Original taken from masterok at the Empire State Building. The story of a skyscraper.

The Empire State Building is a 102-story skyscraper located in New York on the island of Manhattan. From 1931 to 1972, before the opening of the North Tower of the World Trade Center, it was the tallest building in the world. In 2001, when the World Trade Center towers collapsed, the skyscraper again became the tallest building in New York. The architecture of the building belongs to the Art Deco style.

In 1986, the Empire State Building was included in the list of US National Historic Landmarks. In 2007, the building was number one on the list of the best American architectural designs according to the American Institute of Architects. The owner and manager of the building is W&H Properties. The tower is located on Fifth Avenue between West 33rd and 34th Streets.

At the end of the 18th century, on the site where the ESB is now located, there was a farm of John Thompson. At that time there was a stream that flowed into Sunfish Pond, which is now located a block from the skyscraper. At the end of the 19th century, the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel was located here, where New York's social elite lived.

The ESB was designed by Gregory Johnson and his architectural firm Shreve, Lamb and Harmon, which completed the skyscraper's plans in just two weeks, using its previous work, the Carew Tower in Cincinnati, as a basis. Ohio. The building was designed from top to bottom. The main contractors were the Starrett Brothers and Eken, and the project was financed by John J. Raskob.

Construction was supervised by Alfred E. Smith, a former New York City superintendent.

Preparations for construction began on January 22, 1930, and construction of the skyscraper itself, thanks to the influence of Alfred Smith as president of Empire State, Inc., began on March 17, St. Patrick's Day. The project employed 3,400 workers, mostly European immigrants, as well as hundreds of Mohawk Indian foundry workers, primarily from the Kahnawake Reservation, near Montreal.

However, initially no one could have imagined that the Empire State Building would become such a famous skyscraper. Thus, architectural historian Carol Willis notes in one of her books that the main task during the construction of a skyscraper was to meet the specified amount, so the least attention was paid to the appearance of the building.

This construction was part of an intense competition for the title of tallest building in the world. The other two buildings vying for the title, 40 Wall Street and the Chrysler Building, were still under construction when work began on the ESB. Each of them held the title for less than a year; the Empire State Building beat them in this competition just 410 days after construction began. The official opening of the ESB, held on May 1, 1931, was very pompous: President Herbert Hoover turned on the lights in the building by pressing a button in Washington. Ironically, the lamps on top of the skyscraper were first used to commemorate Franklin Roosevelt's victory over Hoover in the November 1932 presidential election.

Let's, with the help of bloggers, take a closer look at how such skyscrapers were built at that time.

The main part of the material belongs rudzin , owner of a most interesting diary

"Lunchtime atop a Skyscraper" - photograph from the series "Construction Workers Lunching on a Crossbeam - 1932" by photographer Charles C. Ebbets

Such a miracle as a skyscraper would not have become possible without the invention of the steel frame. Assembling the steel frame of a building is the most dangerous and difficult part of construction. It is the quality and speed of frame assembly that determines whether the project will be implemented on time and within budget.

That is why riveters are the most important profession in the construction of a skyscraper.

Riveters are a caste with their own laws: a riveter’s salary per working day is $15, more than any skilled worker on a construction site; they do not go to work in rain, wind or fog, they are not on the contractor’s staff. They are not alone, they work in teams of four people, and if one of the team does not go to work, no one does. Why, in the midst of the Great Depression, does everyone turn a blind eye to this, from the investor to the foreman?

On a platform made of planks, or simply on steel beams, there is a coal stove. The rivets in the furnace are 10cm long and 3cm in diameter steel cylinders. The “cook” “cooks” the rivets - using small bellows he blows air into the oven to heat them to the desired temperature. The rivet has warmed up (not too much - it will turn in the hole and you will have to drill it out; and not too weakly - it will not rivet), now you need to transfer the rivet to where it will fasten the beams. Which beam will be attached when is only known in advance, and it is impossible to move a hot stove during the working day. Therefore, the attachment point is often located 30 (thirty) meters from the “cook”, sometimes higher, sometimes 2-3 floors lower.

The only way to transfer a rivet is to throw it.

The “cook” turns to the “goalkeeper” and silently, making sure that the goalkeeper is ready to receive, throws a red-hot 600-gram blank in his direction with tongs. Sometimes there are already welded beams on the trajectory; you need to throw them once, accurately and strongly.

The “goalkeeper” stands on a narrow platform or simply on a bare beam next to the riveting area. His goal is to catch a flying piece of iron with an ordinary tin can. He cannot move without falling. But he must catch the rivet, otherwise it will fall on the city like a small bomb.

“Shooter” and “pointer” are waiting. The “goalkeeper”, having caught the rivet, drives it into the hole. A “stop” on the outside of the building, hanging over the abyss, holds the rivet head with a steel rod and its own weight. The “shooter” uses a 15-kilogram pneumatic hammer to rivet it from the other side within a minute.

The best team performs this trick over 500 times a day, the average - about 250.

The photographs show the best brigade in 1930, from left to right: “cook”, “goalkeeper”, “stopper”, and shooter.”

The danger of this work can be illustrated by the following fact: masons at a construction site are insured at a rate of 6% of their salary, carpenters - 4%. The riveter's rate is 25-30%.

One person died on the Chrysler building.

Four people died on Wall Street 40.

There are five in the Empire State.

