<P> There is academic disagreement over which building should be considered the first skyscraper . The term was first used in the 1780s to describe a particularly tall horse , before later being applied to the sail at the top of a ship 's mast , tall hats and bonnets , tall men , and a ball that was hit high into the air . In the 1880s it began to be applied to buildings , first in 1883 to describe large public monuments and then in 1889 as a label for tall office blocks , coming into widespread use over the next decade . Identifying the first `` true skyscraper '' is not straightforward , and various candidates exist depending on the criteria applied . George Post 's New York Equitable Life Building of 1870 , for example , was the first tall office building to use the elevator , while his Produce Exchange building of 1884 made substantial structural advances in metal frame design . The Home Insurance Building in Chicago , opened in 1885 , is , however , most often labelled the first skyscraper because of its innovative use of structural steel in a metal frame design . </P>
when was the first skyscraper built in new york city
The Home Insurance Building in Chicago