It’s amazing, and slightly unbelievable, that the cities we’ve become so used to living in didn’t actually look this way decades ago. There’s nothing quite like holding up an old photograph in the same place it was captured years earlier, hoping to spot something similar, but seeing an entirely new world. Interestingly enough, some cities simply built around their historic buildings, while others completely revamped, introducing shiny new skyscrapers and high-rise blocks. Either way, these transformations have been truly extraordinary. To celebrate them, we’ve compiled this list of 25 before-and-after photos of some of the world’s most famous cities, proving just how much they’ve changed over time.

#1 Singapore 1969 vs. 2015

#2 Tokyo 1945 vs. 2014

#3 Sydney 1935 vs. 2020

#4 Shenzhen 1964 vs. 2015

#5 Athens 1862 vs. 2015

#6 Berlin 1983 vs. 2021

#7 London 1920 vs. 2014

#8 Istanbul 1912 vs. 2013

#9 New York 1920 vs. 2021

#10 Kuala Lumpur 1884 vs. 2019

#11 Chicago 1937 vs. 2015

#12 Dubai 1966 vs. 2021

Measuring at over 2700 feet, you can probably guess that the Burj Khalifa in Dubai tops the list of the world’s tallest buildings. At this point, you might be thinking how a structure so massive is still standing. Well, to keep the skyscraper stable and upright, engineers relied on a type of structural system known as a buttressed core.