Illustrated Architecture Dictionary

Spire

Any slender pointed construction surmounting a building; generally a narrow octagonal pyramid set above a square tower

Steeple: a tall ornamental structure; a tower, composed of a series of stories, diminishing in size, and topped by amall pyramid, spire or cupola.

Tower: a building characterized by its relatively great height

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Examples from Buffalo architecture:

• Illustration above: Westminster Presbyterian Church
  
  
• Samuel F. Pratt Monument, Forest Lawn Cemetery