List of tallest buildings and structures in Belfast Facts for Kids

The Obel Tower in Belfast is 86 meters (282 feet) tall. It's the tallest building in Ireland!

Welcome to Belfast, a city in Northern Ireland! This page is all about the tallest buildings and structures you can find here. We'll explore how high they reach into the sky.

Belfast has many tall structures. At least 10 of them are taller than 80 meters (262 feet). Plus, there are at least 36 buildings where people live or work that are taller than 45 meters (148 feet). Let's discover these giants!

Tallest Buildings and Structures by Type
Belfast's Tallest Structures
Belfast's Tallest Habitable Buildings
Tallest Non-Habitable Buildings
Tallest Demolished Buildings
Future Tall Buildings in Belfast
- Under Construction
- Approved Buildings
History of Belfast's Tallest Building
See also

Tallest Buildings and Structures by Type

The Albert Memorial Clock.

The tallest building in Belfast is the Obel Tower. It stands 86 meters (282 feet) tall. It's not just the tallest in Belfast, but also in all of Northern Ireland and the entire island of Ireland!
The tallest structure in Belfast is the Black Mountain transmission station. This huge mast sends out TV and radio signals. It's an amazing 228.6 meters (750 feet) high.
The tallest freestanding structure that people can actually use is the "Samson" crane. It's a giant shipbuilding crane at Harland and Wolff, reaching 106 meters (348 feet).
The tallest chimney belongs to the Belfast City Hospital. It's 95 meters (312 feet) tall.
The tallest church is Belfast (St. Anne's) Cathedral. Its spire reaches 80 meters (262 feet) into the sky.
The tallest clock is the Albert Memorial Clock. It stands 34.4 meters (113 feet) high.

Belfast's Tallest Structures

This list shows the 8 tallest structures in Belfast. A "structure" can be anything built, like a mast or a crane, not just a building where people live or work.

Belfast's Tallest Structures
Rank	Name	What it's used for	Height (meters)	Height (feet)	Floors	Year built	Notes
1	Black Mountain transmitting station	TV and Radio mast	228.6	750	N/A	1959
=2	Divis transmitting station	TV mast	166	545	N/A	2011
4	"Samson"	Shipbuilding Crane	106	348	N/A	1974
5	Belfast Ship repair Quay crane	Ship repair Crane	104	341	N/A	Unknown
6	"Goliath"	Shipbuilding Crane	96	316	N/A	1969
7	Belfast City Hospital Chimney	Chimney	95	312	N/A	1986
8	Grand Central Hotel	Hotel	93	305	23	1975	This height includes the plant floor, elevator shaft, and radio mast.
9	Obel	Homes	86	281	28	2010
10	St Anne's Cathedral	Church	80	262	N/A	2007

Belfast's Tallest Habitable Buildings

"Habitable buildings" are places where people live, work, or visit regularly. This list shows the tallest ones in Belfast.

Belfast's Tallest Buildings
Rank	Name	What it's used for	Image	Height (meters)	Height (feet)	Floors	Year built	Notes
1	Obel	Homes		86	282	28	2010
2	Grand Central Hotel	Hotel		80	262	23	1975
3	Belfast City Hospital Tower	Hospital		76	249	15	1986
4	City Quays 3	Offices		74	243	16	2021
5	The Ewart	Offices		73	240	17	2021	Also known as "R2D2" because it looks a bit like the Star Wars droid!
6	Belfast International Hilton Hotel	Hotel		63	207	16	1998
7	BT Riverside Tower	Offices		62	203	14	1998
8	Divis Tower	Homes		61	200	20	1966
9=	The Boat	Offices/Homes		57	187	15	2010
9=	Royal Victoria Hospital Critical Care Building	Hospital		57	187	12	2012
11=	Linum Square	Offices		55	180	13	2005
11=	Causeway Tower	Offices		55	180	13	2004
11=	Great Northern Tower	Offices		55	180	13	1992
14	Ulster University Belfast Campus	University		52	171	13	2021
15	Grainne House	Homes		52	171	17	1968
16	Europa Hotel	Hotel		51	167	13	1971
17	Lanyon Plaza	Offices		50	164	12	2014
18=	Bedford House	Offices		49	161	12	1966
18=	River House	Offices		49	161	14	1970	The outside of the building was updated in 2018.
18=	Ferndale House Parkdale House Riverdale House	Homes		49	161	15	1965
18=	Coolemoyne House Rathmoyne House	Homes		49	161	15	1962
25	Queen's University Medical Biology Centre (MBC)	University		48	158	12	1969
26	Swanston House 41-49 Queen street	Student Homes		47	155	14	2016
27=	14 Great Victoria Street	Offices		46	151	11	2003
27=	Fanum House	Offices		46	151	13	1965
27=	Dundonald House	Offices		46	151	12	Early 1960s
27=	Ashby Building	University		46	151	11	1965
27=	101 York Street	Student Homes		46	151	14	2021
32=	Kilbroney House	Homes		45	148	15	1967
32=	Carnet House	Homes		45	148	15	1966
32=	Bradbury Court	Homes		45	148	15	Early 1960s
32=	FX, 14-18 Montgomery Street	Homes		45	148	15	2019
32=	Maldron Hotel	Hotel		45	148	15	2018
32=	Elms BT2, McClintock Street	Student Homes		45	148	16	2018