The frame of the skyscraper consists of hundreds of steel profiles several meters long and weighing several tons, the so-called beams. There is nowhere to store them during the construction of a skyscraper - no one will allow organizing a warehouse in the city center, in a densely built environment, on municipal land. Moreover, all structural elements are different, each can be used in one single place, so an attempt to organize even a temporary warehouse, for example, on one of the last completed floors can lead to great confusion and delays in construction.

That is why, when I wrote that the work of riveters is the most important and most difficult, I did not mention that it is also the most dangerous and difficult. The work is harder and more dangerous than theirs - the work of the crane crew.

The order for beams was agreed upon with the metallurgists several weeks ago; trucks deliver them to the construction site minute by minute; regardless of the weather, they must be unloaded immediately.

The derrick crane is a hinged boom, located on the last floor built, the installers are on the floor above. The winch operator can be located on any floor of an already constructed building, because no one is going to stop the lift and distract other cranes to lift the heavy mechanism several floors higher for the convenience of the installers. Therefore, when lifting a multi-ton channel, the operator does not see either the beam itself, or the machine that brought it, or his comrades.

The only reference point for control is the strike of the bell, given by the apprentice at the signal of the foreman, who is located, along with the entire brigade, dozens of floors above. A blow turns on the winch motor, a blow turns it off. Several teams of riveters are working nearby with their hammers (have you ever heard the noise of a jackhammer?), other crane operators are lifting other channels at the commands of their bells. You can't make a mistake and not hear the impact - the channel will either ram the crane boom, or throw the installers who are preparing to secure it off the installed vertical beam.

The foreman, controlling the derrick through two operators, one of whom he does not see, ensures that the holes for riveting on the installed vertical beams coincide with the holes on the raised channel with an accuracy of 2-3 millimeters. Only then can a pair of installers secure the swaying, often wet channel with huge bolts and nuts.

In New York on 6th Avenue there are monuments to these guys, erected in 2001. The model was the most famous photo, she is the first in the preview here. So, at first they made the monument exactly like in the photo, i.e. 11 dudes are sitting on a beam. And then the one on the far right was removed to the root. And only because he has a bottle of whiskey in his hands!!! I understand if they did this here during Gorbachev’s time, but they did it in 2001!! Apparently they didn’t want to destroy the legend about the brave guys. Now these are 10 quite decent guys sitting on a steel beam. Fine. But it's kind of a shame.

In New York on 6th Avenue there are monuments to these guys, erected in 2001. The model was the most famous photo, she is the first in the preview here. So, at first they made the monument exactly like in the photo, i.e. 11 dudes are sitting on a beam. And then the one on the far right was removed to the root. And only because he has a bottle of whiskey in his hands!!! I understand if they had done this here during Gorbachev’s time, but they did it in 2001!! Apparently they didn’t want to destroy the legend about the brave guys. Now these are 10 quite decent guys sitting on a steel beam. Fine. But it's kind of a shame.

The opening of the ESB coincided with the Great Depression in the United States, so at first most of the office space was empty. In the first year of operation, the construction of the observation deck cost the owners of the building approximately $2 million, and they received the same amount for renting out the premises. Due to the lack of tenants, New Yorkers began to call the skyscraper the “Empty State Building.” The building did not become profitable until 1950. In 1951, ESB was sold to Roger L. Stevens and his partners for a record $51 million, brokered by the well-known upper Manhattan real estate firm Charles F. Noyes & Company. At the time, it was the highest price for a single building in real estate history.

The skyscraper's Art Deco spire was originally designed as a mooring mast and anchorage for airships. The one hundred and second floor was first a landing platform, with a special ladder located on it. A separate elevator between the 86th and 102nd floors would take passengers upstairs after they checked in at the observation deck on the 86th floor. However, after several attempts to bring the airship to the skyscraper, it turned out that this was difficult and dangerous due to the strong upward air currents arising from the enormous height of the building. In 1952, a large television tower was attached to the skyscraper's spire.

Over the years of its existence, the Empire State Building has proven itself to be an extremely durable structure. So on July 28, 1945, a B-25 bomber literally crashed into a skyscraper. Several people died, and dozens were injured of varying degrees of severity. The bomber's engine flew through the entire building, but the damage to the skyscraper was limited to the destruction of the outer walls and fire in some rooms.

On July 28, 1945, a USAF B-25 Mitchell bomber, piloted in thick fog by Lt. Col. William Smith, crashed into the north façade of the building between the 79th and 80th floors. One of the engines pierced the tower and fell onto a neighboring building, the other fell into the elevator shaft. The fire that arose as a result of the collision was extinguished within 40 minutes. 14 people died in the incident, and elevator operator Betty Lou Oliver survived after falling in an elevator from a height of 75 floors - this achievement was included in the Guinness Book of Records. Despite the incident, the building was not closed, and work in most offices did not stop the next working day.

damage to the Empire State Building after a collision with an airplane

During the entire operation of the building, more than 30 suicides were committed here. The first suicide occurred immediately after construction was completed by a recently laid off worker. In 1947, a fence was erected around the observation deck, as there were 5 suicide attempts there in just three weeks. In 1979, Miss Elvita Adams decided to take her own life and jumped from the 86th floor. But strong winds threw Miss Adams to the 85th floor, and she escaped with only a broken hip. One of the last suicides occurred on April 13, 2007, when a lawyer jumped from the 69th floor.

