THE METROPOLITAN INSURANCE BUILDING, when lit at night, is easily recognizable amid Manhattan’s skyline.  Architect Piere Le Brun's design was inspired by the campanile in Venice’s Piazza San Marco.  The tall tower facing Madison Square Park was added to the original building in 1893 to make it the tallest in the world until the  Woolworth Building was completed and became the tallest (792 feet).  Only a few blocks from the Empire State Building, both structures – when viewed from Fifth Avenue and 23rd Street -- are an amazing sight especially at night.