1

Empire State Building

Image: Afif Ramdhasuma

We’ll begin with what’s perhaps the most famous skyscraper in "The City That Never Sleeps". The Empire State Building speaks to the magnificence and grandeur of New York City: After all, it is named after the State of New York’s official nickname, "The Empire State".

At the time of its construction, the Empire State Building was the tallest building in the world, a title held for almost 40 years. Its exquisite Art Deco design and innovative architecture have turned it into an instantly recognizable icon. Perhaps more famously, it has been featured in unforgettable pictures like "Sleepless in Seattle" and "King Kong". Be honest: Whenever you see a picture of this building, can’t you almost see a humongous ape perched atop its antenna?

2

Flatiron Building

Image: Vidar Nordli-Mathisen

For many, the most remarkable feature of this iconic building is its unusual name, which comes from its also rather unusual shape. The Flatiron is considered a New York City institution, and its history is almost as inspiring as its groundbreaking design.

In its early years, the Flatiron was known by the derisive nickname "Burnham's Folly", since detractors believed that architect Daniel Burnham’s design was a laughable idea. History would prove Burnham right though, since the Flatiron is still one of the most instantly recognizable skyscrapers in the world.

3

Willis Tower

Image: Gardhy Granados

For any Chicagoan who might be reading this, we know that you probably still call this building the "Sears Tower", but we thought it would be appropriate to include the official new name of this iconic skyscraper. Located in the heart of the "Loop", the Willis Tower is a 110-story, 1,451-foot building that has truly earned its place in Chicago’s skyline.

Since its opening in 1973, Willis Tower has proudly held the title of the world’s tallest building for close to 25 years. Regardless, this juggernaut is still an American landmark and one of Chicago’s most visited tourist attractions.

4

Transamerica Pyramid

Image: Chris Leipelt

While most pictures of San Francisco’s skyline are usually dominated by the Golden Gate Bridge, visitors of "The City by the Bay" are frequently dazzled by this unusual yet breathtaking building. Completed in 1972, the Transamerica Pyramid was San Francisco’s tallest building until 2018, when it was surpassed by the Salesforce Tower.

Without a doubt, the most striking aspect of this building is its groundbreaking design: Just like San Francisco’s carefree spirit of independence, this building seems effortlessly innovative. It has been compared to other revolutionary designs, most notably to "the Shard" building in London.

5

Columbia Center

Image: Anthony Alexander

Formerly known as "the Bank of America Tower" (or BOAT for short), the Columbia Center was constructed in downtown Seattle in the early ‘80s: At the time, this imposing black skyscraper was the highest building on the West Coast. While most of this skyscraper is leased for private usage, it does house the highest public viewing area west of the Mississippi River.

The Columbia Center’s design produces a rather interesting effect: Since the building is composed of 3 separate segments joined by 2 setbacks, viewers from the street might believe the Columbia Center is made from 3 different towers set side to side.

6

The Chrysler Building

Image: Anthony Fomin

As you probably expected, many iconic skyscrapers from "The City That Never Sleeps" will be featured in this article. The Chrysler Building is an art-deco masterpiece located at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue, which holds the distinction of being the world’s very first supertall skyscraper.

This building was commissioned by (and named after) Walter Chrysler, head of the Chrysler Corporation, and its construction was marked by a friendly competition with the Empire State Building for the title of the world’s tallest building. In that sense, the Chrysler Building’s remarkable 1,046 feet height gave it this impressive title, albeit only for 11 months.

7

Wells Fargo Plaza

Image: Franky Magana

If you ever find yourself taking a stroll through Downtown Houston, you’ll definitely come across a gorgeous all-glass skyscraper. You can’t miss it: After all, the Wells Fargo Plaza is the tallest all-glass building in the entire Western Hemisphere, standing at an impressive 992 feet.

This skyscraper was formerly known as the Allied Bank Plaza and in, 1988, it was renamed to the First Interstate Bank Plaza. However, when in 1996 First Interstate Bancorp was bought by Wells Fargo, this skyscraper changed its name once again to the Wells Fargo Plaza we all know.