Clickable, panorama

ESB rises 1,250 feet (381m) above the street at the 102nd floor, and if you count the 203-foot (62m) spire, the skyscraper's total height is 1,453 feet, eight inches (443m). The building has 85 floors of retail and office space (2,158,000 square feet/200,000 m2) and an indoor/outdoor observation deck on the 86th floor. the remaining 16 floors are an Art Deco tower, ending in an observatory on the 102nd floor. At the top of the tower is a 203-foot-tall spire, much of which is covered in television antennas, with a light rod at the very top.

The Empire State Building was the first building to have more than one hundred floors. It has 6,500 windows and 73 elevators, and 1,860 steps lead from the street to the 102nd floor. The total area of ​​all floors is approximately 2,768,591 square feet (257,000 m2); The ESB base is approximately 2 acres (0.8 ha). The building houses more than a thousand organizations, and it also has its own zip code - 10118. As of 2007, approximately 21,000 employees work in the building every day, making the ESB the second largest office complex in the United States, after the Pentagon. Construction of the skyscraper lasted one year and 45 days. It originally had 64 elevators located centrally; At the moment, the ESB has 73 elevators, including service ones. The elevator rises to the 86th floor, where the observation deck is located, in less than a minute. The total length of the skyscraper's pipes is 70 miles (113 km), the length of electrical wires is 2,500,000 feet (760,000 m). The skyscraper is heated with low pressure steam; Despite its enormous height, the building only requires steam pressure of two or three pounds per square inch (0.14 to 0.21 kg per cm2) to heat the building. The skyscraper weighs approximately 336,000 tons.

In 1964, a floodlighting system was installed on the tower in order to illuminate the top in colors corresponding to any events, memorable dates or holidays (St. Patrick's Day, Christmas, etc.). For example, after the eightieth anniversary and subsequent death of Frank Sinatra, the building was illuminated in blue tones, due to the singer’s nickname “Mr. Blue Eyes.” Following the death of actress Fay Wray in late 2004, the tower's lights were turned off completely for 15 minutes.

The cost of constructing the ESB was $40,948,900. Unlike most modern tall buildings, the Empire State Building has a classic facade. Entrances from 33rd and 34th Streets, covered by modernist steel canopies, lead into two-story high corridors crossed by steel or glass walkways at the second floor level, surrounding the elevators. There are 67 elevators in the central part of the building.

The lobby is three stories high and uses the building's aluminum components in place of the antenna, which was not present on the spire until 1952. In the northern corridor are eight illuminated panels created by Roy Sparkia and Renee Nemorov in 1963, making the building an eighth wonder of the world, joining the traditional seven.

During the finishing of the building, long-term projections were made about its functioning to ensure that the use of the building now would not prevent it from serving future generations. This explains the redesign of the power supply system.

Traditionally, in addition to regular lighting, the building is illuminated in the colors of New York sports teams on days when those teams are playing in the city (orange, blue and white for the New York Knicks, red, white and blue for the New York Rangers and etc.). During the US Open tennis tournament, yellow (the color of the tennis ball) dominates the lighting. In June 2002, during the celebration of the jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the illumination was purple and gold (the colors of the House of Windsor).

Very often this building is the hero of feature films. Take King Kong for example.

In 1964, floodlights were installed on top to illuminate the building at night, with colors chosen to match the seasons and other events such as St. Patrick's Day and Christmas. Following the skyscraper's eighteenth birthday and the subsequent death of Frank Sinatra, for example, the building was illuminated in blue, hinting at the singer's nickname, "Ol' Blue Eyes." After the death of actress Fay Wray (King Kong) at the end of 2004, the skyscraper stood in complete darkness for 15 minutes.

Floodlights illuminated the ESB in red, white, and blue for several months after the destruction of the World Trade Center, after which it returned to its usual routine. Traditionally, in addition to the regular schedule, the skyscraper is illuminated with the colors of New York sports teams on home game days (orange, blue and white for the New York Knicks; red, white and blue for the New York Rangers Rangers), etc.). The building is illuminated with the yellow color of a tennis ball during the US Open in late August or early September. The skyscraper was even lit up bright scarlet twice for Rutgers University, the first time during the November 9, 2006 football game against the University of Louisville, which produced the brightest whitewash in university history, and the second time 3 April 2007, when the women's basketball team played against Tennessee during the national championship.

In June 2002, during the Golden Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain, New York lit up the ESB in red and gold (the colors of the monarchs of the Royal House of Windsor). New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said it was a sign of gratitude to Her Majesty for playing the United States national anthem at Buckingham Palace after September 11, 2001.

In 1995, the skyscraper was illuminated in blue, red, green and yellow to celebrate the launch of Microsoft's Windows 95 operating system. It was a breakthrough for home computing, and the launch was met with fanfare.

The building was also painted purple and white to celebrate the graduation of New York University students.

When the New York Mets beat the New York Yankees in the Subway Series in May 2007, the following night the building was lit up in the winning colors, orange and blue.

In October 2007, the skyscraper was painted green for three days in honor of the Islamic holiday of Eid ul-Fitr. Such lighting, first used in honor of a Muslim holiday, is planned to be used every year.

On April 25-27, 2008, the skyscraper was painted “lavender” in honor of the release of Mariah Carey’s new album “E=MC2.

The Empire State Building is home to one of the most popular outdoor observatories in the world, visited by more than 110 million people. The observation deck on the 86th floor provides an impressive 360-degree view of the city. There is another observation deck open to the public on the 102nd floor. It closed in 1999 but reopened in November 2005. It is completely glazed and much smaller than the first; on days when there is an influx of visitors, it is sometimes closed.

