At 986 feet, the Eiffel Tower was nearly double the height of the world's previous tallest structure—the 555-foot Washington Monument—when it opened in 1889. It would not be surpassed until the completion of the 1,046-foot Chrysler Building in New York in 1930.

The Chrysler Building in New York City was the first structure to officially surpass the Eiffel Tower in height. In 1929, the Eiffel Tower stood at roughly 300 meters (984 feet), a record it had held since its completion in 1889. The Chrysler Building reached a height of 319 meters (1,046 feet) in 1930, utilizing a "secret" 185-foot spire that was assembled inside the building and hoisted into place at the last minute to win a fierce height race against the nearby 40 Wall Street building. However, the Chrysler Building's reign was short-lived, as the Empire State Building surpassed it just eleven months later. Interestingly, due to the addition of various broadcasting antennas over the decades, the Eiffel Tower's current height in 2026 is actually 330 meters (1,083 feet), meaning it is technically taller than the Chrysler Building today if you include the antennas.