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Famous
Structures Around the World
Ancient
Later European
Asian,
African and American
United States
Ancient
 The Great
Sphinx of Egypt, one of the wonders of ancient Egyptian
architecture, adjoins the pyramids of Giza and has a length of
240 ft. Built in the fourth dynasty, it is approximately 4,500
years old. A 10-year $2.5 million restoration project was
completed in 1998. Other Egyptian buildings of note include
the Temples of Karnak, Edfu, and Abu Simbel,
and the Tombs at Beni Hassan.
The
Parthenon of Greece, built on the Acropolis in Athens,
was the chief temple to the goddess Athena. It was believed to
have been completed by 438
B.C. The
present temple remained intact until the 5th century
A.D.
Today, though the Parthenon is in ruins, its majestic
proportions are still discernible.
Other
great structures of ancient Greece were the Temples at
Paestum (c. 540 and 420
B.C.);
the famous Erechtheum (c. 421–405
B.C.),
the Temple of Athena Niké (c. 426
B.C.),
and the Olympieum (174
B.C.–A.D.
131) atop the Acropolis; the Athenian Treasury at
Delphi (c. 515 B.C.);
and the Theater at Epidaurus (c. 325
B.C.).
 The
Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheater) of Rome, the largest and
most famous of the Roman amphitheaters, was opened for use
A.D.
80. Elliptical in shape, it consisted of three stories and an
upper gallery, rebuilt in stone in its present form in the
third century A.D.
It was principally used for gladiatorial combat and could seat
between 40,000 and 50,000 spectators.
 The
Pantheon at Rome, begun by Agrippa in 27
B.C. as a
temple, was rebuilt in its present circular form by Hadrian (A.D.
118–128). Literally the Pantheon was intended as a temple of
“all the gods.” It is remarkable for its perfect preservation
today, and it has served continuously for 20 centuries as a
place of worship.
Famous
Roman triumphal arches, built to commemorate major military
victories, include the Arch of Titus (c.
A.D. 80)
and the Arch of Constantine (c.
A.D.
315).
 Teotihuacán, located in central
Mexico, was the largest city in the Americas at its height
between A.D.
300 and 900. Built on a grid plan with a central avenue known
as the Street of the Dead, it is the site of two enormous
pyramid temples and the temple of the plumed serpent god
Quetzalcoatl.
Later European
 St. Mark's
Cathedral in Venice (1063–1071), one of the great examples
of Byzantine architecture, was begun in the 9th century.
Partly destroyed by fire in 976, it was later rebuilt as a
Byzantine edifice.
Other famous
examples of Byzantine architecture are St. Sophia in
Istanbul (532–537); San Vitale in Ravenna (542); and
Assumption Cathedral in the Kremlin, Moscow (begun in
1475).
The cathedral
group at Pisa (1067–1173), one of the most celebrated groups
of structures built in Romanesque style, consists of the
cathedral, the cathedral's baptistery, and the campanile (Leaning
Tower). The campanile, a form of bell tower, is 180 ft
high and now leans 13.5 ft out of the perpendicular.
Other
examples of Romanesque architecture include the Vézelay
Abbey in France (1130) and Durham Cathedral in
England.
 The
Alhambra (1248–1354), located in Granada, Spain, is
universally esteemed as one of the greatest masterpieces of
Muslim architecture. Designed as a palace and fortress for the
Moorish monarchs of Granada, it is surrounded by a heavily
fortified wall more than a mile in perimeter. The location of
the Alhambra in the Sierra Nevada provides a magnificent
setting for this jewel of Moorish Spain.
 The Tower
of London is a group of buildings and towers covering 13
acres along the north bank of the Thames. The central White
Tower, begun in 1078 during the reign of William the
Conqueror, was originally a fortress and royal residence, but
was later used as a prison. The Bloody Tower is
associated with Anne Boleyn and other notables.
 Westminster Abbey, in London, was begun in 1050 and
completed in 1065. It was rebuilt and enlarged in several
phases, beginning in 1245. With only two exceptions (Edward V
and Edward VIII), every British monarch since William the
Conqueror has been crowned in the abbey.
 Notre-Dame
de Paris (begun in 1163), one of the great examples of
Gothic architecture, is a twin-towered church with a steeple
over the crossing and immense flying buttresses supporting the
masonry at the rear of the church.
