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Empire State Building

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The Empire State Building is a famous skyscraper in New York City.

NARA Empire State Building
NARA Empire State Building

It is located in the Midtown South neighborhood of Manhattan. This supertall building has 102 stories. Its name comes from the nickname of New York state.

EmpireStateBuilding20205thAvenueEntrance
EmpireStateBuilding20205thAvenueEntrance

The building is a huge symbol of the city. It is even one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World. It stands as the eighth-tallest building in New York City today.

Building such a tall tower is a big job.

Empire State Building plan
Empire State Building plan

The architects used a style called Art Deco. This style uses geometric shapes and patterns. To let sunlight reach the streets, the building has setbacks. These are places where the walls step back inward. These setbacks happen at the 21st, 25th, 30th, 72nd, 81st, and 85th stories.

Looking Up at Empire State Building
Looking Up at Empire State Building

The outside walls use Indiana limestone and granite. They also use ten million bricks and many windows.

Designing the tower took a lot of work.

Old timer structural worker2
Old timer structural worker2

The firm Shreve, Lamb & Harmon designed the building. They changed the design fifteen times. They wanted to make sure it was the tallest in the world. Construction began on March 17, 1930. It took thirteen and a half months to finish. The building finally opened on May 1, 1931.

Zeppelin bij Empire State Building in aanbouw - Zeppelin near the Empire State Building under construction (6943970242)
Zeppelin bij Empire State Building in aanbouw - Zeppelin near the Empire State Building under construction (6943970242)

Even though it was famous, the owners did not make a profit until the 1950s.

Many interesting facts define this landmark.

EmpireStateBuilding202080thFloorSouthEastCorner
EmpireStateBuilding202080thFloorSouthEastCorner

It was the world's tallest building until 1970. After the September 11 attacks, it was New York's tallest again. Then, One World Trade Center passed it in 2012. About four million tourists visit the observatories every year.

People look out from the 86th and 102nd floors. A new indoor deck opened on the 80th floor in 2019. The building is so big it has its own ZIP Code, 10118.

The building is a star in many ways.

EmpireStateBuildingCU
EmpireStateBuildingCU

It has appeared in over 250 films and TV shows. One famous movie was King Kong in 1933. The top of the building also uses amazing lights. In 2012, they installed 1,200 LED fixtures. These lights can show over 16 million colors.

The lights can change for holidays or even sports teams. This makes the building a colorful part of the night sky.

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🖼️ Images & Media (20)
File:EmpireStateBuilding20205thAvenueEntrance.jpg
EmpireStateBuilding20205thAvenueEntrance.jpg
File:USA-NYC-Empire State1.JPG
USA-NYC-Empire State1.JPG
File:Empire State Building elevators 01.jpg
Empire State Building elevators 01.jpg
File:Empire State Building lobby 20240521.jpg
Empire State Building lobby 20240521.jpg
File:Empire State Building Entrance decoration (6046008895).jpg
Empire State Building Entrance decoration...
File:EmpireStateBuilding202080thFloorSouthEastCorner.jpg
EmpireStateBuilding202080thFloorSouthEastC...
File:EmpireStateBuilding highest point-crop.jpg
EmpireStateBuilding highest point-crop.jpg
File:Waldorf Astoria, New York City LCCN2002699564.jpg
Waldorf Astoria, New York City LCCN2002699564.jpg
File:Empire State Building plan.jpg
Empire State Building plan.jpg
File:Old timer structural worker2.jpg
Old timer structural worker2.jpg
File:Zeppelin bij Empire State Building in aanbouw - Zeppelin near the Empire State Building under construction (6943970242).jpg
Zeppelin bij Empire State Building in...
File:Icarus, Empire State Building MET DP106525.jpg
Icarus, Empire State Building MET DP106525.jpg

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