New York is the main media center of the United States. Since the attacks of September 11, 2001, nearly all of the city's commercial broadcast stations (both radio and television) have been broadcast from the top of the ESB, although some FM radio stations are located in the nearby Conde Nast Building. Most New York AM stations are broadcast from New Jersey.

Communication facilities for broadcast stations are at the top of the ESB. Broadcasting from the building began on December 22, 1931, when Broadcasting began at Empire on December 22, 1931, when the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) began broadcasting experimental television broadcasts through a small antenna mounted on a spire. They rented the 85th floor and built a laboratory there, and in 1934 RCA was merged into a shady venture by Edwin Howard Armstrong to test his FM system using a skyscraper antenna. When Armstrong and RCA left the building in 1935 and its FM equipment was removed, the 85th floor became the site of RCA's television studios, first as the experimental W2XBS channel 1, which became the commercial station WNBT, channel 1 (now WNBC-TV) on July 1, 1941 channel 4). The National Broadcasting Company station (WEAF-FM, now WQHT) began broadcasting via antenna in 1940.

NBC continued to have sole use of the top of the Empire State Building until 1950, when the FCC changed the arrangement based on viewer requests to move the seven main channels to the NBC so that they would not have to constantly adjust the antennas. Construction has begun on a huge television tower. Other television companies then joined RCA on the 83rd, 82nd and 81st floors, some bringing their sister radio stations with them. Massive TV and FM broadcasts began in 1951. In 1965, separate FM antennas were installed around the viewing area on the 102nd floor.

When the World Trade Center was built, it caused major problems for television stations, most of which moved into the World Trade Center immediately after its completion. This allowed the antenna to be upgraded and the broadcast quality of the FM radio stations remaining in the ESB to be improved, which were soon joined by other FM radio stations and television stations that had moved from all other locations in the city center. The destruction of the World Trade Center necessitated changes to broadcast frequencies and redevelopment of studios to accommodate stations that were forced to return.

The building was designed by the architectural firm Shreve, Lamb and Harmon. The creators of the skyscraper designed it in the Art Deco style. Unlike most modern skyscrapers, the facade of the tower is made in a classical style. The only decorative element of the gray stone facade is vertical strips of stainless steel. The hall inside is 30 meters long and three floors high. It is decorated with panels depicting the seven wonders of the world, and an eighth is added to them - the Empire State Building itself.

The skyscraper was built in a record 410 days, on average 4.5 floors were built per week, and sometimes in 10 days the new building grew by 14 floors. 5,662 cubic meters of limestone and granite were used for the construction of the external walls. In total, the builders used 60 thousand tons of steel structures, 10 million bricks and 700 km of cable. The building has 6,500 windows. Its design is such that the main load is borne by the steel frame, not the walls. It transfers this load directly to the powerful “two-story” foundation. Thanks to the innovation, the weight of the building was significantly reduced and amounted to 365 thousand tons.

By the time construction was completed, the height of the building was 381 m (after the television tower was erected on the roof of the Empire State Building in 1952, its height reached 443 m).

On May 1, 1931, the official opening of the skyscraper took place. The Empire State Building was opened by the then president of the country, Herbert Hoover: with the flick of a switch from Washington, he lit the lights of the tallest man-made structure in the world at that time.

The Empire State Building was the tallest building in the world for more than 40 years. The skyscraper lost this title only after the construction of the “twin” towers of the World Trade Center in 1972. The tragic death of the “twin” towers during the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, returned the Empire State Building to the status of the tallest building in New York, although the skyscraper could no longer lay claim to world leadership.

The Empire State Building occupies about one hectare of land on Manhattan Island, at the intersection of 5th Avenue and 34th Street. The building houses the offices of 640 companies employing about 50 thousand people.

The skyscraper is a landmark of Manhattan and New York. Thousands of tourists visit the famous skyscraper every day. In one minute, using a high-speed elevator, they can go up to the observation deck located on the 86th floor and see the panorama of New York: its streets, squares, parks, bridges and even ships at sea. On the 102nd floor there is a glass-enclosed circular observatory. From a height of 381 m, a panorama of five states opens up.

A landmark of New York is considered not only the skyscraper itself, but also its unique lighting system. The tradition of lighting up the Empire State Building in different colors on various holidays has existed for a long time. So, on US Independence Day, the skyscraper turns blue-red-white, and on St. Patrick's Day - green, on Columbus Day - green-white-red. To do this, plastic disks are changed on 200 floodlights illuminating the 30 upper floors.

Even before a television and radio tower was placed on the roof of the skyscraper, it was planned that the upper part of the Empire State Building would serve not only for the festive lighting of the city. The architects designed the roof structure in such a way that it would serve as a pier for passenger airships, which in the 30s. of the last century were a fashionable vehicle and successfully competed with passenger aircraft that were not yet very reliable. The 102nd floor was a berthing platform with a gangway for boarding the airship. A special elevator running between the 86th and 102nd floors could be used to transport passengers whose check-in had to be done on the 86th floor. In reality, not a single airship has ever docked on top of the Empire State Building. The idea of ​​an air terminal turned out to be unsafe - strong and unstable air currents at the top of the 381-meter building made docking very difficult. And soon airships basically ceased to be used as a means of transport.

