The Empire State Building is an Historic Landmark
The Empire State Building remains among the most impressive structures in the world and with more than 3 million visitors a year is still one of New York’s top tourist attractions.
The idea for the project originated from four wealthy New York businessmen. One of these men was John Jakob Raskob, who played a significant role in the creation of General Motors. Their project had yet another automotive connection because it was in a race with plans by Walter Chrysler to erect the world’s tallest building in New York City.
In 1929 these businessmen united to form Empire State, Inc. and construction of the skyscraper began on March 17, 1930. Amazingly, it took just one year and 45 days to build this towering edifice. When it opened in 1931 the Empire State Building was officially designated as the World’s Tallest Building.
Once the construction began, the building’s steel frame rose at an average rate of four and a half floors per week. To speed construction, the posts, beams, windows and window frames were made in factories and put together on the site. Some 60,000 tons of steel was brought in from steel mills in Pennsylvania by train, Continue reading ‘The Empire State Building is an Historic Landmark’ »