Other famous
Gothic structures are
Chartres Cathedral (France; 12th century);
Sainte Chapelle (Paris, France; 1246–1248); Reims
Cathedral (France; 13th–14th centuries; rebuilt after its
almost complete destruction in World War I); Rouen
Cathedral (France; 13th–16th centuries); Salisbury
Cathedral (England; 1220–1260); York Minster or the
Cathedral of St. Peter (England; 1220–1472); Milan
Cathedral (Italy; begun 1386); and Cologne Cathedral
(Germany; 13th–19th centuries; damaged in World War II but
completely restored).
The Duomo (cathedral) in Florence, with its pink,
white, and green marble façade, has become a symbol of the
city and the Renaissance. Construction began in 1296, but it
was not completed until nearly 200 years later, following the
addition of Brunelleschi's massive dome. The adjacent
baptistery is famous for its gilded bronze doors by Ghiberti.
 The
Vatican is a group of buildings in Rome comprising the
official residence of the pope. The Basilica of St. Peter,
the largest church in the Christian world, was begun in 1452,
and it was rebuilt between 1506 and 1626. The Sistine
Chapel, begun in 1473, is noted for the art masterpieces
of Michelangelo, Botticelli, and others. To the southeast of
Vatican City is the Basilica of the Savior (known as
St. John Lateran). As the cathedral of the pope, it is the
first-ranking Catholic Church in the world.
Other
examples of Renaissance architecture are the Palazzo
Riccardi, the Palazzo Pitti, and the Palazzo
Strozzi in Florence; the Farnese Palace in Rome;
Palazzo Grimani (completed about 1550) in Venice; the
Escorial (1563–93) near Madrid; the Town Hall of
Seville (1527–32); the Louvre, Paris; the Château
at Blois, France; St. Paul's Cathedral, London
(1675–1710; badly damaged in World War II); the École
Militaire, Paris (1752); the Pazzi Chapel,
Florence, designed by Brunelleschi (1429); and the Palace
of Fontainebleau and the Château de Chambord in
France.
 The Palace
of Versailles in France, containing the famous Hall of
Mirrors, was built during the reign of Louis XIV in the 17th
century and served as the royal palace until 1793. Built on
the colossal scale typical of many works of baroque
architecture, the palace is also noted for its gardens, which
include some 1,400 fountains.
Outstanding
European buildings of the 18th and 19th centuries are the
Superga at Turin (Italy); the Hôtel-Dieu in Lyons;
the Belvedere Palace at Vienna; the Royal Palace
of Stockholm; the Bank of England, the British
Museum, the University of London, and the Houses
of Parliament, all in London; and the Panthéon, the
Church of the Madeleine, the Bourse, the
Palais de Justice, and the Opera House, all in
Paris.
 The Eiffel
Tower, in Paris, was built for the Exposition of 1889 by
Alexandre Gustave Eiffel. It is 984 ft high (1,056 ft
including the television tower).
Asian, African,
and American
The
Taj Mahal (1632–1650), at Agra, India, built by
Shah Jahan as a tomb for his wife, is considered by some as
the most perfect example of the Mogul style and by others as
the most beautiful building in the world. Four slim white
minarets flank the building, which is topped by a white dome;
the entire structure is made of marble. Other examples of
Indian architecture are the temples at Benares and Tanjore.
Another
well-known Muslim edifice is the Citadel, located on an
outcrop of limestone overlooking Cairo. Begun in 810, it was
fortified (1176–1183) by Saladin during the Crusades.
Among
famed Muslim edifices are the Dome of the Rock
Jerusalem (A.D.
691); the Citadel (1166) and the Tombs of the
Mamelukes (15th century) in Cairo; the Tomb of Humayun
in Delhi; the Blue Mosque (1468) at Tabriz; and the
Tamerlane Mausoleum at Samarkand.
 Angkor Wat,
outside the city of Angkor Thom, Cambodia, is one of the most
beautiful examples of Cambodian or Khmer architecture. The
sanctuary was built during the 12th century.
 The
Great Wall of China (begun c. 214
B.C.),
designed specifically as a defense against nomadic tribes, has
large watch towers that could be called buildings. It was
erected by Emperor Ch'in Shih Huang Ti and is 1,400 mi long.
Built mainly of earth and stone, it varies in height between
18 and 30 ft.
The
Forbidden City (1407–1420) in Beijing served as the seat
of imperial power during the Ming and Qing dynasties
(1368–1911). It is the world's largest palace complex,
covering about 183 acres and including 9,999 buildings.