On the second floor of the building there is an attraction, opened in 1994 for tourists. The attraction is called New York Skyride and is a simulator of air travel over the city. The duration of the attraction is 25 minutes. From 1994 to 2001, an older version of the attraction operated, featuring actor James Doohan, Scotty from Star Trek, as an airplane pilot, humorously trying to maintain control of the plane during a storm. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, this attraction was closed. In the new version, the plot remained the same, but the World Trade Center towers were removed from the scenery, and actor Kevin Bacon became the pilot instead of Doohan. The new version pursued, first of all, educational and informational purposes rather than entertainment. It also included patriotic elements.

In terms of the number of films the Empire State Building has been featured in, the building rivals top movie stars. It all started with “King Kong,” filmed in 1933, where the final battle of a huge gorilla with American Air Force fighters took place on the roof of this skyscraper. Now the list of films in which the Empire State Building appears, given on the official website of the skyscraper, includes 91 films.

Among other things, the Empire State Building is also the site of some of the most unusual competitions. Every year in early February, skyscraper staircase running competitions are held here. Athletes climb 1,576 steps of the building - from the 1st to the 86th floor - in a few minutes. In 2003, Paul Craik set a record that has not yet been broken - 9 minutes 33 seconds.

Over its almost 80-year history, the Empire State Building has experienced a significant number of different incidents. On July 28, 1945, a USAF B-25 Mitchell bomber, lost in dense fog, crashed into the building between the 79th and 80th floors. One of the engines pierced the skyscraper and fell onto the roof of a neighboring building, the other fell into the elevator shaft. The fire that resulted from the collision was extinguished within 40 minutes. 14 people died in the incident. Elevator Betty Lou Oliver survived a fall from 75 floors in an elevator, an achievement included in the Guinness Book of World Records.

There were fires after that too. So, in August 1988, a fire started on the 86th floor, and the fire reached the very top of the skyscraper. Fortunately, there were no casualties then. In 1990, there was another fire that claimed the lives of 38 people.

There were also incidents of a different kind. In February 1997, 69-year-old Palestinian Ali Hassan Abu Kamal climbed to the observation deck, pulled out a pistol and opened fire on tourists. He killed one person, wounded six, and then shot himself. When the site reopened two days later, visitors were already being probed with magnetometers.

Since its construction, the Empire State Building has attracted people who want to commit suicide. Over the entire period of operation of the building, more than 30 suicides were committed here. The first suicide occurred immediately after construction was completed by a recently laid off worker. As a result, in 1947, a fence had to be erected around the observation site, since in just three weeks there were five suicide attempts there. At the same time, funny things happened: in 1979, Miss Elvita Adams decided to take her own life and jumped from the 86th floor. But a strong wind threw her to the 85th floor, and she escaped with only a broken hip.

The material was prepared based on information from open sources

A legendary skyscraper and one of the symbols of America, for 40 years it bore the title of the tallest building on the planet. The 102-story giant, located at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street, reaches a height of 381 meters, and with an antenna - 443.2 meters, which allowed it to be the tallest building in the world until 1972, when construction was completed North Tower of the World Trade Center. After the destruction of both towers on September 11, 2001, the skyscraper again became the tallest in New York, but in America as a whole it is inferior to two Chicago ones - the Willis Tower and the Trump International Hotel and Tower. Named after the state of New York, often called the Empire State, the building was declared a US National Historic Landmark. Created in the Art Deco style popular in the 30s, the skyscraper is currently owned by W&H Properties.

At the turn of the 20s and 30s, despite the Great Depression, there was a real war in New York for the title of the tallest building on the planet, which for some time belonged to the skyscraper at 40 Wall Street, and then to the Chrysler Building. But the winner was still the Empire State Building, built in the shortest possible time with the money of businessmen John Raskob and Pierre du Pont. The architect was William F. Lamb of the firm Shreve, Lamb and Harmon, who created the skyscraper project in just a couple of weeks, using the experience of his previous designs. According to legend, Raskob himself asked the architect: “Bill, how tall can you build a building that won’t fall?”

The first excavation work began on January 22, 1930, and the construction of the structures of the future skyscraper itself began on March 17, St. Patrick's Day. In total, 3,400 workers were involved in construction, most of whom were immigrants from Europe. In addition, the labor of several hundred Mohawk Indians was used to build the steel structures. Five deaths were reported during construction. Separately, it is worth mentioning the unique photographs of workers taken by photojournalist and sociologist Lewis Hine, which have become classics of world photography.

In total, construction lasted 410 days, and the Empire State Building was officially opened on May 1, 1931, when President Herbert Hoover of Washington turned on the building's lights with a simple press of a button. The use of lighting on the roof is also indirectly connected with his name - it was turned on in November 1932 in honor of Franklin Roosevelt's victory in the elections, where Hoover was the loser. True, during the Great Depression, the building, located somewhat far from the main New York transport terminals, was empty, so it was even called the Empty State Building. For example, in the first year, income from visiting the observation area was the same as from rent. The skyscraper began to bring profit to its owners only in the early 50s.

The Empire State Building has witnessed many events, some of which were quite tragic. More than thirty people committed suicide by jumping from the skyscraper, and the first case of suicide was recorded even before the end of construction, when one of the fired workers committed suicide. In 1979, a certain Elita Adams, having jumped from the observation deck of the 86th floor, was thrown onto the 85th floor by a strong gust of wind and escaped with only a broken hip. In addition, a plane once crashed into the Empire State Building, just like the Twin Towers, although not so fatally. It happened on July 28, 1945, when a US Air Force B-25 Mitchell bomber hit the northern façade of the skyscraper between the 79th and 80th floors. It was piloted by Lieutenant Colonel William Smith Jr. in fog and difficult weather conditions. As a result, a fire broke out, which was extinguished only after 40 minutes. In total, 14 people became victims of this incident. The story of elevator operator Betty Lou Oliver deserves special attention; she first received numerous burns as a result of the disaster, and then, during the rescue, her elevator fell from a height of 75 floors, but she remained alive, which was included in the Guinness Book of Records. Interestingly, the offices were resumed the very next day.

