List of tallest buildings in Sydney facts for kids

Sydney central business district seen from North Sydney, August 2022

Sydney, Australia's biggest city, has over 1,100 tall buildings. Many of these are skyscrapers, which are buildings taller than 150 meters (about 492 feet). Sydney has 57 buildings over 150 meters tall, and 18 of them are even taller than 200 meters (about 656 feet). This makes Sydney a city with many impressive skyscrapers.

Most of Sydney's tallest buildings are in the main city area, called the central business district (CBD). But in recent years, other areas like Parramatta, North Sydney, and Chatswood have also seen many new skyscrapers built. This means Sydney has the most skyscrapers outside its main city center in Australia.

Sydney was one of the first cities in the world to build skyscrapers in the mid-1900s, similar to cities like New York City and Chicago in the U.S. Many buildings in Sydney have held the title of Australia's tallest over the years. In 1967, the Australia Square tower became Australia's first true skyscraper, standing 170 meters (557 feet) tall. Since 2020, Crown Sydney has been Sydney's tallest building, reaching 271 meters (889 feet). It is also the 4th tallest building in Australia.

Sydney's Tall Building History

Early Tall Buildings (1800s)

Sydney's first tallest building was St James' Church, built in 1824. It was 52 meters (170 feet) tall. Later, the Sydney Town Hall became taller in 1878, with its clock tower reaching 57 meters (187 feet).

Briefly, the Garden Palace was the tallest at 64 meters (210 feet) in 1879. But it burned down in 1882. So, the Town Hall was Sydney's tallest again until 1891. That's when the General Post Office (GPO) was finished. It stood 73 meters (240 feet) tall and was considered very grand.

Building Booms and Rules (1900s)

The Circular Quay and city skyline in the 1920s

As the 1900s began, new building methods and expensive land made tall buildings popular. In 1912, Culwulla Chambers became Sydney's first high-rise office building, at 50 meters (164 feet) tall.

However, people worried about fires in these tall buildings. Firefighters couldn't reach the top floors. Also, some people thought tall buildings looked bad and caused too much crowding. Because of these concerns, a law was passed in 1912. It limited all new buildings to 46 meters (151 feet) tall. This rule stopped buildings from growing taller until 1957.

Despite the height limits, the AWA Tower was completed in 1939. It finally beat the GPO's record, standing 112 meters (367 feet) tall. It was Sydney's first building over 100 meters (328 feet) and remained the tallest until 1962.

The 1960s and 1970s

The Sydney skyline in 1970. You can see Australia Square and the AMP Building.

In 1957, the 46-meter height limit was removed. This led to a big building boom in Sydney. Many new towers were built, becoming the tallest in Australia.

In 1962, the AMP Building was finished, reaching 115 meters (377 feet). It was the tallest in Australia. Soon after, in 1967, Australia Square was completed. It took the title at 170 meters (557 feet) tall. Australia Square was Australia's first true skyscraper, meaning it was over 150 meters tall.

The 1970s continued this building growth. In 1976, the AMP Centre (now Quay Quarter Tower) reached 188 meters (617 feet). This record was quickly broken in 1977 by the MLC Centre, which stood at 228 meters (748 feet). It was the first building in Australia to go over 200 meters (656 feet).

The 1980s and 1990s

Since 1981, the Sydney Tower has been the tallest structure in Sydney, at 309 meters (1,014 feet). However, it's an observation tower, not a building.

In 1992, the Chifley Tower became Sydney's tallest building, at 244 meters (801 feet). The 1990s also saw many residential skyscrapers built. The Peak was finished in 1996 at 168 meters (551 feet). Then, the Century Tower followed in 1997, reaching 183 meters (600 feet).

The 2000s and Beyond

For a long time, Sydney had a height limit of 235 meters (771 feet) for buildings. But this rule was changed in 2016. Now, buildings can be as tall as 310 meters (1,017 feet), as long as they don't cast too much shadow on public spaces. This limit was even raised to 330 meters (1,083 feet) in late 2019.

Sydney's current tallest building is Crown Sydney. It was completed in 2020 and stands 271 meters (889 feet) tall. It took the title from the Chifley Tower.

