Why the Tallest Buildings in New York City Are Built on the Widest Streets

Jared Ebersole of Lectec explained how, in 1915, the very first zoning law in New York City required that, the higher the buildings went, the farther they had to pull back from the street so as not to block the sun. This had a significant effect on city architecture, as all buildings now had to form a “V” shape. And the taller the building, the larger the “V”. The city had already planned in 1811 for three streets to be extra wide at 100 feet, while the rest of the grid was 60 feet wide.

Picture a V shape starting at the center of the street and angling upward. Your building had to fit inside that V. And in order to get maximum floor space, developers built to the exact edge of the envelope. So this created those wedding cake skyscrapers built in the 20s and 30s. But the size of the V depends on one thing, street width.

Ebersole cited the streets that featured such renowned skyscrapers as the Empire State Building on 34th Street, the Chrysler Building on 42nd Street, and Billionaire Row on 57th Street.

That’s why the Empire State, Chrysler, and Billionaires Row are all the widest streets with a wider V. Because a 100 ft street lets you rise straight to 200 ft versus a 60 ft street caps you at just 120. So that’s an extra 80 ft or eight extra floors at full building width before any setback, which means more rentable space and more profit.

Thanks Chip Beale!