There’s something about being tall and thin that seems to reek of prestige. Consider leggy supermodels, champagne flutes, Virginia Slims cigarettes — okay, maybe that one’s a stretch. For whatever reason, marketing has equated height with accomplishment. Witness the Manhattan skyline, where it’s not just height but width (or the lack of it) that’s causing jaws to drop. The Steinway Tower, located at 111 West 57th Street, currently holds the enviable title of the world’s skinniest skyscraper. The building stands 1,428 feet tall but is no more than 60 feet wide, giving it a width ratio of 24:1. If you're having trouble imagining how wide the building is, think of it this way: It's just 6 inches shorter than the distance from the pitcher's mound to home plate in a major league baseball game. Only two other skyscrapers in New York City — One World Trade Center (1,776 feet tall) and Central Park Tower (1,550 feet tall) — are taller. Steinway Tower, so-called because it's built above the famed Steinway & Sons piano company headquarters, cost $2 billion to build and is in a high-rent district, smack-dab in the middle of the southern end of Central Park, a stretch of ultra-luxury real estate, aptly nicknamed "Billionaires Row.” The cheapest studio apartment in the 84-floor tower will set you back $7.75 million, with prices rising to more than $66 million for the penthouse — a 3-story, 7,130-square-foot apartment connected by an oval staircase. The penthouse includes 4 bedrooms, 5 baths, 14-foot ceilings, and a private elevator. As you might expect, Steinway Tower offers a few more amenities, including a 24-hour concierge and door attendant, an 82-foot swimming pool, double height fitness center, private shops and a private dining room. The only downside to living among the clouds is the building’s susceptibility to swaying — as much as 3 feet — when hit by high winds. While Steinway Tower isn’t the tallest building in the world, it’s still bold and memorable.