As for the architectural features, the skyscraper has 102 floors in total. Office premises with a total area of ​​200,500 sq. meters occupy 85 floors, and the main observation deck (both inside and outside the building) is located on the 86th floor, where, by the way, the check-in point for airship passengers was supposed to be located. According to the plan, the Zeppelins were supposed to moor at the spire of the skyscraper, and passengers would board and disembark from the 102nd floor. However, for reasons of basic safety, the project was curtailed. On the 102nd floor there is a second observation deck, and 16 floors starting from the 86th form an Art Deco skyscraper tower. The skyscraper's 62-meter-tall spire, installed in 1952, is hung with multiple antennas and topped with a lightning rod.

In total, the building has 73 elevators, which transport thousands of employees every day. You can get to the 80th floor in just one minute. The Empire State Building employs 21,000 people, making it America's second-largest office building after the Pentagon.

Today, the Empire State stands out among the modern glass and mostly identical skyscrapers scattered around the world. It was built in a pre-war style and is truly monumental. The building's three-story lobby is decorated with illuminated images of the Eight Wonders of the World. The eighth is, as you might guess, the Empire State itself. In 2009, large-scale restoration work began on the building, for which $550 million was allocated. First of all, this affected the main hall of the skyscraper.

As for the original lighting of the building, it was first installed in 1964, and since then the floodlights have illuminated the upper part of the building in various colors. Often the color is chosen for a reason, but in honor of a particular event. These could be popular holidays, such as Christmas or Independence Day, as well as games of New York teams (if the New York Rangers are playing, the skyscraper is illuminated in red, white and blue), the US Open Grand Slam tennis tournament or other significant dates.

Empire State Building Tickets

In 1994, a simulator attraction for tourists called New York Skyride opened on the second floor, simulating air travel over the Big Apple. The cost of the 25-minute attraction is $52. Kevin Bacon acts as a pilot during the excursion. By the way, the Empire State Building has appeared in films countless times. One of the most famous moments associated with the skyscraper is King Kong climbing it from the legendary 1933 film.

There are two observation decks in the Empire State Building - on the 86th and 102nd floors, and both are open to tourists. True, the second one is noticeably smaller than the first one, and an additional fee is charged for visiting it. The observation deck on the 86th floor with a 360-degree view enjoys unabated tourist popularity. In total, over the years of operation of the building, more than 110 million people managed to climb these platforms.

Empire State Building - 102-story skyscraper located in New York on the island of Manhattan. Office building. From 1931 to 1972, before the opening of the North Tower of the World Trade Center, it was one of the tallest buildings in the world. In 2001, when the World Trade Center towers collapsed, the skyscraper again became the tallest building in New York. The architecture of the building belongs to the Art Deco style.

In 1986, the Empire State Building was included in the list of US National Historic Landmarks. In 2007, the building was number one on the list of the best American architectural designs according to the American Institute of Architects. The owner and manager of the building is W&H Properties. The tower is located on Fifth Avenue between West 33rd and 34th Streets.

The Empire State Building is currently the second tallest skyscraper in the United States, second only to the Willis Tower in Chicago, and the 15th tallest in the world. The building is currently undergoing a $550 million renovation, $120 million of which is going toward transforming the building into a green, lower-energy structure.

The building was built with the money of John Rockefeller Jr. The hall is 30 meters long and 3 floors high, decorated with marble and decorated with 8 panels depicting the 7 wonders of the world and the eighth is the Empire State Building itself. The Guinness World Records hall contains a unique collection of unusual records. Taking the elevator in a minute, you can get to the observation deck on the 86th or 102nd floor. It offers stunning views of the city, especially at night, when the whole city sparkles with neon storefronts and colorful lights. And the web camera, thanks to which you will have the opportunity to take a virtual trip to the skyscraper and see Manhattan in great detail, is best used in daylight. Building lighting is something we can talk about endlessly. Each day of the week has its own color; holidays and significant dates have special color combinations. A unique spectacle.

HISTORY OF CONSTRUCTION OF THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING IN NEW YORK

The tower got its name from the common name of the American state of New York, which is called the “imperial state.” The name of the tower can also be translated as “House of the Imperial State”, it was designed by the architectural firm of Shreve, Lamb and Harmon, and it was built with the money of John Rockefeller Jr.

The site where the Empire State Building now stands has been a hub for high society since 1860. At that time there were two aristocratic houses there, belonging to members of the richest Astor family. John Jacob Astor III and William Backhouse Astor Jr. built their homes nearby. William Backhouse's wife Astoria, a famous lady, ruled New York society like a queen. Then she quarreled with her nephew William Waldorf Astor. During the quarrel, he demolished his house and built the Waldorf Hotel in its place. William Backhouse Astor's wife moved to another area for this reason. Her son Jacob then demolished his mother’s house and built the Astoria Hotel. Both hotels operated in the 90s of the 19th century and were known as the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. It was the city's most luxurious hotel until 1929, when it was demolished to make way for the Empire State Building.

