Why is the Boeing 757 undercarriage so high? Compared to other wide bodies the 757 seems to stand on very tall landing gear.

Considering strength, weight, cost, stowage space and ease of ground servicing you would want the shortest possible undercarriage you can achieve. The B737 isn't a much smaller aircraft but is much lower, so low it was a challenge to fit modern engines.

Was there a specific design/operation reason or was it just styling - it certainly looks nice !
Rotation angle at takeoff is often the limiting factor in gear height. The 757-300 is 178ft long, 30ft longer than the Airbus 321 which also has tall landing gear. The first 737s were less than 100ft long, which allowed the short gear and later caused problems with the max9/10 stretches which went to 143ft.



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