Skyscrapers, Plain and Tall Trivia Quiz

Answer: Burj Khalifa, Dubai, UAE

The Burj Khalifa (2004-2009) stands 2,722 feet tall. and is a stand-out feature in downtown Dubai. The lower levels are laid out in a y-shape, while the interior of the tower includes a 304-room hotel, private apartments, and corporate suites. There are observation decks on the 124th and 148th floors. The tower was featured in the 2011 film "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol".

Answer: Empire State Building, New York, NY

Both the 1933 and 2005 versions of "King Kong" feature a climactic scene with the giant ape climbing the Empire State Building before falling to his death. The Empire State Building (1930-1931) stands 1,250 feet tall at the roof and 1,454 at the top of the pinnacle. With 102 stories, the Empire State Building was the first structure to have more than 100 floors.

Many of New York City's FM radio and television stations have broadcast antennas on the Empire State Building.

Answer: Petronas Tower One, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The Petronas Twin Towers (1992-1996), standing at 1,483 feet, were the tallest buildings in the world from 1998 to 2003. The two-storey sky bridge connects Tower One and Tower Two at the 41st and 42nd floor. The lower level is reserved for visitors and the upper level for tower tenants.

The towers primarily hold office space, with Tower One for Petronas and related companies and Tower Two leased to other companies.

Answer: Space Needle, Seattle, WA

The Space Needle (1961-1962) only has six stories even though it stands 605 feet tall. Built for the 1962 World's Fair being held in Seattle, the Space Needle is a distinctive feature in that city's skyline. At the 500 foot level of the building is the circular Sky City restaurant, which performs a complete rotation every 47 minutes and is powered by a single 1.5 horsepower motor. Three elevators take visitors to the observation level at the top.

Answer: The Shard, London, England, UK

The Shard (2009-2012) was formerly known as London Bridge Tower. Standing at 1,016 feet, the the Shard includes 95 floors. The Shard is glass clad and shaped liked an elongated pyramid. English Heritage famously criticized the design of the building saying it would be like "a shard of glass through the heart of historic London", which led to the building's current name.

Answer: Carlton Centre, Johannesburg, RSA

Opening in 1973, the Carlton Centre stands 732 feet tall. The building has 50 stories and over 800,000 feet of floor space. For many years the Carlton Hotel occupied the majority of the building's floor space. The American architectural firm of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill designed the building which was built in the early 1970s.

Answer: Eiffel Tower, Paris, France

The Eiffel Tower (1887-1889) was built for the 1889 World's Fair held in Paris that year. Although the Eiffel Tower is 1,063 feet tall at the tip, there are only three stories to the building. The building houses several restaurants and a gift shop as well as an observation level. Several smaller replicas of the tower have been created, including ones in Blackpool, England; Tokyo, Japan; and Las Vegas, Nevada.

Answer: Washington Monument, Washington, DC

Standing at 554 feet tall, the Washington Monument has no steel skeleton - a fact which impacts its interior. The thickness needed for the stone walls to provide structural support only leaves space for a few rooms inside the monument apart from the stairwells and elevator shafts.

The Washington Monument was built in two stages: first from 1848 to 1854 and second from 1877 to 1884. There is a subtle but noticeable difference in the color of the marble used on the exterior at about the 160 foot mark.

The capstone of the Washington Monument is made of aluminum, which at the time was one of the most expensive metals in the world.

Answer: Baiyoke Tower II, Bangkok, Thailand

The website for the Baiyoke Tower II (1990-1997) lists its height at 1,014 feet but the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), Emporis and Skyscraper Page list it at 997 feet. In either case the hotel has 673 rooms on its 88 floors. The hotel features a public observatory on the 77th floor, a bar on the 83rd floor and a rotation roof deck on the 84th floor.

Answer: Queensland Number One, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia

Queensland Number One (2002-2005) was the tallest residential skyscraper in the world from 2005 to 2010. The roof of the building stands at 804 feet and the architectural top of the building is at 1,058 feet. There are 78 stories to the building. The residential units in the building include one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom apartments.