The height of structures in the United States has historically been poorly documented. However the data is a matter of public record, appearing in documents maintained by the Federal Aviation Administration and Federal Communications Commission.
This list is populated heavily by antenna
masts. The engineering aspects of
super-tall masts are highly specialized. Only four companies erect
the majority of such structures: Doty Moore Tower Services (Cedar
Hill, TX); Klein Towers (Columbia, SC); LeBlanc Royal Telecom
(Oakville, ON); and Stainless Inc. (North Wales, PA). The design
and construction are largely governed by RS222E
EIA standards. A 1000 ft (305
m) mast costs between $0.7 and $1.1 million to build, while a 2000
ft (610 m) mast costs $2.4 to $4 million. Prices generally vary
depending on tower capacity and wind loading specifications.
A common
misperception is that landmarks such as the Stratosphere
Tower
are the tallest United States structures, but they
are in fact the tallest buildings. Likewise Taipei 101
is often misrepresented as the world's tallest
structure, but in fact is far eclipsed by antenna towers in over a
dozen states in the United States.
In the United States, the
FAA and the
FCC must approve all
towers exceeding 200 ft (61 m) high. Furthermore, it is very
difficult to get permission for structures over 2000 ft (610 m)
high. The FCC presumes them to be inconsistent with the public
interest, while the FAA presumes them to be a hazard to air
navigation, resulting in poor airspace usage. A significant burden
of proof is placed on the applicant to show that such a structure
is in the public's best interests. Only when both agencies have
resolved all legal, safety, and management concerns is such an
application approved.
Since 1978 the United States has maintained eleven tethered
aerostat sites along the southern
borders. These balloons rise to 18,000 ft (5500 m), carrying radar
units for drug interdiction purposes. However since the balloons
are aided by buoyancy and are not permanent they are not considered
true structures.
State-by-state listing
Alabama
- WTTO Television Tower (Birmingham
WB-21)
- Height: 2000 ft (610 m)
- Windham Springs
( )
- Year built: 1986
- Owner: Sinclair
- At 2000 ft (610 m), this structure ties about a dozen others
across the United States as the fifth tallest structure in the
world.
- American Tower Pensacola Site
- Height: 2000 ft (610 m)
- Robertsdale, Alabama
- Heaviest Tower Ever Stacked
- 13 inch solid legs
- 3 1/2" guy wires
Alaska
- LORAN-C transmitter Port
Clarence
- Height: 1350 ft (411 m)
- Port Clarence
( )
- Year built: 1961
- Owner: U.S. Coast Guard
- This tower puts out 1 megawatt of long-wave radio energy to
help ships in the Gulf of Alaska and the North Pacific navigate.
LORSTA (Loran Station) Port Clarence is currently being studied
with a view toward refurbishment or replacement, and if the latter
will be dismantled. The runner up in Alaska for height is the 808
ft (246 m) public telecommunications tower at Knik near Anchorage (
).
Arizona
- Navajo Generating Station
- Height: 775 ft (236 m)
- Page
(
)
- Year built: 1972
- Owner: Salt River Project
- The Navajo coal-fired power plant, generating up to 2250 MW of
power, is located 4 miles (6 km) east of Page, and boasts three 775
ft (236 m) reinforced concrete chimneys. In 1991 the EPA faulted
the station for producing haze around the Grand Canyon, and in 1994
a study was done to investigate demolition requirements. However
the studies never reached fruition.
- The tallest radio tower is the 650 ft (198 m) KSZR (97.5) tower
in Oro Valley near Tucson.
Arkansas
California
- KXTV/KOVR/KCRA Tower at
472.1 m
- KXTV/KOVR Television Tower
(Sacramento)
- Height: 2007 ft (624.5 m)
- Walnut Grove
( )
- Year built: 2000
- Owner: Gannett/CBS
- This
is the fourth tallest structure in the world, just behind KVLY-TV mast
and KXJB-TV
mast
in North Dakota (Burj Dubai
is the tallest man made structure in the
world). KXTV is ABC 10, while KOVR is CBS 13, all for
Sacramento and Stockton. The tower has been used for research ozone
sampling at different heights.
Close to it, there are the 608.7 metre high
Channel 40 Tower and the 609.7 metre high
Hearst-Argyle Tower.
Colorado
- Radio communications tower: KTNI,
KONN
- Height: 1996 ft (608 m)
- Hoyt
(
)
- Year built: 2003
- Owner: Denver Radio Tower Company
- The primary reason for the tower is to get radio stations who
do not have license for the Denver area to get into the Denver area
(big advertising bucks). According to Raymond Morris, "I was the
previous owner of the land on which the tower was located. I was
trying to negotiate a lease with them, but the going got tough and
I ended up selling 367.3 acres [1.5 km²] from a larger piece of
land, (4000 feet x 4000 feet) [1.2 by 1.2 km]."