8

John Hancock Center

Image: Jonathan J. Castellon

Founding Father John Hancock truly deserves all the praise it can receive from the American people, so it stands to reason that he should have his name honored by a 1,128-foot supertall skyscraper. Located in the iconic "Magnificent Mile", the John Hancock Center was for a while the tallest building in Chicago, surpassed by the previously mentioned Willis Tower.

This skyscraper was completed in 1969 and it has remained a Chicago staple ever since. It houses several restaurants and offices, as well as approximately 700 condominiums. Interestingly, the John Hancock Center is the background on which the 1988 horror film "Poltergeist III" takes place: Posters for this film featured this skyscraper, with a menacing lighting bolt crossing the night sky behind it.

9

Bank of America Plaza

Image: Luis Negron

Just like the Empire State and the Chrysler buildings, the Bank of America Plaza is another wonderful example of Art Deco architecture located between Midtown and Downtown Atlanta. This gorgeous skyscraper is instantly recognizable thanks to its unusual color palette, and it holds the distinction of being the tallest building of any U.S. state capital.

If you are lucky enough to visit "the City in a Forest", try to visit the Bank of America Plaza at night. You’ll quickly notice that the stunning golden spire at the top of the building (which is actually shaped like the Plaza itself) glows alongside a gorgeous pyramid of girders, in a lovely orange hue that tries to resemble old street lights.

10

Home Insurance Building

Image: Александр Македонский

We’ll end this article by honoring an iconic skyscraper that, while it is not still standing, lives on in the proud history of our country. Standing at 138 feet, the Home Insurance Building might not seem remarkably tall by today's standards but, at the time of its construction in 1885, this Chicago historical landmark became the world’s very first skyscraper.

Due to a decrease in its occupancy, the Home Insurance Building was demolished in 1931, alongside 5 other buildings, to make way for the site on which the Field Building now stands. However, this landmark’s legacy still stands, earning its well-deserved place in history as the father of the skyscraper.

1

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta

Image: Rory McLaughlin

This festival is a visual feast. If a single hot air balloon in the sky attracts a lot of attention, imagine hundreds of them flying at the same time!

In the 1970s, a group of hot air balloon fans got together in Albuquerque, New Mexico , and decided to honor their passion by creating this festival, which was held for the first time in 1972. In that inaugural year, there were just over 10 balloons, a big difference from the hundreds and hundreds you can see at the festival today.

The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is held annually in early October and lasts for nine days! If you want to go, start planning your visit, as around 800,000 visitors attend the event every year.

2

Coachella

Image: Eric Ward

This is the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, better known as just Coachella.

With the goal of bringing together artists from different genres, Paul Tollett and Rick Van Santen launched the festival in 1999 . Set against the backdrop of the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert, the music and dancing create a unique experience.

Although it didn't take place in 2000, Coachella became an annual event starting in 2001 and has grown ever since. Considered one of the largest and most popular music festivals in the world, it attracts around 250,000 people every year.

If you want to enjoy several days of music against a beautiful landscape, you have to attend Coachella. But wait—if you decide to go, don't forget to plan your outfit carefully!

3

Mardi Gras

Image: Carol Highsmith's America

It was the French who brought this tradition to America in the late 17th century. The first American Mardi Gras took place in 1703 in Mobile, Alabama. However, the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, made the celebration famous.

Held annually during the last day of Carnival—that is, the day before Ash Wednesday—Mardi Gras displays its renowned parade full of masks and costumes attracting over a million visitors every year! The celebration is so important that it was declared a legal holiday in Louisiana so everyone can attend.

If you want to experience this incredible festivity and taste some delicious King Cake, you must go to New Orleans for Mardi Gras!

4

South by Southwest (SXSW)

Image: Joey Thompson

Roland Swenson, Louis Black, and Nick Barbaro met in Austin, Texas, in 1987 with a shared idea. They felt that local bands and musicians deserved a chance to showcase their talents. And so South by Southwest was born. Today, the event has grown so much that it is now a massive festival that celebrates not just music but also movies!

SXSW is held in Austin every March, spanning around 10 days. If you are interested in tech, entertainment , and the media industry in general, you can't miss this festival, which attracts about 500,000 people!

5

New Orleans Jazz Festival

Image: JosephHershMedia

Mardi Gras is not the only massive festivity held in New Orleans . The city also hosts the spectacular New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, a major celebration of music and culture.

