History of the world's tallest buildings <nowiki>*</nowiki> – Also set record at time of completion as tallest building ever built. The height of Lincoln Cathedral is disputed by some, but accepted by most sources. The completion date for the spire is given as 1311 rather than 1300 by some sources. Also the height of the spire of Old St Paul's Cathedral, destroyed by lightning in 1561, is disputed, for example Christopher Wren (1632–1723) judged that an overestimate and gave a height of . The spire of Mole Antonelliana in Turin, completed in 1889, is claimed to have been tall; however, the upper part of the structure
Woodmen of the World Building (Omaha, Nebraska) purchased the Sheely Building in 1900 for $60,000 and applied its own name to the headquarters, but the building was too small for a rapidly growing business. The new WOW building would be 19 stories, the tallest building between Chicago and the West coast, at the time of its dedication in 1912. It was the tallest building in Downtown Omaha from 1912 to 1919. The Italian Renaissance skyscraper featured exterior decorations of pink granite and terracotta. It included a motor operated revolving door opening into a lobby with a 30-foot high ceiling. Six elevators carried tenants to the upper floors.