Transamerica Pyramid, San Francisco, United States

San Francisco makes a point.Height: 260 meters

Cost to build: US$32 million

Completion date: 1972

Fast fact: When The Pyramid's three years of construction began in 1969, signs around the site proclaimed it "a San Francisco landmark since 1972."
“The Transamerica Pyramid put San Francisco’s downtown on the map.” -- Michael Greene.

Around San Franciso’s picturesque wooden Victorian houses, this skyscraper climbs like a rocket. Although not comparable to the futuristic designs of newer skyscrapers, the 260-meter pyramid has been the city's most recognizable building for decades.

The structure has an unconventional tapered design -- imitating a tree trunk -- that allows natural light and fresh air to trickle down to adjacent streets.

Without obstructing much of the tranquil neighborhood, this slender style, together with the earthquake-safe design, allowed the building to get around strict building laws in the city, reaching a height unfamiliar to San Francisco.

Overall structure

Loma Prieta Earthquake

The Transamerica Pyramid successfully withstood the Loma Prieta earthquake as reported in Reference 2:

The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake of magnitude 7.1 struck the Santa Cruz Mountains in California. Sixty miles away, in downtown San Francisco, the 49 story Transamerica building shook for over a minute. During the quake, the top story swayed over 12 inches from side to side. Yet the building was undamaged and no one was seriously injured.