Tallest Non-Habitable Buildings

These are tall buildings in Belfast that are not mainly used for living or working. Their height often comes from features like spires or large storage areas.

Rank	Name	What it's used for	Height (meters)	Height (feet)	Year built
1	St Anne's Cathedral	Church	80	262	2007
2	St Patrick's Church, Belfast	Church	55	180	1877
3	West Twin Silos	Warehouse	54	177	1963
4	Belfast City Hall	Government Building	53	174	1906
5	Carlisle Memorial Church	Former Church, now a venue	52	171	1875
6	St Peter's Cathedral, Belfast	Church	50	164	1866

Tallest Demolished Buildings

Here are some tall buildings and structures in Belfast that were once important but have since been taken down.

Name	What it was used for	Height (meters)	Floors	Notes
Divis Transmitting station (old)	TV Masts	Mast A =140.7 Mast B=139.5	N/A	Built in 1957, these masts were replaced in 2011.
Power station West 3 Chimneys	Power station Chimneys	80	N/A	Opened in 1962, this power station closed in 2002. Its chimneys were taken down in 2007.
Churchill House	Offices	66	18	When built in 1966, it was Belfast's tallest building. It was demolished in 2004. The Victoria Square Shopping Centre now stands where it once was.
Greeves' (Cupar Street) mill chimney	Chimney	66	N/A	This was once the tallest chimney in Ireland. It had to be taken down because it became unsafe.
Belfast Wheel	Observation wheel	60	N/A	This giant Ferris wheel was open from 2007 to 2010. It was removed because it blocked the view of Belfast City Hall.

Future Tall Buildings in Belfast

This section looks at buildings that are currently being built, or have been approved to be built, in Belfast.

Under Construction

These buildings are being built right now!

Name	Image	What it will be used for	Height (meters)	Floors	Notes
Royal Victoria Children's Hospital	*Add when crane erected	Hospital	61 (65 with structure)	12	The old building on this site is being taken down to make way for the new hospital.
Bruce Street Student Accommodation		Student Homes	51	15	Construction is underway, and the main structure is rising.
Loftlines	add pic when crane up	Homes	57 (max)	18 (max)	Construction began in June 2023.

The Obel Tower being built. It had the tallest flat tower crane ever in Belfast, at 106 meters tall!

Approved Buildings

These buildings have been given permission to be built in Belfast.

Name	What it will be used for	Height (meters)	Floors	Notes
City Quay 4	Homes	76.4	23	This building was approved in January 2024.
Royal Victoria Hospital energy centre	Power station	70 (chimney stack)	N/A	This structure will help power the hospital. It was approved in December 2021.
21-29 Corporation Street	Mixed use	63	19	This building, which will have different uses, was approved in January 2024.
Sirocco Waterside Quays office	Offices	58.3	13	Approved in 2020.
One Bankmore Square design 2	Offices and Student Homes	58 and 56	14 and 17	Approved in April 2024. Construction is planned to start in September 2024.
The Residence	Homes	57.5	19	Approved in November 2020.
Lanyon View Dalton Street	Homes	56.7	17	Approved in 2019.
Belfast Harbour 480 mW gas power station	Power station	54.2	N/A	Approved in 2019. This is a large structure, not a habitable building.
River Walk	Homes	54	17	Approved in 2020.
81-87 Academy Street	Homes	54	16	Approved in 2019 and again in 2021.
Bedford Yard	Aparthotel	45	13	Approved in 2020 and again in 2021.

History of Belfast's Tallest Building

It's interesting to see how the tallest building in Belfast has changed over the years!

Name	Years it was tallest	Height (meters)
St. Peter's Cathedral	1866-1875	50
Carlisle Memorial Church	1875-1877	52
St Patrick's Church	1877-1966	55
Churchill House	1966-1975	66
Windsor House (Grand Central Hotel)	1975-2007 (tallest alone) 2007-2010 (joint tallest)	80
Belfast (St. Anne's) Cathedral	2007-2010 (joint tallest)	80
Obel Tower	2010-Present	86

List of tallest buildings and structures in Belfast facts for kids

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