As the name implies, this festival celebrates jazz music and everyone who loves and plays it, along with other genres like blues,R&B, and gospel. It was founded by George Wein, a music promoter, and was first held in 1970.

This popular event, which includes music, dance, art, and food, takes place over two weeks each spring, between April and May, attracting an impressive 500,000 visitors every year.

6

The Aloha Festival

Image: Taylor Friehl

If you are looking for paradisiacal landscapes, the Aloha Festival is your destination. It takes place every year during September, and you've probably guessed where: in the beautiful state of Hawaii .

With the aim of celebrating and honoring Hawaiian culture, this festival was established in 1946 . Today, the festival spans about two weeks, during which visitors and locals come together to enjoy hula dancing, parades, contests, and art exhibits. It is also a great opportunity to discover delicious Hawaiian dishes .

If you haven't planned your vacation yet, September is the perfect time to visit Hawaii!

7

Chicago Air and Water Show

Image: Nicolas Radzimski

If you're still thinking about the Albuquerque hot air balloon show, we have another celebration that takes place in the sky : the incredible Chicago Air and Water Show.

This show emerged in 1959 as a way to showcase the capabilities and skills of military aircraft and offer an exciting spectacle for people in Chicago. Over the years, the event has become one of the most famous air and water shows.

It is usually held during the third weekend of August. If you want to see aerial tricks and performances—including incredible moves by the famous U.S. Navy Blue Angels and U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds—this festival is the show for you. Just be sure to plan your trip in advance, as it attracts an impressive 2 million spectators each year!

8

Comic-Con

Image: Kashawn Hernandez

Perhaps all you need to create a world-famous event is a group of enthusiastic people who share the same passion as you. Such was the case for the group of comic book fans who gathered in San Diego, California, and held the first Comic-Con in 1970 . Their goal was to celebrate everything from beloved comics and iconic characters to movies, TV series, video games, and pop culture.

Today, Comic-Con has spread around the world. The San Diego convention, in particular, remains one of the most prominent, with around 140,000 people each year.

Many attendees come dressed as their favorite heroes and characters, playing the roles and trading memorabilia with other fans. The event also attracts well-known actors, authors, cartoonists, directors, and animators, so you might meet one of them during your visit!

9

The Sundance Film Festival

Image: Myke Simon

This festival was born in 1978 as the Utah/US Film Festival in Salt Lake City, with the intention of showcasing independent American cinema. A few years later, it was moved to Park City, and it was renamed the Sundance Film Festival in 1985 after Robert Redford's character in the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid .

Today, it is a major festival that showcases various film categories and genres, gathering around 120,000 people each January. In addition, the event attracts talented directors, screenwriters, and actors.

If movies are your thing, you know where to run next January!

10

Burning Man

Image: Sasha Matveeva

In 1986, Larry Harvey and Jerry James gathered on Baker Beach in San Francisco, California, and built a large wooden effigy. They then decided to set it on fire , which led to the birth of the Burning Man Festival.

What started as a spontaneous act then grew into an annual event, attracting more and more people each year. The lack of space made that, in 1990, the event was moved to the Black Rock Desert in Nevada, where it is still held today.

Each year, around 70,000 people unite in the desert for 9 days between August and September, performing artistic expressions and exchanging products and gifts. The event culminates in the incredible burning of the effigy, also known as "The Man." If you enjoy adventure and don't mind "a bit" of fire, you must attend this festival!

1

Gold Rush myths bubbled up immediately

Image: Tomáš Malík

It didn’t take long for the truth to get buried. As soon as gold was discovered, the stories started to shimmer. Tales of instant wealth, golden boulders, and rivers gleaming with nuggets.

Letters home were often exaggerated, and newspapers sensationalized every find. These myths fueled the frenzy and caused proverbial FOMO all over the world. People wanted to see it for themselves.

2

The best Western business wasn’t in fact gold

Image: Stefan Münz

If you wanted to get rich during the gold rush, you had better chances opening a store than mining. That was the golden rule for smart entrepreneurs like Levi Strauss, who didn’t strike it rich in a streambed, but in a sewing room. Another legend, Samuel Brannan, made a fortune selling picks, pans, and shovels —not gold.