Excavation work on the site began on January 22, 1930, and construction of the tower itself began on March 17, St. Patrick's Day. The construction site employed 3,400 workers, mostly European emigrants, as well as several hundred Mohawk steel erectors, many of whom came to the construction site from the Kahnawake reservation near Montreal. According to official data, there were five worker deaths during construction.

The construction of the building became part of a high-rise race taking place in New York at the time. Two other projects in the race, 40 Wall Street and the Chrysler Building, were underway when the Empire State Building was just beginning to be built. Each of the competing projects held the title of tallest building for several months, until the Empire State Building surpassed them all. Construction took only 410 days. Approximately four and a half floors were built per week, and during the most intense period, 14 floors were erected in 10 days. The official opening took place on May 1, 1931, when US President Herbert Hoover turned on the building's lights by pressing a button in Washington. The very next year, the first use of lighting at the top of the building was to celebrate Roosevelt's victory over Hoover in the November 1932 presidential race.

At the building's dedication on May 1, 1931, Governor Smith's children cut the ribbon. When the Empire State Building officially opened on May 1, 1931, the United States of America was experiencing an era of economic depression. Therefore, not all the premises were delivered, and the building was called the “Empty State Building”. Ten years passed until all the premises were finally delivered. The building did not generate income for the owners until 1950. It was only in 1951, after being sold to Roger Stevens and his partners for $51 million (a record price paid for a single building at that time), that the building ceased to be unprofitable.

At the beginning of the building's operation, its spire was intended to be used as a mooring mast for airships. The 102nd floor was a docking platform with a gangway for boarding the airship. A special elevator running between the 86th and 102nd floors could be used to transport passengers. Registration, as planned, took place on the 86th floor. However, the idea of ​​an air terminal was considered untenable due to safety concerns (strong and unstable air currents at the top of the building made docking very difficult, and after the first attempt it became clear that this idea was utopian). Not a single zeppelin ever moored to the building. In 1952, telecommunications equipment was placed on the site of the terminal. Subsequently, the idea was nevertheless virtually realized in the film “Sky Captain and the World of the Future.”

On July 28, 1945, a US Air Force B-25 Mitchell bomber, piloted in thick fog by Lt. Col. William Smith, crashed into the north façade of the building between the 79th and 80th floors. One of the engines pierced the tower and fell onto a neighboring building, the other fell into the elevator shaft. The fire that arose as a result of the collision was extinguished within 40 minutes. 14 people died in the incident. Elevator operator Betty Lou Oliver survived a fall in an elevator from a height of 75 floors - this achievement was included in the Guinness Book of Records. Despite this incident, the building was not closed and work in most offices did not stop the next business day.

During the entire operation of the building, more than 30 suicides were committed here. The first suicide occurred immediately after construction was completed by a recently laid off worker. In 1947, a fence was erected around the observation platform, as there were 5 suicide attempts there in just three weeks. In 1979, Miss Elvita Adams decided to take her own life and jumped from the 86th floor. But strong winds threw Miss Adams to the 85th floor, and she escaped with only a broken hip. One of the last suicides occurred on April 13, 2007, when a lawyer who was experiencing failures in his professional activities jumped from the 69th floor.

DESCRIPTION OF THE ESPIER STATE BUILDING IN NEW YORK

ARCHITECTURE. The building has 102 floors and its height is 381.3 meters. Together with the television tower, built in the 50s, it reaches a total height of 443 meters. Commercial space occupies the first 85 floors of the building (257,211 m²). The remaining 16 floors are an Art Deco superstructure, with an observation deck located on the 102nd floor. The Empire State Building is the first building in the world to have more than 100 floors. The tower has 6,500 windows and 73 elevators. The building weighs 331,000 tons, is built on a two-story foundation and supported by a steel structure weighing 54,400 tons. It took ten million bricks and 700 kilometers of cable. The total area of ​​the windows is two hectares, and the area of ​​the foundation is more than 8 thousand m². The staircase has 1860 steps, where once a year a competition is held to see who can climb the fastest. The office space can accommodate 15,000 people, and the elevators can transport 10,000 people in one hour. The tower houses approximately 1,000 offices and 21,000 employees, making the Empire State Building the second most employeed building in America after the Pentagon. The total length of infrastructure pipes reaches 113 km, the length of electrical wires is 760 km. Low pressure steam heating. Limestone slabs were used for finishing.

Since the skyscraper is surrounded by various business buildings, it is not completely visible from below. It is designed in a modest but elegant Art Deco style. Unlike most modern skyscrapers, the façade of the tower is made in a classical style. Strips of stainless steel stretch upward along the gray stone façade, and the upper floors are arranged in three terraces. The hall inside is 30 meters long and three floors high. It is decorated with panels depicting the seven wonders of the world, only an eighth has been added to them: the Empire State Building itself. The Guinness World Records Hall contains information about unusual records and record holders.

LIGHTING. In 1964, a floodlighting system was installed on the tower in order to illuminate the top in colors corresponding to any events, memorable dates or holidays (St. Patrick's Day, Christmas, etc.). For example, after the eightieth anniversary and subsequent death of Frank Sinatra, the building was illuminated in blue tones, due to the singer’s nickname “Mr. Blue Eyes.” Following the death of actress Fay Wray on August 8, 2004, the tower's lights were turned off completely for 15 minutes.

Traditionally, in addition to regular lighting, the building is illuminated in the colors of New York sports teams on days when those teams are playing in the city (orange, blue and white for the New York Knicks, red, white and blue for New York City). Rangers, etc.). During the US Open tennis tournament, the lighting is dominated by yellow (the color of the tennis ball). In June 2002, during the celebration of the anniversary of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the illumination was purple and gold (the colors of the House of Windsor).

VIEWING PLACES . The observation decks of the Empire State Building are one of the most popular tourist destinations in New York and one of the most visited observation decks in the world. In total, they were visited by more than 110 million people. The site on the 86th floor has a viewing angle of 360 degrees. Another observation deck is open on the 102nd floor. It was closed in 1999, then reopened in 2005. The upper platform is completely closed, its area is much smaller than the area of ​​the lower platform. Due to the large number of visitors, the upper platform is closed on the busiest days. Tourists pay for visiting the observation decks at the ticket office on the 86th floor (there is a separate additional payment for visiting the 102nd floor).

ATTRACTIONS. On the second floor of the building there is an attraction that opened in 1994 for tourists. The attraction is called New York Skyride and is a simulator of air travel around the city. The duration of the attraction is 25 minutes.

From 1994 to 2002, an older version of the attraction operated in which James Doohan, Scotty from Star Trek, as an airplane pilot, humorously tried to maintain control of the plane during a storm. After the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, this attraction was closed. In the new version, the plot remained the same, but the World Trade Center towers were removed from the scenery, and Kevin Bacon became the pilot instead of Doohan. The new version was primarily intended not for entertainment, but for educational and informational purposes. It also included patriotic elements.

SPORT. The Empire State Building is not only the tallest building in the city, the hallmark of Manhattan and a symbol of American architecture, but also a running platform. On February 5, a running competition takes place on the stairs of the Empire State Building. Well-prepared runners manage to climb the building's 1,576 steps - from the 1st to the 86th floor - in a few minutes. In 2003, Paul Craik set a record that has not yet been broken - 9 minutes 33 seconds. In addition, competitions are held among firefighters and police officers, who, unlike ordinary runners, must run in full gear.

EMPIRE STATE BUILDING IN PHOTOS

The most famous skyscraper in New York City is located in Midtown Manhattan at the intersection of 34th Street and 34th Street.

The Empire State Building is made in the Art Deco style, has 102 floors, the height of the building including the spire is 443.2 meters. The building takes its name from the old colloquial name for New York State (The Empire State). The building was built in 1931 and for 40 years was the tallest building in the world (until New York City builders completed the North Tower of the World Trade Center in 1972).

The Empire State Building is one of the Seven Wonders of the World and represents the strength of the American economy and the spirit of the American Nation.

The building was designed by a group of architects led by the American architect William Lamb. Construction of the building began in March 1930, with 3,400 workers simultaneously employed on the construction site every day. The work was completely completed on May 1, 1931, meaning the building was completed in less than 14 months or 410 days.

The initial cost of the Empire State Building was estimated at 43 million dollars (642 million in 2012 prices), however, due to the economic crisis that broke out - the Great Depression, at the start of construction and during the year when the building was erected, engineers were constantly looking for ways to reduce its cost, the final cost of the building at the end of construction was slightly more than half of the initially expected costs - $25 million.

During the first year of operation of the Empire State Building, its observation deck brought the owners an income of $2 million, which was comparable to the funds received from renting out the building's space.

However, for several years, the owners of the Empire State Building were unable to fill the building with tenants by more than 60%, which was explained by the ongoing Great Depression. Due to this, the building was popularly nicknamed the EMPTY State Building. Thus, the building paid off for investors only after 19 years in 1950.

The Empire State Building is the first building in the world to have more than 100 floors. The building has 6,500 windows and 73 elevators. Today, the building houses more than 1,000 tenant companies and more than 21,000 office workers visit the building every weekday, making it the second largest commercial building in America after the Pentagon.

Interesting Facts

After the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001 (9/11) and the collapse of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, the Empire State Building again became the tallest building in the world;

The building is currently owned by more than 2,800 investment funds through Empire State Building Associates L.L.C;

Over the years of the Empire State Building's existence, more than 30 people have committed suicide by jumping from its observation deck located on the 86th floor;

On December 2, 1979, Evita Adams jumped from the observation deck of a building but was thrown by a gust of wind to the floor below where she was found with a broken hip;

On July 28, 1945, at 9:40 a.m., an American pilot flying a B-25 Mitchell bomber crashed into the north side of the Empire State Building between the 79th and 80th floors as a result of loss of control. As a result of the incident, 13 office workers and the pilot himself were killed;

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The feeling of being at the foot of the Empire State Building is breathtaking. What amazes the most is the fact that this giant was built in 410 calendar days! It's crazy... By the way, during my life in Moscow, I worked for 3 years in one fairly well-known development company; our company was engaged in the construction of one of the Moscow City high-rise buildings. So, for example, the construction of that high-rise has been going on since 2003, it’s now 2013 - and the building is not a quarter completed.

The view from the observation deck cannot be described, it is amazing. It is better to visit the building in the evening, when New York is completely immersed in illumination. Long queues of tourists can spoil the impression somewhat, but after going to the observation deck, you will completely forget about it! You can get acquainted with the Empire State Building at one of my individual ones.

There are two observation decks - at the 86th floor level and at the 102nd floor level. There are so-called “express” tickets (bypassing most of the queues), so by overpaying $22 per person, you can save an hour and a half of your own time. Access to the landing on the 102nd floor is paid separately (+ $17) - this is where you can definitely save money; the landing at the top is cramped; the view from it is practically indistinguishable from the view from the 86th floor.