This paragraph is UNDER CONSTRUCTION AS OF 2/18/2026

WIREFRAME: ART GOES HERE. A GLOBE? A MAP? SOME SORT OF VISUAL.

Part A:

Comparison

Buildings and Skyscrapers Not Located in New York City

Cleveland, Ohio

Hometown of Tom Wible - author of this website....

Location 1: Downtown Cleveland

Subpage: Cleveland's Terminal Tower

Cleveland, Ohio

Above: Cleveland, Ohio as viewed from Edgewater Park.
Pictured by Tom Wible on January 9, 2006

Buildings pictured above are as follows:

The tallest building that appears in the photo above: Society Tower/Key Tower
57 stories according to Wikipedia and therefore, the tallest in Ohio

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The next tallest building in the photo:

The BP Building

also known as

200 Public Square

200 Public Square as pictured by Tom Wible during September 2018. This is a side view of the building that stands 45 stories tall, according to Wikipedia. The same building appears as a front view in the landscape photo, provided in the second photo, above. The BP Building is what I'll always call this skyscaper. The photo above is punctuated by a green sculpture known as the Fountain of Eternal Life.

Location 2: Cleveland's University Circle

Located about 5 miles east of downtown, these city blocks, parks, and water features have become home to many of the cultural, medical, educational, and architectural areas of metropolitan Cleveland, Ohio. Over the past century, alongside tycoons like Rockefeller, the area grew into what is now University Circle.

Granted, one can find some of these things out in the suburbs of Cleveland, too - without all the parking fees.

For example, perhaps you, as a patient, have developed some sort of umbilical hernia. Well, you might be able to have that umbilical hernia repaired in some small town, historic hospital, located in downtown Elyria, Ohio. Close to home. Have a relative take you there. In - and out. "Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy!"

Nevertheless, if your oncologist says that you will need to have your stem cells collected and stored on ice, then know that you'll be going downtown (to a hospital's main campus) for that sort of thing. For days. And that main campus would be within the University Circle area. More details here:

https://www.universitycircle.org/map

Subpage: Cleveland's Seidman Tower

Kent, Ohio

The home of Kent State University Main Campus.

Subpage: Kent State University Library

Toledo, Ohio

Featuring, here, the building that had been, until recently, the HCR ManorCare Tower
16 floors according to Wikipedia.

Editor's note: To me and while standing at the front door, the HCR Tower always seemed much taller than 16 stories.

If I may, I'll explain a brief history of the Toledo area. I've spent some time there overnighting in cheap motels from 1996 to 2003 so I've figured out that lay of the land.

In your mind, picture downtown Toledo. There you have the Maumee River, flowing out to Lake Erie.

And for those who know Ohio history....

Upstream from here on the Maumee River you had Mad Anthony Wayne. Defiance. Year 1794. Treaty of Greenville. That era of Ohio history.

Then, after Mad Anthony Wayne....

Sept. 10, 1813 - The Battle of Lake Erie

The fleet of British commander Barclay is firing upon the American ships.

Within the American fleet, Commodore Perry is making his way from ship-to-ship as the British tried to cannonball each of his wooden ships - out from underneath him.

The American ships were being cannonballed - including the ship Perry was on. However, Commodore Perry would climb into a row boat. Paddle his way over to the next intact ship. Commodore Perry and his crew simply never gave up. They would keep going. Hence the famous flag and rallying cry "Don't Give Up the Ship!"

At this watershed moment, control of the Great Lakes and the Western frontier would shift from the British to the Americans.

And that's how the United States of America as a nation, got to this point.

There is an amazing museum about this located on Put in Bay, at the base of the Perry Monument.

Also, you can find another museum about this located in Erie, PA

My family and I have been to both. I can tell you, both museums are worthwhile!

Moving on in Toledo, Ohio and its history.....

Fast forward to 1940s. There was the invention of the Army Jeep, right there. "Willys Overland." That's crazy. The building is still there! Put all those folded up Jeeps on some sort of ship and send it to Europe - a place I've never been. You've got dudes driving these Toledo made Jeeps - fighting Hitler and the Nazis. That's nuts to ponder!

I tell you. All of these towns have a story... Many of these towns are the places where I sort of "grew up" for decades.

Regardless, right there in Toledo, humble as the location may be, is where all that happened.....

You have Cleveland to the east. Detroit to the north. Chicago to the west. All of that - but a memory for me - of a bygone era....

Detroit

This July 2017 landscape photo of Detroit was pictured by Tom Wible from Belle Isle Park. The park is located in the center of the Detroit River. From this vista, we see the Ambassador Bridge spaning the Detroit River which connects Detroit (pictured on the right) to Canada (pictured on the left.)

The Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center is 70 stories according to Wikipedia. Two versions of the photo appear in the image carousel, above. The original July 2017 photo contained too much glare. In February 2026 the photo was repaired using Google Gemini AI and Nano Banana.

