . Others broke new ground, including the Flatiron Building which opened in 1903 near Madison Square . The Chicago firm of Daniel Hudsdon Burnham designed the 307 feet (94 m) high, 21 story structure; the unusually shaped, narrow building needed particularly strong wind bracing, while the facade was richly textured and incorporated stylistic features more common in Chicago . A critical and popular success, the Flatiron was likened to the Parthenon of Ancient Greece and became a New York icon . </P> <P> The construction of the Singer Tower was announced by the company in 1906, who intended to produce the tallest skyscraper in the world . The company already had several low - rise buildings in New York that the tower would be incorporated into and planned to rent out the bottom half of the tower to tenants to subsidize their use of the upper half . The skyscraper was designed by Ernest Flagg, a Beaux - Arts advocate and noted critic of existing skyscrapers, who justified taking on the project as a way of generating support for skyscraper reform . The design was technically challenging: the tall, narrow tower needed special wind bracing, and the deep bedrock on the site required particularly deep foundations . The tower was faced in dark brick and followed the Beaux - Arts style used by the rest of the complex, with a galleried lobby fitted out in Italian marble . When it opened in 1908, it had 47 stories and was 612 feet (187 m) tall; visitors paid $0.50 ($12 in 2010 terms) each to use the observation area at the top of the building . </P> <P> The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower was opened in 1909, the culmination of a long building project by N. LeBrun and Sons to hold Metropolitan Life's growing headquarters staff, 2,800 strong by 1909 . At 700 feet (210 m) high and with 50 stories, it became the world's new tallest building . Metropolitan Life intended the skyscraper to promote the company's image, and the building was surrounded by publicity . The tower was featured on the front of prominent magazines such as Scientific American, as well as on the sides of corn flake boxes, coffee packets, and cars . The tower was loosely modeled on the Venician St Mark's Campanile, and featured extensive Early Renaissance - style detailing, with the more modern additions of huge clock faces, electric floodlights for night - time illumination, and an observation deck at the top . Contemporary architects Everett Waid and Harvey Corbett described how the building had "the latest ideas in ventilation, air conditioning, sound deadening, artificial lighting, intercommunicating pneumatic tubes, telephones, call bells, unit operating clock systems (and) special elevator and escalator installations". The design won critical acclaim within the American architectural profession . </P> <P> The construction of the Woolworth Building was announced in 1910 by Frank Woolworth, who wanted to create the largest income - producing property in the U.S. The project grew, and Woolworth finally opted for a 55 - story, 792 - foot (241 m) high skyscraper, the latest tallest building in the world, at a cost of $13.5 million ($5.1 billion in 2010 terms). Architect Cass Gilbert designs included a very high proportion of usable--and thus rentable--floor space, with a great deal of light and a flexible floor plan that could be subdivided for different tenants . Up - to - date fittings were installed to encourage a high - class of tenants, including the world's fastest elevators, safety features, and a swimming pool . Gilbert adopted the Beaux - Arts style, using accented terracotta and glass to emphasis vertical lines, elegantly echoing the structural frame underneath and incorporating 15th and 16th century Flamboyant Gothic - styled features . It was capped by a gilded tower that blended into the sky behind it to produce an illusion of even greater height . The building was illuminated with floodlights at night, topped with red and white flashing lights . It was famously dubbed the "Cathedral of Commerce", rather to Gilbert's displeasure as he had attempted to avoid copying ecclesiastical architecture . </P>

When was the first new york skyscraper built