Typical of
Chinese architecture are the pagodas or temple towers. Among
some of the better-known pagodas are the Great Pagoda of
the Wild Geese at Sian (founded in 652) and Nan t'a
(11th century) at Fang Shan.
Other
well-known Chinese buildings are the Drum Tower (1273),
the Three Great Halls in the Forbidden City (1627),
Buddha's Perfume Tower (19th century), the Porcelain
Pagoda, and the Summer Palace, all at Beijing.
The painted
wooden Torii, or Gateway, at Miyajima Island, Japan,
stands in the tidal flats opposite the historic Itsukushima
Shrine. Built in the traditional Shinto style, with two
columns supporting a concave crosspiece on top, the gate
serves to welcome the spirits of the dead as they come from
across the Inland Sea.
Other famous
Japanese buildings include Himeji Castle (17th century)
and the Buddhist temples of Horyuji (7th century) and
Todaiji (8th century) at Nara, and Phoenix Hall
(11th century) at Uji near Kyoto.
 Machu
Picchu is an ancient Inca fortress in the Andes Mountains
of Peru. Thought to have been built and occupied from the
mid-15th century, it is surrounded on three sides by stepped
agricultural terraces, which are connected to the main plazas
and buildings by thousands of stone steps.
United States
 The
Chrysler Building in New York City is one of the finest
examples of Art Deco style high-rise architecture. Built for
the automotive magnate Walter P. Chrysler between 1928 and
1930, the building makes use of decorative elements borrowed
from automobiles. At 1,046 ft it was briefly the tallest
building in the world before the Empire State Building was
completed the following year.
 The Empire
State Building, one of the most popular tourist
attractions in the heart of Manhattan, was constructed between
1930 and 1931. Features include a tiered structure that
recalls ancient Egyptian and Aztec pyramids and a mast at the
top for mooring dirigibles. Rising to 1,250 ft (not including
the mast), it remained the tallest building in the world until
the 1970s.
 Rockefeller Center, in New York City, extends from 5th
Ave. to the Avenue of the Americas between 48th and 52nd Sts.
(and halfway to 7th Ave. between 47th and 51st Sts.). It
occupies more than 22 acres and has 19 buildings.
 The
Cathedral of St. John the Divine, at 112th St. and
Amsterdam Ave. in New York City, was begun in 1892 and is now
in the final stages of completion. When completed, it will be
the largest cathedral in the world: 601 ft long, 146 ft wide
at the nave, 320 ft wide at the transept. The east end is
designed in Romanesque-Byzantine style, and the nave and west
end are Gothic.
The
Brooklyn Bridge, built between 1869 and 1883, was the
remarkable achievement of engineer John Roebling and his son,
Washington Roebling. The first steel-wire suspension bridge in
the world, it has a main span of 1,595.5 ft.
 The Statue
of Liberty was designed by Fredéric Auguste Bartholdi of
Alsace as a gift to Americans from the people of France. The
statue of a female figure holding a torch in her raised hand
was accepted on Oct. 28, 1886, by President Grover Cleveland.
The 225-ton steel-reinforced copper structure stands on
Liberty Island in New York Harbor. It is 152 ft tall and
stands on a 150-foot pedestal.
 The Sears
Tower in Chicago is, at 1,450 ft, the tallest building in
the United States. Constructed between 1974 and 1976 for
Sears, Roebuck and Company, the structure is composed of
75-foot square tubes that rise to varying levels.
 The
Gateway Arch, located on the riverfront in St. Louis, Mo.,
is a tapered curve of stainless steel rising to 630 ft. The
tallest manmade memorial in the United States, the Arch was
designed by Finnish-born U.S. architect Eero Saarinen and
built between 1963 and 1966. Visitors can ride to the top in
specially devised capsule-like tram cars.
 Mount
Rushmore (6,000 ft), in South Dakota, became a celebrated
American landmark after sculptor Gutzon Borglum took on the
project of carving into the side of it the heads of four great
presidents. From 1927 until his death in 1941, Borglum worked
on chiseling the 60-foot likenesses of Washington, Jefferson,
Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt. His son, Lincoln, finished
the sculpture later that year.
 San
Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, completed in 1937, is
one of the most recognizable structures in the United States.
Designed by Joseph B. Strauss, this elegant suspension bridge
has a main span of 4,200 ft.
 The Seattle
Space Needle was planned as the central structure and
symbol of the 1962 Seattle World's Fair, the theme of which
was “Century 21.” The Needle, which is 605 ft tall, is topped
by an observation deck and a revolving restaurant. |
