List of tallest buildings in Upstate New York


, broadly defined as a region of the U.S. state of New York north of New York City and Westchester County, is home to several skyscrapers and high-rises. The tallest building in New York State is the 104-story One World Trade Center, which was completed in 2014 and rises to in Lower Manhattan, New York City. New York City, the largest city in the United States, is home to the vast majority of the skyscrapers in New York; outside the city, most of the state's skyscrapers are concentrated in Albany, Buffalo and Rochester. The tallest building in Upstate New York is the 44-story Erastus Corning Tower, which rises in Albany, the state's capital city. Although the building is the tallest in the upstate region by a significant margin, it does not appear in the 100-tallest buildings in New York state when New York City skyscrapers are included in the ranking. The second-tallest building in the upstate region is the Seneca One Tower, which also stands as the tallest building in the city of Buffalo.

Tallest buildings

This list ranks completed skyscrapers in Upstate New York that stand at least tall, based on standard height measurement. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. An equal sign following a rank indicates the same height between two or more buildings. The "Year" column indicates the year in which a building was completed.
RankNameImageHeight
ft / m
FloorsYearCityNotes
1Erastus Corning Tower589 / 180441966AlbanyTallest building in Albany
2Seneca One Tower529 / 161401972BuffaloTallest building in Buffalo
3Xerox Tower443 / 135301968RochesterTallest building in Rochester
4Legacy Tower401 / 122201995Rochester
5Buffalo City Hall398 / 121.3321931Buffalo
6The Metropolitan392 / 119271973Rochester
7Rand Building391 / 119291929Buffalo
8Alfred E. Smith Building388 / 118341928Albany
9Kodak Tower360 / 110191914RochesterExpanded from 16 to 19 floors in 1930
10Seneca Niagara Casino Tower358 / 109262006Niagara FallsTallest building in Niagara Falls, New York
11Main Place Tower350 / 107261969Buffalo
12Liberty Building345 / 105231925Buffalo333 feet/101.5 meters to the roof
13One M & T Plaza317 / 97211966Buffalo
14State Tower Building312 / 95.4231927SyracuseTallest building in Syracuse
151, 2, 3, and 4 Empire State Plaza310 / 94231966AlbanyAlso known as the Agency Buildings
19First Federal Plaza309 / 94211976RochesterTop was formerly a revolving restaurant
20Electric Tower294 / 90141912BuffaloAlso known as the Niagara Mohawk Building.

Timeline of tallest buildings

This section lists buildings that once held the title of tallest building in Upstate New York. Saint Paul's Episcopal Cathedral held the title twice, both before the construction and after the demolition of the original Electric Tower, which was designed as a temporary building that would only last the length of the Pan-American Exposition.
Years as
tallest
NameCityImageHeight
ft / m
FloorsNotes
1851-1901Saint Paul's Episcopal CathedralBuffalo275 / 84N/A
1901-1902Electric Tower Buffalo389 / 119N/ADemolished shortly after the close of the Pan-American Exposition. Not to be confused with the present-day Electric Tower at Washington and East Huron Streets, listed below. Second-tallest building in New York State at the time of its construction, only two feet shorter than the Park Row Building in New York City. Tallest building ever destroyed in Upstate New York.
1902-1912Saint Paul's Episcopal CathedralBuffalo275 / 84N/A
1912-1914Electric TowerBuffalo294 / 9014
1914-1925Kodak TowerRochesterunknown16Expanded from 16 to 19 floors in 1930. Exact pre-1930 height unknown.
1925-1928Liberty BuildingBuffalo345 / 10523
1928-1929Alfred E. Smith BuildingAlbany388 / 11834
1929-1931Rand BuildingBuffalo391 / 11929First building to exceed the height of the original Electric Tower, demolished 27 years earlier.
1931-1966Buffalo City HallBuffalo398 / 12132
1966-Erastus Corning TowerAlbany589 / 18044

Buildings in Westchester County ranked by floor count

Due to Westchester County bordering New York City, the following are not included in the main list:
RankNameCityFloorsYear
111 Lawton StreetNew Rochelle48
2The Residences at the Ritz Carlton NWhite Plains442009
3The Residences at the Ritz Carlton SWhite Plains442008
4Trump PlazaNew Rochelle402007
5Skyline New Rochelle New Rochelle392006
6Trump Tower at City CenterWhite Plains352005
7La Rochelle New Rochelle352001
8One City PlaceWhite Plains352005
9587 Main Street / 360 Huguenot StNew Rochelle282019
10Saint Casimir ApartmentsYonkers281979
11Seven Pines TowerYonkers271974
12Parkledge Apartments Yonkers231971
1325 Bank StreetWhite Plains222003
14Westchester OneWhite Plains211976
15Tower OneYonkers201971
16Westchester County CourthouseWhite Plains191974

List of tallest buildings by city