My, What a Big Spire—Durst’s One Bryant Park to Become City’s Second-Tallest Building

Move over Chrysler Building, a new player is assuming the No. 2 position on the New York City skyline.

With a growing spire at its top, Douglas Durst’s glass-clad Bank of America tower at One Bryant Park plans to surpass the Chrysler Building’s 1,048 feet this week, according to a Durst Organization spokesman. That will put it second only to the 1,250-foot Empire State Building (with its radio antenna, the Empire State Building reaches more than 1,450 feet). The uncompleted spire, as of Tuesday, stands at 1,037 feet, the spokesman said.

Of course, given that a building’s height is traditionally measured at the “structural top” of a tower (which includes spires but not radio antennas), it certainly helps Mr. Durst that he opted to build an unusually tall spire of more than 250 feet. The top of the 54-story building, spire not included, is 945 feet, according to the Durst Organization.

For Mr. Durst, the fun won’t last all that long. The Freedom Tower, expected to be completed in 2012, plans a spire reaching 1,776 feet, and World Trade Center Tower 2 is designed to exceed 1,200 feet.