Empire State Building

The Empire State Building is in New York and U.S. history.  Built during the depression, the building was in the center of a competition with the Walter Chrysler building and John Jakob Raskob(creator of General Motors) to see who had the tallest building.  The building's history is full of oddities and marvelous accomplishments that still intrigue men, women and children of the world.  A few examples are: in 1945 at the end of World War II, an Army Air Corps B-2 twin engine bomber plane crashed into the 79th floor of the building in a dense fog; from 1931 - present, the building acted as an "Ambassador to New York" to many of the world's renowned political and entertainment figures, such as, Fidel Castro, Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles, Prince Andrew, The Duchess of York, King of Siam and others.  The building's dirigible (air ship) mast (now the base of the tower) was originally designed as a mooring mast for air bumps (unfortunately because of several unsuccessful attempts and the volatile wind condition at 1,350 feet the idea was ultimately abandoned). The building held the record for the tallest building for 40 years and was only constructed in two years-1930 to 1931.

Tower Facts

Architect: Shreve, Lamb & Harmon Associates

Contractor: Starrett Bothers and Eken

Excavation: Began on January 22, 1930

Construction: Commenced March 17, 1930. Framework rose at a rate of 14 1/2 Stories a week.

Total Time: One year and 45 days including Sundays and holidays. (Ahead of schedule).

Man-hours: 7,000,000

Cost: $40,948,900 (including land)

Area of Site: 79,288 square feet (7,240 meters) or about two acres. From east to west, 424 feet (129 meters), north to south 187 feet (56.9 meters)

Foundation: 55 feet (16.7 meters) below ground

Basement: 35 feet (10.6 meters) below ground

Lobby: 47 feet (14.3 meters) above sea level 

Total Height: 1,453 feet, 8 9/16th inches or 443.2 meters to lightning  rod

Height of Antenna: 204 feet

Floors: 102

Steps:1,860 from street level to 102nd floor

Volume:37 million cubic feet

Weight: 365,000 tons

Steel Frame: 60,000 tons

Windows: 6,500

Elevators: 73, including six freight elevators, operating at speeds from 600 to 1,400 feet per minute.

Escalators: Eight high-speed escalators are on the concourse and second floor area.

Waste Handling: 100 tons of trash are removed from the tower each month

Staff: About 250 people, including a maintenance staff of 150

Electricity: 2,500,000 feet of electrical wire conveys 40 million kilowatt hours used by building and tenants each year.