The Empire State Building was the world’s tallest skyscraper for almost 40 years until the World Trade Center was built in 1972. From the time the Empire State Building was finished in 1931 until the 1970’s, it was the tallest building at 1,250 feet high (1,454 feet – if you add the height of the antenna on top of the building). This huge building consists of 102 levels and has an observation deck on its 102nd and top floor.
Duration of construction
For such a massive building, it may seem as if it took a very long time to construct the Empire State Building. However, it took just one year, 13 months to be exact, to be built! Work started in March of 1930 and the building was completed in April of 1931. Still to this day, almost 90 years after its construction, you can visit this architectural marvel in New York City on 5th Avenue.
What may be even more impressive than the fact that this massive building was completed in one year is the fact that it was designed in 2 weeks! The visionary architect William F. Lamb was inspired by the Reynolds Building in North Carolina.
The construction of the Empire State Building
The building itself was built to provide inspiration to the American People as they were going through hard times of the Great Depression. Working on such a huge project created jobs for over 3,000 people. All the metal parts and beams were made away from the construction site and brought in to be gathered there. The beams were attached to the building using more than 100,000 rivets.
The workers also used about 200,000 feet of granite and limestone that was brought to New York from Indiana as well as 730 tons of aluminum and steel.
Who owns the Empire State Building?
The Empire State Building is owned today by the Empire State Realty Trust. Although it is considered to be a historic landmark, the building’s many levels are still used to serve as headquarters and offices for many major businesses and companies. Of course, as construction rules have changed over the last few decades, the building has witnessed many renovations to make it one of the most efficient buildings in the entire world. Many tourists today go to New York City simply to visit the Empire State Building, along with the Statue of Liberty. In fact, more than 3 million people visit the monument every year.
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