The development of the skyscraper is an American story that combines architectural history, economic power, and technological achievement. Each city in the United States can be identified by the profile of its buildings. The design of the tops of skyscrapers was the inspiration for the students in the author's high-school ceramic class to develop their own handbuilt creations for the tops of buildings. The combination of the engineering advancements and the development of business identities that came together to create these architectural forms are a fascinating history of science, architecture, and commerce. This article presents a high school lesson that allows students to create a series of sketches for their own original design for a top of a skyscraper. (Contains 1 online resource.)