The Empire State Building

Background 

            The Empire State Building is a massive 102 story structure in New York City, receiving its name from New York State’s nickname “the empire state.” Built in 1930, the building is located at the crossroads of Fifth Avenue and West 34^th Street. At the time it was built, the Empire State Building was the tallest construction in the world and it held that position until 1972. It now ranks as the 3^rd tallest skyscraper the United States, to the Willis Tower and the Trump International Hotel and Tower, and the 15^th in the world.

Construction

                        At the time it was being constructed, there was a sort of race going on to build the tallest building. First there was the Eiffel Tower in Paris, so American architects wanted to build a skyscraper of their own. Therefore, John Jakob Raskob hired William F. Lamb, the architect of the Empire State Building, to build a tower “as high as it can be before it falls over.” So, on March 17^th 1930, 3,400 workers got together and started the construction of the Empire State Building. A ribbon was cut for a symbol of completion on May 1^st, 1931 by the governor of New York’s grandchildren. 

            The Empire State building was built in just 1 year and 45 days! The building cost less to construct than expected, totaling at $40,948,900 when it was budgeted to be about $50,000,000. The Empire State building is currently undergoing renovations costing $550,000,000, much more that it cost to construct! The fact that it was the Great Depression helped lower the cost because labor fees were down and immigrants from Europe worked for very little pay.
            The Empire State Building was completed during the Great Depression; so much of the office space was not rented. Also, the location of the building was inconvenient for it was not near any transportation areas. Regardless of this, there was a lot of fanfare at the opening ceremony, and President Herbert Hoover did a lighting ceremony.
Suicides
            There have been about 30 suicides from the Empire State building because there are high gates built around the observation decks to prohibit accidents and there are guards as well. The most famous suicide story was that of Evelyn McHale jumped from the 86^th floor observatory deck and landed on a limousine parked at the curb of the building. A photo of her was caught by a student just minutes after her death. This occurred on May 1^st, 1947.

Role in popular culture

            The Empire State Building has played a role in many famous movies. From King Kong, Sleepless in Seattle, and Love Affair movie makers have involved the beauty and splendor of the building. In Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lighting Thief, the Empire State Building is the entrance to Olympus. Said to be on the “600^th floor,” gods and “half-bloods” can enter Olympus by riding the elevator to the floor unknown to humans. The cover of the movie shows a spectacular view of New York in the background with the Empire State building or “Olympus” as well.

 

          The Empire State Building also played a role in King Kong. The climax of the movie has the gorilla climbing to the top of the building fighting planes. The image is iconic. Sometimes the photo is displayed at movie theaters on a wall full of photos of great American movies. Regardless of where the photo is seen, almost everyone can relate to King Kong as an iconic American film. The famous Empire State Building has a part of popular culture.   

I do

            The Empire State Building receives about 2 million visitors every year, and although there are no statistics to show how many proposals occur in the building, every year on Valentine’s Day couples are allowed to get married on top. On a regular basis, couples who wish to be married on one of the observation decks must send in an application and are chosen by originality and panache.