Above: A high-zoom camera lens captures the Maple Leaf flying in Canada across the river from Detroit. This flagpole is located in the city of Windsor, Ontario in the country of Canada, itself.

Side note: If you ever plan a "Trip to Detroit" it's always a real thrill to point out this large Maple Leaf to the kiddos. Something like, "Hey kids - there's Canada!" Then, hand the kiddos the binoculars to share. "Really? Wow!"

Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh photo sequence - pictured from high atop Mount Washington across the river from Point State Park. To get there from ground level, simply take the Monongahela Incline to the top of the mountain. Pictured during the early 2000s.

Pittsburgh. The meeting of three (3) rivers:

This is Pittsburgh itself pictured at

"The Golden Triangle"

also known as

"The Point"

Pictures don’t do this incredible space justice. Between the daytime skyline and the evening lights, these views of Pittsburgh are breathtaking in every sense of the word.

Meanwhile, there is so much history, here, that you can learn about within the city's museums, blockhouses, and even by simply reading the historical sign posts in the town. I'll name drop just a few people and topics: The young George Washington. Andrew Carnegie. Homestead. The Pinkertons. Polio. The Salk Vaccine. Henry Heinz. The chain of Kauffman Department Stores and the Kauffman family retreat built by Frank Lloyd Wright. Mr. Fred Rogers. The steel production in Pittsburgh that won World War II.

This is a truly remarkable city. The people are so kind and folksy. Hard-working, too. I have so much love for this city and its people - and it has so many things going for it. Each person lives in a little town nestled between these mountain valleys. There's just a certain cameraderie about it all - that you don't find in other cities. Again, I love this place - and its people!

Above in the photo, here, we see:

1. The Allegheny - to the north or to the top of this photo.

2. The Monongahela - to the right

These two (2) rivers meet - at the confluence - to form the Ohio River to the very left of this photo. The Ohio River continues southward, flowing all the way to Cairo, Illionis where it meets the Mississippi, far downstream from St. Louis. I've never been to Cairo, IL before - however, I would ask my Saint Louis brother about Cairo, IL endlessly when I worked as a field rep in Pittsburgh.

"Ever been to where the Ohio meets the Mississippi?" "Ever been to Cairo? What's there?" and "Hey - what if I floated downstream from Pittsburgh in a rubber raft down to that Mississippi River? Could you meet me there from Saint Louis?"

We never tried that - but it seemed almost like "a myth" of that river. River tales.

You know, Huck Finn adventures on the river - and all.

Steamboats. Sternwheelers. Summer nights of a bygone era - and here comes that sternwheeler up the river - and it's playing a song on the calliope. The "Coming to Town" Signal playing on the sternwheeler:
"Toot! ♪♫ Toot! Toodle-Loo ♪♫"

My St. Louis brother and I would chuckle about the distance between where he was in St. Louis and my times spent in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Something like:

"Hey, I'm just up the river from you, bro!" or "I'll float down-river from here in Pittsburgh and make my way on-down to St. Louis in my rubber raft — or in my dinghy...."
Hahaha.
You know, that kind of river voyage stuff...

In reality, when you look at a map, the Ohio River meets the Mississippi River about 130 miles south of St. Louis and folks, down there in Missouri, probably know that.

We Northerners might not. Anyhow, a down-river trip in a rubber raft or a dinghy is fun to think about when you are sitting in a small motel room living that sometimes lonesome life of a med sales rep.

For that matter, one time I was sitting on the bed in a motel flipping through the Pittsburgh channels on the remote. I switched-on the news there in Pittsburgh and they had found a live alligator in swimming in one of the three rivers, there.

I was like, "Whaaat? An alligator in Pittsburgh!"

Some pranksters probably brought that alligator up from Florida in the back of their pickup truck.

Look. I don't condone or advise doing that. Nevertheless, that alligator swimming around the three rivers made for some conversation that week.

"Did you hear about that alligator?"

Skyscrapers of Pittsburgh

Panning to the right:

The building that looks like a castle is PPG Place. Then there is the UPMC tower which is the dark gray building. One of those skyscrapers to the left of UPMC has the word "Highmark" on it.

Looking upstream and across the bridges of the Monongahela

Several bridges are seen upstream on the Monongahela.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Tall Buildings

PPG Place

40 floors according to Wikipedia
Editor's note: A beautiful, castle-like building to behold. This structure is truly a work of art to see standing at the junction of three (3) rivers, regardless of where you see the PPG Place tower from.

Keep in mind, areas just outside downtown Pittsburgh are made up of tiny villages and towns nestled within each mountain pass and within each mountain valley. From some of these villages, you can look across the mountains and you will see the castle-like tower of PPG Place and the UPMC building with their top floors towering over the mountaintops of each village, itself.

