The article presents the tendencies and development of high-rise construction design since its beginning in XIX and XX century in Poland. First examples of such buildings impressed their visitors with engineering skills, innovativeness of used solutions, as well as the overall architectural outcome, giving hope to the creators of future development of the fields. The work is an introduction to a series of texts about contemporary high-rise buildings in Poland, which development was definitely a continuation of the thought process that has started in the mentioned period.