Or the tall buildings in my life.
I had been in the Sears Roebuck Building http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landmark_Center_(Boston) in Boston. Ma. as a child. It is 10 stories high, but I am not sure we went up to the 10th floor. I have to think that if the 10th floor was open to the public, we would have made the trip, just for the novelty, because that sort of thing would have appealed to my father. If we did, we would have ridden the elevator.
Also in Boston, we went to The Bunker Hill Monument on Breed's Hill http://www.nps.gov/bost/historyculture/bhm.htm when I was young Again, I have to think we climbed it, but I cannot say for sure. At 221 feet high, it is slightly higher than the 200 foot Sears Building.
In my youth, the highest building I ever went up was the Prudential Building, http://www.prudentialcenter.com/explore/about_new.php in Boston, which is 52 stories high, or 749 feet. We went to the observation deck, I have to think, when I was in junior high or high school. I remember hearing stories about when "The Pru" was first built, and there were problems with the plate glass, that would fall out during high winds. Myth or fact? Fact, according to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hancock_Tower.
The next tall building I remember is the Metro Tower, in Lubbock, Texas, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_Tower_(Lubbock). Now called the NTS Building, it was the Metro Tower when I moved to Lubbock in 1977. This 274 foot building started life as the Great Plains Life Building, but was damaged, and some say twisted, in the 1970 tornado. I could never see the twist. I worked on the13th floor of that building for several years. And, when there was a restaurant on the 20th floor, the top floor, we ate there or had cocktails after work their on occasion.
The next tall building in my life was the IDS building in Minneapolis, Minnesota http://www.ids-center.com/. In 1979, I was in Minneapolis, eating at the restaurant at or near the top of the IDS building, when a tornado warning interfered with our dinner. We were ushered into the basement to wait out the storm. We had to stay in the basement well beyond the time the storm blew through, because the window panes were falling out. We had to wait until that stopped, and it was safe to be outside the building. My companion and I went back to the restaurant to pay our bill. We were told that dinner was "on the house" and offered complimentary dessert and coffee.
I have been in San Antonio multiple times in my life. I do not recall when I first went to The Tower of the Americas http://www.toweroftheamericas.com/. At 750 feet, it is slightly shorter than the 792 foot IDS building. I recall eating at the restaurant on the observation deck. Having dealt with motion sickness severely as a child, and intermittently for the rest of my life, I was concerned that eating while rotating would bother me, but surprisingly, it did not!
In 2009, I made it to the Empire State Building http://www.esbnyc.com/. This was a bit of a pilgrimage for me. One of my favorite movies is The Moon is Blue http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046094/. A large part of this movie is set at the Empire State Building. I enjoyed my visit, although it was a little cold on the observation deck. The building is 1050 feet, and is by far, the tallest building I have been in.
Two years later, in 2011, I took a trip to Seattle, Washington. I travelled to the observation deck of the Spaceneedle http://www.spaceneedle.com/. It is 605 feet tall, and I did not realize it is shorter than the Tower of the Americas. They sell snacks on the observation deck, and I spent a long time just enjoying the view.
Now, in 2013, in Atlanta, Georgia, I have been in the Westin Peachtree Plaza http://www.westinpeachtreeplazaatlanta.com/. A circular building, I have used their hotel facilities. And, I have had lunch at the restaurant on the 72nd floor. As with the Tower of Americas, the restaurant rotated, and takes an hour to make a complete circuit. The building is listed at 723 feet.
To date, these are the tall buildings of my life. Maybe, I will add more as time goes by!
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