Sydney's Tallest Buildings

This list shows completed buildings in Sydney that are at least 150 meters (492 feet) tall. We measure them to their highest point, including spires. The Sydney Tower is not on this list because it's a structure, not a building.

Rank	Name	Image	Height (m)	Height (ft)	Floors	Year	Purpose	Location	Notes
1	Crown Sydney		271	889	75	2020	Mixed use	Barangaroo	Tallest building in Sydney since 2020.
2	Salesforce Tower		263	863	53	2022	Commercial	CBD	Tallest office building in Sydney since 2022.
3	One Sydney Harbour (Tower 1)		247	810	72	2024	Residential	Barangaroo	Tallest residential building in Sydney since 2024.
4	Chifley Tower		244	801	50	1992	Commercial	CBD	Tallest building in Sydney from 1992 to 2019.
5	Citigroup Centre		243	797	50	2000	Commercial	CBD
6	Deutsche Bank Place		240	787	39	2005	Commercial	CBD
7	Greenland Centre		237	778	67	2021	Residential	CBD	Tallest residential building in Sydney from 2021 to 2022.
=8	One Sydney Harbour (Tower 2)		230	754	68	2024	Residential	Barangaroo
= 8	Meriton World Tower		230	754	75	2004	Residential	CBD	Tallest residential building in Sydney from 2004 to 2020.
10	25 Martin Place		228	748	60	1977	Commercial	CBD	Tallest building in Sydney from 1977 to 1992.
11	Governor Phillip Tower		227	745	61	1993	Commercial	CBD
12	6 & 8 Parramatta Square		225	739.66	57	2022	Commercial	Parramatta	Tallest building in Parramatta.
13	Latitude		222	728	45	2004	Commercial	CBD
14	Aurora Place		219	718	41	2000	Commercial	CBD
15	8 Phillip Street		218	715	66	2025	Residential	Parramatta	Tallest residential building in Parramatta.
16	International Tower 1		217	711	50	2016	Commercial	Barangaroo
17	Quay Quarter Tower		216	709	54	1976/2022	Commercial	CBD	Originally the AMP Centre, tallest in Sydney in 1976.
18	180 George Street (North Tower)		213	699	67	2023	Residential	Parramatta
19	One Circular Quay		198	650	60	2025	Residential	CBD
20	ANZ Tower		195	639	46	2013	Commercial	CBD
21	Suncorp Place		193	633	48	1982	Commercial	CBD
22	180 George Street (South Tower)		189	620	59	2023	Residential	Parramatta
23	Century Tower		183	600	50	1997	Residential	CBD	Tallest residential building in Sydney from 1997 to 2004.
24	88 Walker Street		181	594	47	2023	Commercial	North Sydney	Tallest building in North Sydney.
25	Grosvenor Place		180	590	45	1988	Commercial	CBD
26	International Tower 2		178	583	43	2015	Commercial	Barangaroo
27	Altitude West Tower		177	581	55	2017	Residential	Parramatta
28	1 Elizabeth		174	571	38	2024	Commercial	CBD
29	Capita Centre		173	567	31	1989	Commercial	CBD		=30	Victoria Cross Tower		170	557	40	2025	Commercial	North Sydney
=30	Australia Square Tower		170	557	46	1967	Commercial	CBD	Tallest building in Sydney from 1967 to 1976.
=30	Meriton Tower		170	557	48	2006	Residential	CBD
=30	Metro Grand Residences		170	557	40	2014	Residential	Chatswood
=34	The Peak		168	551	46	1996	Residential	Haymarket	Tallest residential building in Sydney from 1996 to 1997.
=34	International Tower 3		168	551	40	2016	Commercial	Barangaroo
=36	1 O'Connell Street		166	544	36	1991	Commercial	CBD
=36	Westpac Place		166	544	35	2005	Commercial	CBD
38	201 Elizabeth Street		165	541	40	1978	Commercial	CBD
39	Gateway Plaza		164	538	46	1989	Commercial	CBD
40	HSBC Centre		162	531	37	1988	Commercial	CBD
41	1 Denison Street		159	522	48	2020	Commercial	North Sydney
=42	The Cove		158	518	45	2003	Residential	CBD		=42	4 Parramatta Square		158	518	39	2020	Commercial	Parramatta		=42	Paramount on Parkes		158	518	47	2024	Residential	Harris Park		=45	88 by JQZ		157	515	49	2022	Residential	St Leonards		=45	34 Walker Street (Tower 1)		157	515	45	2024	Residential	Rhodes	Tallest building in Rhodes.
=47	116 Macquarie Street		156	511	48	2024	Residential	Parramatta		=47	Hordern Towers		156	511	48	1999	Residential	CBD		=49	Parkline Place		155	508	39	2024	Commercial	CBD		=49	EY Centre		155	508	40	2015	Commercial	CBD		=49	Metro Spire Residences		155	508	37	2014	Residential	Chatswood		=52	100 Mount Street		152	498	39	2019	Commercial	North Sydney		=52	Angel Place		152	498	35	2000	Commercial	CBD		=52	Sydney Central		152	498	31	1992	Commercial	CBD		=52	Trilogy Tower A		152	498	46	2025	Residential	Macquarie Park		=56	85 Castlereagh Street		151	495	32	2011	Commercial	CBD		=56	Lumière Residences		151	495	47	2007	Residential	CBD