I wish I had taken a photo of that phenomenon - but I've seen it - in real life. In other words, at nighttime, you see the mountain. Then, above the mountaintop, you see only the very top floors of this tower - and all of the other downtown Pittsburgh skyscrapers - lit up at night. In other words, all of these buildings are taller than the mountainside, itself. Remarkable!

Appearing in the distance on the horizon within frame #3, above is:

Cathedral of Learning

At 42 stories tall, Wikipedia tells us:

"The Cathedral of Learning it is the tallest educational building in the Western Hemisphere."

The Cathedral of Learning is a tower located on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh. And it is here, on this campus, where you will see students of this university, walking to and from class, wearing sweatshirts with the word "Pitt" emblazoned across the front. And it's a wonderful logo, created from a script-like typeset. There's even an online store that does carry the official "Pitt" merch.

The logo matches the great architecture of this campus. There are some really cool buildings here and the place has a good vibe about it like you are on the island of Manhattan or something. It's really unique.

As a Clevelander, I still remember the first time I saw one of those sweatshirts decades ago, and I thought to myself:

"Pitt - what's that?"

Then, after some Google searching - I figured it out.

Present day, I am enamored not only with the logo - yet also - I am enamored with I've learned about this university, too - and the possibility for others, here. I spent a lot of time online, researching what this place is all about. It turns out that Jonas Salk did much of his work here, developing and inventing the first polio vaccine, right there - on this campus - in a place that now bears his name: Salk Hall

A quick Google search reveals: "The polio vaccine is considered one of the most important medical breakthroughs in history."

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WIREFRAME NOTES:

Note to self:

There may be a need to add these other tall buildings in Pittsburgh:

UPMC tower

Highmark Tower

Maybe the US Steelworkers tower? Search the film reel. The picture of the Steelworker tower is on there, somewhere.

Chicago, Illinois

Editor's note: Before we begin with our feature of Chicago tall buildings, please know that I will always refer to the building pictured below as the "Sears Tower" - and not the new name that some are calling Chicago's tallest skyscraper. The "Sears Tower" is what we called this skyscraper as kids - all through the 70s and 80s. It was during those childhood days when we packed into my parent's sedan. Ohio Turnpike West. Indiana Turnpike West. We would drive past Gary, Indiana - the boyhood home of Michael Jackson who pulled himself up by his bootstraps from that humble steel town and went higher - and faster - than anyone in America had ever imagined possible with his incredible talent.

Then, we would make our way past Chicago, and we'd continue, northward on our way to the yearly family reunions up in "America's Dairyland" - that's Wisconsin. My mom was a dairy farmer's daughter.

To me, the tallest building in Chicago will always be the "Sears Tower" - and that's what I'll be calling it in this section.

Chicago

To the left of the photo, the Sears Tower rises above Chicago as pictured on August 2017 by Tom Wible.

Photographer's note: When standing in Chicago, I should have relocated myself away from the light pole before snapping the shutter.

Regardless of all that, present-day, in year 2026 I have created an image carousel to include a better version. Go ahead and click the image carousel. Then, see the notes, below.

Clicking-through the photo carousel, within the second version are treated to nearly same photo of Chicago - with that pesky light pole removed from the photo. The light pole was removed using Google Gemini AI and Nano Banana.

The view from the 103rd floor of the Sears Tower:

Sears Tower

110 floors according to Wikipedia.

Until recently, the Sears Tower had been the tallest building in the world.

In year 2026, the Sears Tower is now the 23rd largest skyscraper in the world - according to Wikipedia

Saint Louis, Missouri

Gateway Arch Pictured by Tom Wible, July 2013

Driving past the Gateway Arch on a sunny day during September 2017. Pictured from the second row, bucket seat of a Dodge Caravan.

As kids growing up in Ohio, we had always referred to it, simply, as "the Saint Louis Arch" or "The Arch."

The Saint Louis Arch is 63 stories tall according to the website: Gatewayarch.com

Have you ever been to Saint Louis?

The view from the top of Gateway Arch

Cargill

A barge on the Mississippi

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Burj Khalifa
World's tallest skyscraper at a remarkable 163 floors according to Wikipedia.

Toronto, Ontario in Canada

CN Tower

10th largest skyscraper in the world
114 floors according to Wikipedia

Houston, Texas

Skyscrapers as viewed from the tour bus.

***PICTURE OF DOUBLE DECKER HOUSTON TOUR BUS GOES HERE***

Pictured above: The bus for Houston's Official Tour - which I really enjoyed during a spring 2025 trip to Houston. Fellow tourists grayed out using AI. I'll probably re-do it later by hand.

More details about the tour at: https://houstoncitytours.us/

Two of Houston's countless tall buildings are pictured, below. I photographed these while I was enjoying the double decker bus tour: