The title of the most famous building in New York City refers to the State of New York, which is nicknamed "the Empire State." No one has fully ascertained the origin of the nickname, however, the most probable version suggests that the name derives from a letter written by George Washington to New York City Mayor James Duane in 1785, in which the first President of the United States of America calls New York "the Seat of an Empire." In fact, on a political note, Washington was so popular among the citizens of the new country after it gained independence from Great Britain, that many leaders in Europe, including Napoleon Bonaparte, wondered why he did not declare himself emperor.
The Empire State Building, on the other hand, had all the necessary characteristics to be a symbol of an empire: when it was completed in 1931 it was the highest building in the world. It held this honor for almost forty years, until the North Tower of the World Trade Center surpassed it in height in 1970. After the 9/11 tragedy the Empire State Building once again became the highest building in New York, although no longer in the US and the world, until 2012, when it was overtaken by the Freedom Tower, the skyscraper that was constructed in the new World Trade Center. Today the Empire State Building is the fourth highest skyscraper in the US and the 23rd in the world.
Located at 350 Fifth Avenue, the Empire State Building is the architectural icon of New York City par excellence. Not only is it a jewel from an engineering point of view, it is also the city's most popular cultural landmark, having been cited in endless books, shown in numerous films and appeared, in one form or another, in the work of all the major New York artists.
It was designed by the architectural firm Shreve, Lamb and Harmon and constructed by Sterrett Brothers and Eken. It contains 103 floors and its precise dimensions are as follows: it is 1,250 feet high from the ground to the roof; the antenna and spire rise another 254 feet; its east-west length is 424 feet; and its north-south width is 187 feet. On the roof it has an observation deck offering a breathtaking view of all New York's five bureaus, as well as a good portion of the State of New Jersey just over the Hudson River.
The construction of the Art Deco limestone behemoth was financed by American businessmen John J. Raskob and Pierre S. du Pont with a cost of almost $41 million, which is roughly $635 million by today's standards. The work began in March 1930, at a time when New York was witnessing a fierce race between skyscrapers vying to become the tallest building in the world. Before the Empire State Building was completed in May 1931, that position had already been held first by the Bank of Manhattan Trust Building and then the Chrysler Building. Paradoxically, this frenetic contest of wealth and power did not reflect the situation in the country: America at the time was trudging through the darkest mire of the Great Depression. About 3,400 workers, mostly newly arrived European immigrants, worked on the Empire State Building project, and surprisingly, according to official documents, only five people lost their lives. The inauguration ceremony was as spectacular as the building itself: President Herbert Hoover turned on the building's lights by pulling a lever in Washington D.C.
In the first several years of its existence the Empire State Building was not a great moneymaker for its owners. Due to the country's economic hardship and the building's inconvenient logistical position in New York, it was difficult to rent out office space. The building however gained notoriety again, albeit through tragic circumstances, when in 1945, on a foggy morning, an American military plane accidently crashed into the 79th and 80th floors killing fourteen people. Miraculously, one elevator operator survived a 75-story fall when the damaged cables could not hold up the elevator.
The Empire State Building also served as a launching pad for thirty-six suicide attempts, most of which, as could easily be imagined, ended successfully. The most renowned suicide, known in pop-culture as "The Most Beautiful Suicide," took place in May 1947 when twenty-three-year-old Evelyn Mchale jumped from the 86th floor observation deck and landed on a United Nations limousine parked on 34th Street. The police found a suicide note reading, “I don’t want anyone in or out of my family to see any part of me. Could you destroy my body by cremation? I beg of you and my family – don’t have any service for me or remembrance for me. My fiancé asked me to marry him in June. I don’t think I would make a good wife for anybody. He is much better off without me. Tell my father, I have too many of my mother’s tendencies.” A photo of her on the limousine made the cover of Life Magazine with the caption, “At the bottom of the Empire State Building the body of Evelyn McHale reposes calmly in grotesque bier, her falling body punched into the top of a car.” In the photo the victim, wearing white gloves and pearls, indeed lies in a graceful position with her legs crossed, eyes closed and bearing a peaceful expression. The photo itself, which had been taken by a photography student who happened to be walking by, was later used by artist Andy Warhol in one of his works.
In 1964 floodlights were positioned on the top parts of the building to light up the apex at night. Depending on the occasion, they can change colors, for example, green during St. Patrick's Day or red, white and blue on Independence Day. The colors can also represent one of the New York sports' teams when they win their league championship. Besides the observation deck on the 86th floor, there is also a smaller one on the 102nd floor. It is said that the building makes more money from tourists than it does by renting office space.
The Empire State Building has been a setting in numerous books and films, the most famous of which is the Hollywood 1933 blockbuster King Kong. In fact, so intertwined are the destinies of the building and the great ape, that when King Kong's actress Fay Wray died in 2004 all the lights were turned off for fifteen minutes in honor of her memory. Other popular films include West Side Story, Sleepless in Seattle, Superman II, and Independence Day; and in literature, the Empire State Building's most impactful appearance was in H.G. Wells' science fiction masterpiece The Shape of Things to Come.
Although the Empire State Building is no longer the highest skyscraper in the city, it nevertheless offers the best views of Manhattan. The Freedom Tower, which is higher and which, due to the unfortunate events, is more talked about, is located at the southernmost tip of Manhattan and therefore does not give you a comprehensive perspective of the borough's uptown areas. Whereas the Empire State Building stands practically midway between downtown and uptown Manhattan, and therefore provides excellent views of both sides. A visit to the Empire State skyscraper should be a fundamental part of every tourist's itinerary, not only because of the vistas, but because it is one of the greatest monuments of American architecture.