# 4710n - 2012 First-Class Forever Stamp - Earthscapes: Skyscraper Apartments

Issue Date: October 1, 2012
City: Washington, DC

Quantity: 2,670,000

Printed By: Banknote Corporation of America, Sennett Security Products

Printing Method: Offset

Perforations: Die Cut 10 ¾

Color: multicolored

In urban areas throughout the United States, skyscraper apartments provide thousands of residents with affordable housing close to public transportation and jobs.

 

Before the invention of the elevator, the height of an apartment building was limited to about five stories. Otis Elevator Company began producing passenger elevators in 1857, making skyscraper apartments with 50 or more stories possible.

 

Some of the first residential skyscrapers were built in New York City in 1939. “Castle Village” consisted of five cross-shaped buildings surrounded by well-maintained lawns. When the buildings were first opened, the rent was as low as $66 per month. The design of the buildings allowed for views of the Hudson River and New Jersey from almost every unit. The village’s design was imitated in many apartment complexes around New York City in the years that followed. Castle Village continues to house residents, though they now own the apartments instead of renting them.

 

In highly populated cities, apartment buildings can house many people in a smaller area of land and are less expensive to build than single-family homes. Many city dwellers cannot imagine living anywhere besides their little corner of a skyscraper.