Undoubtedly one of the top tourist attractions in New York City, with over four million visitors per year, is the Empire State Building. This art Deco American icon has been featured in more than 250 television shows and movies and has been named “One of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World” by the American Society of Civil Engineers. It is so large, the building was assigned its own zip code (i.e. 10118).
The site on which the Empire State Building was erected, was originally part of the 18th century John and Mary Murray farm. The property passed through a number different owners over the years until financier John Jacob Astor bought it in 1826. Records do not indicate what Astor did with the property. However, in 1893, his grandson, William Waldorf Astor opened the Waldorf hotel on the property. Four years later, the Astor hotel was opened on an adjacent property by cousin John Jacob Astor V. When the two hotels merged, they became the largest in the world at the time with 1300 bedrooms. By the 1920’s, the family felt the hotel was outdated, so they decided to build a replacement further uptown. The property was then sold to the Bethlehem Engineering Corporation, which closed the hotel in May of 1829, with plans to convert it into a 25 story office building. Unfortunately, they defaulted on the loan and the property was sold to the Empire State Inc. This business venture group planned to construct a 50 story office building. After fifteen revisions and the Great Depression, it turned into an 86 story office building. Further revisions later on brought it up to 102 stories, standing at 1454 feet. Opening on May 1, 1831, the Empire State Building became the world’s tallest building and remained so for 40 years.
Perhaps in an omen of things to come, on July 28, 1945, a B-25 Mitchell bomber, flying in thick fog, crashed into the 79th and 80th floors, killing 17 and doing more than a million dollars worth of damage to the building. Following this accident, the Federal Aviation Administration required strict new rules about flying in New York City.
The Empire State Building has been the residence for a number of famous tenants, including former New York Governor and presidential candidate Al Smith, the Greater New York City Council of the Boy Scouts of America, NBC television, Air China, and LinkedIn , among others. Today, there are five television stations and nineteen radio stations that call the building home. In 1986, the Empire State Building was designated a National Historic Landmark.
Aerial view of the Empire State Building (“borrowed” from a promotional exhibit and obviously not one I took). A street view does not quite capture the whole building. In the lobby is this relief sculpture of the building. Archival photo of the building’s construction (that is the Chrysler building in the background). At the observation deck near the top of the building. This was NOT one of my favorite places (heights and I do not get along very well). I do have to admit that the views from the top are spectacular! In July of 1945, a B-25 Mitchell bomber crashed into the 79th/80th floors. Killing 17 and causing around $1,000,000 worth of damage.
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Carl and Lorraine Aveni are two retirees planning on traveling through Europe for at least one year.
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