Empire State Building
by Wendy AronLocated in New York City, the Empire State Building is one of the world’s most famous structures. It was the world’s tallest building from 1931 until 1972. Today, only a small number of skyscrapers reach higher.
The history of the Empire State Building begins in the late 1800s, when construction companies began using steel to erect buildings. With that, the skyscraper was born. Soon, in the Empire State Building New York era, erecting the world’s tallest building became somewhat of a competition. First came the Woolworth Building in 1913. It was 792 feet high. Then there was the Bank of Manhattan constructed in 1930 at 927 feet. Following this, the Chrysler Building was erected at a height of 1, 046 feet. Yet even before the Chrysler Building was completed, investor John Jacob Raskob was making plans to go higher. He wanted to erect a building that would be a tribute to America as a land of opportunity. Raskob named his dream after New York State’s nickname, and the Empire State Building began to take shape.
At the time of the Empire State Building construction, New York City zoning laws required that tall buildings not block sunlight from reaching the street. Therefore, the building was designed to decrease in size as it grew taller. Mail chutes, toilets and elevator shafts were to be built at the center of each floor, with the offices located on the outside. This would allow every worker to be within twenty-five feet of a window. The building also had to include enough elevators to move thousands of people around one hundred floors. When finished, the Empire State Building would boast seventy-three elevators. Finally, Raskob wanted the top of his building to have a docking station for dirigibles as these airships were used for transportation during this era.
By March 1930, the building site had been cleared and Empire State Building construction could begin. Carefully measured beams and girders were delivered for the building’s frame. As steelworkers framed the building other workers followed behind, pouring concrete for each story’s floor. Next came more workers who installed the limestone blocks and windows of the exterior walls. Behind them, electricians, plumbers and carpenters finished the interior spaces. At the height of the Empire State Building construction, more than three thousand people were employed at once. In order to keep all of these workers busy, an immense amount of supplies had to be all in the right place at the right time. A separate company was hired for the sole purpose of making sure this happened. This ‘assembly line’ method was new to the construction industry. It was also fast. It took only seven months for workers to get to the 86th floor.
Empire State Building history indicates that there were some problems with the construction of the world-famous skyscraper. One was the wind. The higher in the air, the stronger the winds blew. To combat this, engineers designed special ways of connecting the framework to improve the building’s strength against the wind. These and other techniques made the building so solid that it was easily repaired when an airplane crashed into it in 1945. The wind also caused problems with the dirigible dock. A 200-foot tower on top of the 86th floor was meant to be a mooring mast for airships that would help them dock. Two dirigibles tested the dock and both could barely land because of the high winds. So the plan was abandoned and an observation deck was installed instead at the top of the tower, or the equivalent of the 102nd floor. Later, because of the high winds, this observation deck was moved to the 86th floor.
By far the worst setback to the construction was the accidents. Five people were killed during construction. It was thought that the drive to erect the building quickly may have been the culprit. Yet this did not slow the pace along. The Empire State Building was finished fourteen months after site excavation began. The structure alone had cost $24.7 million with the entire project running $40.9 million. How tall was the Empire State Building? At the time, a mind boggling 1, 250 feet.
The building opened with a ceremony that involved President Herbert Hoover. On May 1, 1931, he pressed a symbolic button in the White House to turn on its lights. Today, the building is filled with over then thousand places and businesses, ranging from banks to offices to restaurants and retail stores. Millions of tourists visit the 86th floor observation deck each year. Raskob succeeded in building a tribute to his beloved country. Even though the Empire State Building is no longer the tallest building in the world, it has become a symbol of American known throughout the world.
