Empire State Building
Majestic 103-story Art Deco - Empire State Building
It is no longer the tallest in the world, but it has lost none of its majesty. Still unmistakable on Manhattan, the Empire State Building (ESB) towers again after years as the tallest building in New York, at the corner of 34th Street and Fifth Avenue. This symbol of the "Big Apple" has no shortage of visitors. In the 75 years since its opening, which will be celebrated on May 1st, more than 110 million people have enjoyed its observation deck on the 86th floor at a height of 320 meters.
The grand 103-story tower of glass, steel, and aluminum in Art Deco style held the record for the tallest buildings in the world for a remarkably long time at 381 meters (from base to tip of the antenna, 443.2 meters) (from 1931 to 1972).
The project was commissioned to architects almost exactly on the same day as the crash of the New York stock market in October 1929. John Jakob Raskob, the former president of General Motors, wanted to invest in real estate construction and could not allow his biggest competitor, Walter Chrysler, to get ahead of him. Raskob teamed up with former New York Governor Alfred Smith to establish a company to finance the project. They approached the architects from Shreve, Lamb & Harmon, who designed the skyscraper in the shape of a thick long pencil.
Originally, the ESB was to have 80 floors, but when it became apparent that Chrysler's skyscraper would be taller, they added another five. However, Raskob was concerned that Chrysler would outsmart him and add a piece just before construction ended, so the ESB ultimately received a full 103 floors.
Raskob purchased the site on Manhattan where the old Waldorf-Astoria hotel stood, and construction began on March 13, 1930. Since the leases for most office spaces in New York expired on May 1st, the construction had to be ready to rent by that date. The building was a model of efficiency - construction happened literally on a conveyor belt. The work schedule was detailed down to the minute - not a single hour could be wasted.
The construction materials were pre-assembled in factories to minimize time and space on the construction site itself. Individual phases of work overlapped - while the Waldorf-Astoria hotel was being demolished, excavation work began. The ESB was completed in a record time of 13 months, growing on average by four and a half floors each week. It got its name from the nickname of its home state - Empire State.
On May 1, 1931, U.S. President Herbert Hoover pressed a button in his office at the White House in Washington, and lights lit up the tallest skyscraper in the world in New York, 430 kilometers away. The ESB held the world record for the tallest buildings until 1972, when it was surpassed by the "twins" of the World Trade Center (415 and 417 meters). After the collapse of the "twins" following the terrorist attacks on the U.S. on September 11, 2001, the ESB again became the tallest landmark in the city.
The ESB also experienced a plane crash. In 1945, a B-25 bomber crashed into the 79th floor, killing 14 people, but the structural integrity was not compromised.
Today, one of the most attractive places in New York initially struggled to find tenants. A year and a half after its completion, the ESB was only about a quarter occupied, mainly due to the economic crisis. As a result, the building earned a new nickname: Empty State Building.
The ESB emphasizes its architectural charm with an inexhaustible combination of nighttime colored lighting, commemorating both significant and lesser-known events. It celebrates Earth Day with green and blue lighting, the independence of India with colors from its national flag, and of course, it lights up green in honor of the birthday of the animated character Popeye and his beloved spinach.
The current owner of the ESB is Prudential Insurance Company of America, which purchased the building in 1961 for 29 million dollars. At the same time, Empire State Building Associates, an investment company created by Lawrence A. Wien, purchased the lease of the ESB for 114 years for 36 million dollars.
It is no longer the tallest in the world, but it has lost none of its majesty. Still unmistakable on Manhattan, the Empire State Building (ESB) towers again after years as the tallest building in New York, at the corner of 34th Street and Fifth Avenue. This symbol of the "Big Apple" has no shortage of visitors. In the 75 years since its opening, which will be celebrated on May 1st, more than 110 million people have enjoyed its observation deck on the 86th floor at a height of 320 meters.
The grand 103-story tower of glass, steel, and aluminum in Art Deco style held the record for the tallest buildings in the world for a remarkably long time at 381 meters (from base to tip of the antenna, 443.2 meters) (from 1931 to 1972).
The project was commissioned to architects almost exactly on the same day as the crash of the New York stock market in October 1929. John Jakob Raskob, the former president of General Motors, wanted to invest in real estate construction and could not allow his biggest competitor, Walter Chrysler, to get ahead of him. Raskob teamed up with former New York Governor Alfred Smith to establish a company to finance the project. They approached the architects from Shreve, Lamb & Harmon, who designed the skyscraper in the shape of a thick long pencil.
Originally, the ESB was to have 80 floors, but when it became apparent that Chrysler's skyscraper would be taller, they added another five. However, Raskob was concerned that Chrysler would outsmart him and add a piece just before construction ended, so the ESB ultimately received a full 103 floors.
Raskob purchased the site on Manhattan where the old Waldorf-Astoria hotel stood, and construction began on March 13, 1930. Since the leases for most office spaces in New York expired on May 1st, the construction had to be ready to rent by that date. The building was a model of efficiency - construction happened literally on a conveyor belt. The work schedule was detailed down to the minute - not a single hour could be wasted.
The construction materials were pre-assembled in factories to minimize time and space on the construction site itself. Individual phases of work overlapped - while the Waldorf-Astoria hotel was being demolished, excavation work began. The ESB was completed in a record time of 13 months, growing on average by four and a half floors each week. It got its name from the nickname of its home state - Empire State.
On May 1, 1931, U.S. President Herbert Hoover pressed a button in his office at the White House in Washington, and lights lit up the tallest skyscraper in the world in New York, 430 kilometers away. The ESB held the world record for the tallest buildings until 1972, when it was surpassed by the "twins" of the World Trade Center (415 and 417 meters). After the collapse of the "twins" following the terrorist attacks on the U.S. on September 11, 2001, the ESB again became the tallest landmark in the city.
The ESB also experienced a plane crash. In 1945, a B-25 bomber crashed into the 79th floor, killing 14 people, but the structural integrity was not compromised.
Today, one of the most attractive places in New York initially struggled to find tenants. A year and a half after its completion, the ESB was only about a quarter occupied, mainly due to the economic crisis. As a result, the building earned a new nickname: Empty State Building.
The ESB emphasizes its architectural charm with an inexhaustible combination of nighttime colored lighting, commemorating both significant and lesser-known events. It celebrates Earth Day with green and blue lighting, the independence of India with colors from its national flag, and of course, it lights up green in honor of the birthday of the animated character Popeye and his beloved spinach.
The current owner of the ESB is Prudential Insurance Company of America, which purchased the building in 1961 for 29 million dollars. At the same time, Empire State Building Associates, an investment company created by Lawrence A. Wien, purchased the lease of the ESB for 114 years for 36 million dollars.
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