Skyscraper Jungle

"Sliver Buildings" Take Their Place in NY Skyline

[Note to Readers: still in New York City; this is another "dispatch" in between kid-centric activities]

If you like skyscrapers, there's no better place -- at least in North America -- than New York City. All the buildings in downtown Minneapolis would barely fill up Rockefeller Center, which itself is perhaps 5% of Manhattan's commercial office space.

Since living here in the late 90's, though, there's a new "species" in the skyscraper jungle: 'the bamboo shoot.'

Also known as "sliver buildings," these are incredibly tall, incredibly narrow buildings: imagine a 60 story-plus building on the footprint of a two-story colonial house. Literally.

Ten years ago, I noted perhaps a half-dozen of these strange species; today, Manhattan easily has dozens.

Why the proliferation?

My guess is a combination of ever-more limited land, plus advancing technology.

P.S.: As a former resident of one, I have some advice to would-be tenants: check how many elevators the building has -- and if they work!