Connecticut
Delaware
- WBOC Television Tower (Salisbury CBS 16)
- Height: 1002 ft (305 m)
- Sharptown ( )
- Year built: 1982
- Owner: WBOC
District of Columbia
- Hughes Memorial Tower
- Height: 765 ft (232 m)
- Washington
( )
- Year built: 1989
- Owner: District of Columbia Office of Property Management
- Operator: Washington DC Police Department
Florida
- WTVY-TV Tower (Dothan, Alabama)
- Height: 1901 ft (579 m) 2,049 ft ASL
- Bethlehem
( )
- Year built: 1978
- Owner: Gray Television
- WCIX TV Tower Homestead, FL
- Height: 549 m
- Destroyed in 1992
- Rebuilt
- Green and Blue Diamond Condominium (Residential)
Georgia
- WCTV
Television Tower
(Tallahassee
CBS 6)
- Height: 2000 ft (609 m)
- Metcalf
( )
- Year built: 1987
- Owner: Gray Midamerica TV
- At 2000 ft (609 m), this structure ties about a dozen others
across the United States as the fifth tallest structure in the
world.
Hawaii
- Navy VLF Antenna Farm
- Height: 1503 ft (458 m)
- Lualualei ( )
- Year built: 1972
- Owner: U.S. Navy / ROICC Pearl Harbor
- The record-holder is held by two towers, exactly identical,
that reach 1503 ft (458 m) in height. They are used to communicate
with submarines throughout the Pacific basin. The second tallest
structure is the KHON-TV (Honolulu Fox 2) tower at 500 ft (152 m)
located at .
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
- AFLAC Tower
- Height: 2000ft (609.4 m)
- Rowley
(42°24'02.0" N, 91°50'37.0" W )
- Year built: 1984
Kansas
- KWCH Television Tower (Wichita CBS
12)
- Height: 1501 ft (458 m)
- Burrton
( )
- Year built: 1963
- Owner: Media General Operations
- This was KTVH-TV until 1983, when it became KWCH-TV. Signal
also broadcast on DT on Ch 19.
Kentucky
Louisiana
- WCKW/KSTE Radio Tower (New
Orleans 92.3/104.1 FM)
- Height: 2000 ft (610 m)
- Vacherie
( )
- Year built: 1986
- Owner: Clear Channel Broadcasting
- At 2000 ft (610 m), this structure ties about a dozen others
across the United States as the fifth tallest structure in the
world.
Maine
- WMTW Television Tower
(Portland ABC 8)
- Height: 1667 ft (508 m)
- Baldwin
( )
- Year built: 2001
- Owner: Hearst-Argyle
- This tower was built in 2001 to replace WMTW's transmitting
facility atop Mount Washington (read about the perils of this site
here). It began transmitting on February
5, 2002. The second tallest structure is the
WGME
tower
in Portland, which measures 1624 ft (495
m).
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
- KPXM Television Tower (Minneapolis
PAX 41)
- Height: 1505 ft (459 m)
- Big Lake
( )
- Year built: 1997
- Owner: Paxson Minneapolis / KXLI
- This station is licensed to St. Cloud; attempts to cover both
that city and Minneapolis/St. Paul from a site between the two
cities; and was formerly known as KXLI-TV.
Mississippi
Missouri
-
- At 2000 ft (609.6 m), these structures tie about a dozen others
across the United States as the fifth tallest structures in the
world.
- KOZK Television Tower
(Springfield PBS 21)
- Height: 1960 ft (597.4 m)
- Fordland
( )
- Year built: 1971
- Owner: Missouri State University (Former SW Missouri State
University)
Montana
Nebraska
- KLKN
Television Tower
(Lincoln
ABC 8)
- Height: 1854 ft (565 m)
- Genoa
(
)
- Year built: 1969
- Owner: Citadel Communications
- The KDUH-TV tower of 1965 ft (599 m) at Hemingford, NE
collapsed in early 2003 during reinforcement work. The Duhamel Broadcasting Tower
Angora was constructed about 30 miles away and was completed in
September 2003. The replacement tower is 160 m (about 500 ft)
shorter than the original. KXVO and KPTM in Omaha (which are
co-owned) have an FCC construction permit to build a taller tower
that would put their antennas 577 m (roughly 1900 ft) up.
Was there
also a 2000 ft-mast at Hemingford
, Nebraska
, which collapsed in 2002 and which was
r?
