This is the smallest skyscraper in the world
A building in Wichita Falls, Texas, earned the reputation of “world’s smallest skyscraper“.
Newby McMahon Building measures little over 12 meters in height, is three meters wide and has four floors. The building was “nicknamed” as the “world’s smallest skyscraper” in the early 1920s, at „Ripley’s Believe It or Not!”.
The explanation is simple: in 1912, the city of Burkburnett experienced a boom in economical development, after oil was discovered in the area. Wichita Falls, located nearby, also started expanding, with numerous new homes and office buildings rising in those years.
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At the same time, J.D. McMahon, a businessman in the oil industry, announced he intends to build a ”high rise” building and even persuaded several people to invest in that project.
It all proved to be a scam. McMahon’s building was only 12 meters tall, and not 146 meters as promised, and he ran away with the money.
Even though the investors filed a lawsuit against him, the court finally decided that the man was innocent.
The years that followed, the building was rented a few times and then abandoned for a while. It was later restores, and it is now protected by the law and included in the National Registry of Historic Landmarks.
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