Sydney's City Views

Sydney CBD
Tall Buildings (150m+)
33 completed or topped out.
Tallest: Salesforce Tower (Sydney) (263m).

Parramatta
Tall Buildings (150m+)
8 completed or topped out.
Tallest: 6 & 8 Parramatta Square (225m).

Barangaroo
Tall Buildings (150m+)
6 completed or topped out.
Tallest: Crown Sydney (271m).

North Sydney
Tall Buildings (150m+)
4 completed or topped out.
Tallest: 86-88 Walker Street (181m).

Chatswood
Tall Buildings (150m+)
2 completed or topped out.
Tallest: Metro Grand Residences (170m).

St Leonards
Tall Buildings (150m+)
1 completed or topped out.
Tallest: 88 by JQZ (157m).

Rhodes
Tall Buildings (150m+)
1 completed or topped out.
Tallest: 34 Walker Street (157m).

Sydney Olympic Park
Tall Buildings (100m+)
3 completed or topped out.
Tallest: Boomerang on Olympic Boulevard (126m).

Buildings Being Built or Planned

This section lists skyscrapers in Sydney that are 150 meters (492 feet) or taller and are either being built or have been approved.

Timeline of Sydney's Tallest Buildings

This list shows buildings that were once the tallest in Sydney.

Name	Image	Years as Tallest	Height	Floors	Notes
Hunter Clock Tower		1797–1806	45 m (148 ft)	–	Collapsed in 1806.
Government Windmill		1806–1809	12 m (39 ft)	–
Old St Philip's Church		1809–1812	15 m (49 ft)	4
Commissariat Stores		1812-1824	18 m (59 ft)	4
St James' Church		1824–1875	52 m (171 ft)	–	Sydney's oldest tallest building still standing.
Town Hall		1878–1879	57 m (187 ft)	4
Garden Palace		1879–1882	64 m (210 ft)	2	Destroyed by fire in 1882.
Town Hall		1882–1891	57 m (187 ft)	4
General Post Office		1891–1932	73 m (240 ft)	5
AWA Tower		1939–1962	112 m (367 ft)	14
AMP Building		1962–1965	115 m (377 ft)	26
State Office Block		1965–1967	128 m (420 ft)	38	Demolished in 1997.
Australia Square Tower		1967–1976	170 m (558 ft)	46
AMP Centre		1976–1977	188 m (617 ft)	45
25 Martin Place		1977–1992	228 m (748 ft)	60
Chifley Tower		1992–2020	244 m (801 ft)	50
Crown Sydney		2020–present	271 m (889 ft)	75	Sydney's tallest building since 2020.

Sydney's tallest building (blue) and tallest structure (grey) from 1789 to 2021.

See also

In Spanish: Anexo:Edificios más altos de Sídney para niños

• List of tallest buildings in Chatswood
• List of tallest buildings in Parramatta
• List of tallest buildings in Australia
• Buildings and architecture of Sydney