Nevada
- BREN
Tower
- Height: 1527 ft (465 m)
- Nevada Test Site
( )
- Year built: 1962
- Owner: Department
of Energy
- The BREN Tower, located in Jackass Flats (Area 25) of the
Nevada Test Site, is a mast that was built for nuclear radiation
testing. The 345 ton structure was constructed by Columbus, Ohio
based Dresser-Ideco in 1962. It was originally erected in Yucca Flat (Area 4) before being dismantled in
1966 and moved to Area 25. The mast is owned by the Department of
Energy and maintained by National Security Technologies.
The
second tallest structure in Nevada is the Moapa Entravision Tower at Moapa, a
426.7 metres tall guyed TV mast at Moapa erected in 2008, the third
tallest 401 metres tall Moapa Kemp Tower at Moapa, the fourth
tallest is Stratosphere
Tower
near downtown Las Vegas
, which was erected in 1994-96 and reaches 1149 ft
(350 m) and 921 ft (281 m) without the mast. It is also the
second-tallest freestanding structure in the western U.S. after the
Kennecott Smoke Stack in Utah; BREN Tower is secured by wires.
New Hampshire
- Abandoned WLRP tower
- Height: 663 ft (202 m)
- Winchester
( )
- Year built: 1966
- Owner: Gunn Mountain Communications
- Formerly was used for WRLP-32. Antenna and transmitter site has
been abandoned since 1978.
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
- WRAL HDTV Mast
- Height: 2000 ft (609.5 m)
- Auburn
( )
- Built in 1989 as replacement for two masts of the same height,
which collapsed during a blizzard.
North Dakota
- KVLY Television Tower (Fargo
NBC 11)
- Height: 2063 ft (629 m)
- Blanchard
( )
- Year built: 1963
- Owner: Meyer Broadcasting
- This tower was known as the KTHI Television Tower until June
1995. It
is the second tallest structure in the world, eclipsed only by the
still-under-construction Burj Dubai in Dubai
, United Arab
Emirates
, planned for completion in 2009. From 1974 until its collapse in 1991, the
Warsaw Radio mast in Poland also eclipsed the KVLY-TV mast.
- KXJB Television Tower (Fargo/Valley City
CBS 4)
- Height: 2060 ft (628 m)
- Galesburg
( )
- Year built: 1998
- The KXJB tower is the world's third largest man-made structure.
It had collapsed three times due to winter and summer storms,
though the first time it collapsed in 1968, it was caused from a
Marine helicopter cutting four guy wires of the tower.
The KVLY TV tower, the world's second-largest man-made structure is
only about six miles from the KXJB tower.
Ohio
- WNWO Television
Tower (Toledo
NBC
24)
- Height: 1437 ft (438 m)
- Oregon
(
)
- Year built: 1983
- Owner: Barrington Broadcasting
- There was a taller tower from 1987 or 1988 until 1994 or 1995
when it was dismantled. It belonged to WCOM-TV (Mansfield Ind 68)
and was located just south of Butler, Ohio. WCOM-TV signed on
March 3, 1988. Height of
the tower was 1576 ft. WCOM-TV used the tall tower and a
directional antenna to try to serve the Columbus market. The station went dark in 1991
and the tower was sold to a religious broadcaster in South Carolina
to be used as two separate 800 ft towers. An engineer recently
reported that part of the tower was still on the ground in Sumter,
South Carolina.
Oklahoma
- Perry Broadcasting
Tower (KVSP 103.5 FM)
- Height: 2000 ft (609.5 m)
- Carnegie
( )
- FCC database lists tower as being in Alfalfa, OK, a
nonincorporated community north of Carnegie, OK
- At 2000 ft, this is the tallest structure in Oklahoma.
- It currently is used solely for the broadcast of KVSP 103.5 FM
(Power 103.5), with studios in Oklahoma City.
- Year built: 2004
- Owner: Perry Broadcasting of Southwest Oklahoma
- KTUL
Television Tower
(Tulsa
ABC 8)
- Height: 1909 ft (582 m)
- Coweta
( )
- Year built: 1988
- Owner: KTUL, LLC
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
- WIMZ-FM Tower
- Height: 1752 ft (534 m)
- Knoxville
( )
- Year built: 1963
- Owner: South Central Communications
- The tower is home to WIMZ-FM 103.5, whose antenna is at the
top. The
tower itself is located one mile east of House
Mountain
, and stands 1,752 ft (479 m) above ground
level. When used for television broadcasts by its
former owner, Multimedia, Incorporated (former licensee of WBIR-TV
, Knoxville) it was shielded by mountains from
the audience in the western Knoxville suburbs like Farragut, Oak
Ridge, and Oliver Springs. This tower was built, because the owners
of WBIR-TV could not obtain land atop nearby House
Mountain, because the only land suitable for a
television tower base on the mountain, had been purchased by the
station's main competitor WATE-TV
, Knoxville. It was when completed for a
short time the tallest man-made structure on earth.
