Empire State Building

Constructed with 60,000 tons of structural steel.

Hear the radio interview (21MB, MP3) about the Empire State Building held by the BBC with Marshall Gerometta, Emporis senior editor from Chicago.

The Empire State Building is a member of the World Federation of Great Towers.

The building was completed about a month and half ahead of schedule and about $5 million under budget.

There are 1,575 steps from the lobby to the 86th floor.

As a popular symbol of the city and its spirit, the building has been featured on countless artistic impressions of the city; for instance, the building has been featured on album covers of music of nearly every genre, from jazz of the thirties to hip hop of the '00s.

Soon after opening it became a major tourist attraction, attracting many famous people, including the French Prime Minister, Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill, Pope Pius XII, Fidel Castro and Queen Elisabeth II, to name a few. The only one known to have refused Alfred E. Smith's invitation was Walter P. Chrysler.

At least 32 people jumped to their deaths off the observation deck on the top during the deck's operation.

The tower was one of the first to employ the then new fast-track construction technique.

The building incorporates 10 million bricks, 1,886 kilometres (1,172 miles) of elevator cables, 6,400 windows and weighs 331,000 tonnes.

During construction of the steel frame, eating facilities were set up on appropriate floors to cater for the workers.

During planning stages the construction death toll was estimated to be one worker per floor, or over 100 workers overall. However, only a handful of workers lost their lives during construction.

A broadcasting antenna was added to the building in 1951 putting the almost vacant metallic tower at the top to use as a storage area for broadcasting equipment.

The metal-plated tower on top of the building was planned as a zeppelin port. Yet it was used for only one zeppelin landing because the winds were too strong at such heights making mooring dangerous and also because the golden age of zeppelins was quickly slipping into the past.

Initially the building was intended to have a flat roof until a "hat" or metal-plated tower on top of the building was designed. It initially served double duty as a zeppelin mooring mast and an observatory.

Declared a National Historic Landmark on October 23, 1986.

Houses over 1,000 businesses with its own ZIP Code.

Regained city's "tallest" title September 11, 2001.

Listed on State & National Register of Historic Places on December 20, 1982.

Declared Landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission on May 18, 1981.

President Herbert Hoover officially opened the building on May 1, 1931 by pressing a button from the White House that turned on the building's lights.

The masonry was completed on November 13, 1930.

Framework rose at the rate of 4 1/2 floors per week.

Cornerstone was laid on September 17, 1930 by former New York governor Alfred E. Smith.

Construction started on March 17, 1930.

Excavation began on January 22, 1930.

The Empire State Building was constructed on the site of the former Astoria Hotel.

Tallest building in the world from 1931 - 1972; surpassed by One World Trade Center.

The lobby is a five-story Art Deco masterpiece crafted in rich granite and marble, and highlighted by brushed stainless steel.

Decorated with enormous bronze medallions celebrating the craftsmen responsible for the building, and a metal mosaic featuring the building as the center of the universe, the lobby is without peer.

On a Saturday morning in July 1945, a US B-25 Bomber crashed into the 79th floor offices of the Catholic War Relief Services. Fourteen people died. Despite suffering some fire damage and a 20-foot gash, the Empire State building opened back up for business on Monday.

Construction took just over 18 months.

The façade is composed of more than 200,000 cubic feet of Indiana limestone and granite, and utilizes several setbacks to offset the optical distortion of its 102-story height.

Built in 1930 to be the tallest structure on earth, the Empire State Building was then considered the largest commercial venture and investment ever.

An international icon, it has been visited by more than 117 million people, who come to marvel at the 80-mile view into New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

The Empire State Building is a legend. Built in the midst of the Depression, it was, and still remains a testament to American fortitude and ingenuity.