Ten Interesting Building Facts← Back




1)
The Cathedral of Notre Dame in Amiens, built in the Middle Ages, covers 8,500 square yards and took 137 years to complete. When it was completed, the entire population of the city, around 10,000, could attend the same service





2) 
The seven spikes atop the Statue of Liberty’s head represent the seven seas and seven continents of the world. 
 


3)
The pyramid is estimated to have around 2,300,000 stone blocks that weigh from 2 to 30 tons each and there are even some blocks that weigh over 50 tons.




4)
On a clear day, you can see four states from the top of Chicago’s Willis Tower (formally known as the Sears Tower) : Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Michigan. 
The building features six robotic window-washing machines mounted on the roof to make sure the view is clear for tourists. 





5)
Hoover Dam is 726 feet tall and 660 feet thick at its base. Enough rock was excavated in its construction to build the Great Wall of China. 






6)
You would need to cover an area the size of Wales with wind turbines to meet one-sixth of the UK’s daily energy needs.






7)
The Chrysler Building in New York was built at a time when there was a strong desire to build the world’s tallest skyscraper, before being overtaken by the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building was the world’s tallest for around 11 months. During the construction, floors were being completed at a staggering four per week. Despite the rush, no workers died during its construction. 






8)
Restoration work in 1990 and 2001 shifted the Leaning Tower of Pisa back to an angle of 4 degrees after it was previously leaning at an angle of 5.5 degrees.




9)
Burj Khalifa, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, was completed in January 2010 and became the world’s tallest building at 2,716 feet (828m) and 160 stories. It contains the world’s fastest elevators, 20.7 acres of glass, and is expected to use about 250,000 gallons of water per day. 





10)
In 1915, the lock millionaire Cecil Chubb bought his wife Stonehenge. She didn’t like it, so in 1918 he gave it to the nation. 


 

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