Texas
- Winnie Cumulus Broadcasting Tower
- Height: 2000 ft (609.6 m)
- Winnie, Texas
( )
- Year built: ?
- Tower built, although according FCC-entry listed as
granted
- KLDE Radio Tower (Houston 107.5 FM
Oldies)
- Height: 1999 ft (609.3 m)
- Liverpool
( )
- Year built: 1986
- Owner: Clear Channel Broadcasting
- Stowell Cumulus Broadcasting Tower
- Height: 1999 ft (609.3 m)
- Stowell
( )
- Year built: ?
- Tower built, although according FCC-entry listed as
granted
Height data according to FCC-entries.
Utah
- Kennecott Smokestack
- Height: 1215 ft (370 m)
- Garfield ( )
- Year built: 1978
- Owner: Kennecott Copper Corporation
- This incredibly tall smokestack was designed to help the
Garfield smelter comply with the Clean Air
Act. It is a prominent structure along the shore
of the Great
Salt Lake
adjacent to Interstate 80, about 10 miles (16 km)
west of Salt
Lake City
. The smoke rises to an altitude of 5540 ft
(1,689 m) MSL. The tallest non-smokestack structure is a
660 ft (201 m) radio mast near Plain City
, owned by the Bible Broadcasting
Network.
Vermont
Virginia
- American Towers Tower Suffolk
- Height: 1,254.9 feet (382.5 metre)
- Suffolk
at 36°48'31.8" N and 76°30'11.3"
- Year Built: 2003
- Owner: American Towers Corp. (ATC)
- WTKR-DT, WHRO-DT, WTVZ-TV/DT, WPVX-TV/DT
Washington
- Columbia Center
- Height: 967 ft (295 m)
- Seattle
, 701 Fifth Avenue ( )
- Year built: 1982-85
- Owner: Equity Office Properties
- The Columbia Center was intended to be 1005 ft (306 m) tall but
was disapproved by the FAA. It was built in 1982-85 and has 76
floors.
- KREM Tower
- The tallest antenna tower is the 940 ft (287 m) KREM (CBS-2)
tower at Spokane.
West Virginia
- WOWK Television Tower
(Huntington-Charleston CBS 13)
- Height: 1112 ft (339 m)
- Huntington
( )
- Year built: 1975
- Owner: West Virginia Media Holdings
- Became the top tower by default after the 2003 collapse of the
WVAH tower. The FCC database lists a
Huntington tower at 1158 ft (353 m) but does not indicate that it
was constructed. The WVAH tower of 1551 ft (473 m) at Scott Depot
collapsed around 10:15 am on February 19
2003 due to excessive loading from ice during a
winter storm. WVAH was the Fox 11 affiliate. The tower was located
at N38 25' 15" W81 55' 26", and was built around 1980.
Wisconsin
Wyoming
- LORAN-C facility
antenna
- Height: 700 ft (213 m)
- Gillette
( )
- Year built: ?
- Owner: U.S. Coast Guard
- A Coast Guard site in Wyoming is part of the worldwide LORAN marine navigation network, which is gradually
becoming obsolete due to GPS. The tower is
especially useful to ships plying the Great Lakes
. The antenna puts out 540 kW of power
Puerto Rico
An
incomplete lists of tallest structures in
Puerto Rico. Main reference:
FCC-database
By structural type
Tallest structures in the United States for different
uses/structural types. Please expand and/or correct, if
necessary
See also
External links
- http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?searchID=37743190
(El Dorado
NBC 10)
( )
( )
(
)
( )
(Bloomington WB 4)
( )
( )
(42°35'11.0" N, 96°13'57.0" W)
(41°49'48.0" N, 93°36'54.6" W)
(Louisville
NBC 3)
( )
( )
( )
( )
(Great Falls NBC 16)
( )
Television
Tower (Philadelphia
Telemundo 62)
( )
(Roswell
CBS 10)
( )
( )
.
(Charlotte
CBS 3)
( )
( )
( )
( )
(Pittsburgh AM 1020)
( )
( )
(Charleston CBS 5)
( )
( 34°22'3.0" N, 79°19'48.0" W)
( )
( )
( )
(Eau Claire NBC 13)
( )
( )
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