Dubai's planned $1 billion tower could be an omen of economic doom

AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili

Nothing suggests the height of human achievement and economic prowess quite like a skyscraper.

And the latest place to flex its skyscraper muscles is Dubai.

The city is planning to build a $1 billion tower that will dwarf the world's current tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa, which reaches 2,717 ft. The planned height of the new building is not yet disclosed.

But Dubai's not alone. Saudi Arabia and Iraq also have ambitious projects planned: the former recently secured funds to build the 3,280 ft. tall Jeddah Tower, and the latter is planning the 3,780 ft tall tower called "The Bride."

However, as "cool" as all of these buildings are, glitzy construction booms have historically coincided with the beginnings of economic downturns, according to Barclays' "Skyscraper Index." (For all you economics wonks out there, basically, skyscrapers can be considered a sentiment indicator.)

Using Barclays' index, we pulled together 10 skyscrapers whose constructions overlapped with financial crises...

Equitable Life Building (1873)

The Long Depression, 1873–1878

The Long Depression, a pervasive US economic recession with bank failures, coincided with the construction of the Equitable Life Building in New York City in 1873.

The 142-foot building was the world's first skyscraper. (You could stack 26 of these on top of one another, and they still wouldn't be taller than Iraq's planned "The Bride" tower.) 

Source: Barclays

New York World (1890) and Auditorium (1889)

British banking crisis, 1890

Chicago's 269-foot-tall Auditorium, completed in 1889, and New York's 309-foot-tall New York World, completed in 1890, coincided with the British banking crisis of 1890 and a world recession.

Source: Barclays

Masonic Temple, Manhattan Life Building, and Milwaukee City Hall (1893)