3

The "49ers" were actually latecomers

Image: Emilie

The famed "49ers," the nickname for those swept up in the gold frenzy in 1849, weren’t the first on the scene. There’s a plot twist. Gold was discovered in January 1848 at Sutter’s Mill.

But the news spread slowly . By the time the world caught on, most of the easily accessible gold had already been plucked from riverbeds by locals, soldiers, and early arrivals.

4

Thousands came from China and South America

Image: rc.xyz NFT gallery

The Gold Rush was a global stampede . Tens of thousands of Chinese immigrants crossed the Pacific, some bringing generations of mining knowledge with them. Others came from Chile, Peru, and Mexico, arriving in San Francisco to find opportunity.

5

Women were there not just as camp followers

Image: Michael & Diane Weidner

Women were there too, not just as wives, but as businesswomen, cooks, hoteliers, and even miners. Take Luzena Wilson, a widow who hauled her children west and set up a boarding house for miners. Her clean beds and hot meals turned into a booming business.

Others ran laundries, tended bar, or staked their own claims. In a lawless land where survival meant creativity, many women found fortune in hard work.

6

Some came from Hawaii, Russia, and Europe

Image: Trey Hollins

They called them " Argonauts ," a romantic nod to the Greek myth of Jason and his quest for the Golden Fleece. And like the legend, the real Gold Rush was international. Adventurers came not just from the American East, but from as far as Russia’s Pacific coast, the Hawaiian Islands, and every corner of Europe.

7

Gold Rush towns became ghost towns

Image: Stefan Münz

Take Bodie, for example. A lawless hotspot where saloons outnumbered schools. At its peak, it had over 10,000 residents. A few decades later, it was all tumbleweeds and creaky wood .

Once the gold ran out, so did the people. Tools were abandoned and whole towns vanished almost overnight, leaving behind eerie remnants.

8

The "Gold Fever" spread worldwide

Image: suradeach saetang

Once word of gold reached distant shores, "gold fever" spread around the world . Australia had its own rush by 1851. The Klondike in Canada followed in the 1890s, and South Africa’s rich deposits turned Johannesburg into a boomtown in the 1880s.

Prospectors chased hope, not just gold. Each new report of found gold sparked a fresh migration, with fortune-seekers packing up and heading to the hot spots.

9

Gold mining required team effort

Image: Elena Mozhvilo

Forget the image of the lone prospector whistling by the river . That only worked for a short time.

As surface gold dried up, miners turned to hard labor, which involved blasting rock, diverting rivers, and eventually using powerful water cannons in a process called hydraulic mining. It was expensive. Teams of men pooled resources, hired help, and invested in equipment.

10

Many "Gold Seekers" never even made it to California

Image: James Lee

Getting to California in the 1840s was no stroll through the prairie. Hundreds of the hopefuls who set out never arrived. Some perished on the overland trails due to disease, accidents, or exhaustion.

The sea route around Cape Horn was no solution; it was just longer and colder. Some turned back. Others settled in Oregon or Utah. A few found fortune far from the gold fields.

11

The "Gold Rush" fueled California's statehood

Image: Emre Ayata

In 1848, California was a sleepy outpost with little U.S. oversight. By 1850, it had boomed into a booming, brawling land with more than enough people.

The rush had brought merchants, farmers, lawyers, and politicians. With them came the push for schools, railroads, and laws. California skipped the usual phase of being a U.S. territory and leapfrogged straight into statehood.

12

Women and children wrote some of the best eyewitness accounts

Image: The Cleveland Museum of Art

Some of the most vivid details of this era came from women and children who chronicled the chaos . Their letters and diaries tell of lonely cabins, muddy streets, makeshift schools, and the daily drama of camp life.

Women like Louise Clappe (aka "Dame Shirley") wrote witty, unfiltered dispatches from the Sierra Nevada. Young girls described the thrill of arriving in San Francisco and the terror of crossing the plains.

13

The Gold Rush didn't end in 1850

Image: Michael & Diane Weidner

By the time most folks arrived, the easy pickings were gone, and the story was just getting started.

The gold fever didn’t vanish in a year. Prospecting surged well into the 1850s and beyond. Some of the biggest strikes, like Nevada’s Comstock Lode in 1859, came after the main rush was supposedly over. By then, mining had evolved into an industrial enterprise, with machinery, corporations, and deeper digs.