NYCPassion

Link: http://nycbestours.com

The King of our kingdom, the Emperor of this Empire State, married to our beloved “Liberty Enlightening the World", what couldn’t The Empire City be separated from : The Empire State Building

Can people undestand, this stand in the heart of the Big Apple?
Let’s review it together for a better prospective.
It all started when the wealthy family Astor couldn’t hold on to a beautiful two-buildings Hotel : Waldorf-Astoria; an amazing palace for who could afford its luxuries.

The big depression had just hit the world and to write the least, money wasn’t around. That land on 34th St near 5th avenue sold to the new owners, the idea was to be realized. Building a skyscrapper in a record time ( on the plans 1 year 6 months ). History was then to begin with Al Smith and his workers.

 On March 17th 1930, construction of the Empire State Building began. Under the direction of architects Shreve, Lamb & Harmon Associates, and a peak labor force of 3,000 men, framework rose at a rate of 4 ½ stories per week

Every resources needed for the work was gathered at hand reaching distance if possible otherwise delivered every morning.  600 workers hired daily, divided in groups of 4 to be hired and or fired. 250 people at the same moment waiting on the sidewalk for work. If the “Sky Boys” Needed water to drink, it was up, needed lunch, it was up; toilets even were up in a time where our sophisticated computers weren’t available  with a record week where 10 floors were built. So they came to work everyday even if they were sick or exhausted they would still come to keep the job for the other members of the group.  

In those conditions the work continued until May 1st 1931, the Empire State Building was inaugurated as the Tallest building in the World. Having inside 68 elevators ( now 73 ) and 186 miles of steel, while made of limestones from Indiana the new Art Deco was constructed in the Record Time of 410 days for 102 floors (1 year 45 days), a record still held. It stayed the World’s tallest building at 1,454 feet - (1,453 feet, 8 9/16th inches) or
443.2 meters to top of lightning rod- from 1931 to 1973 with the completion of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.

Of course Al Smith had problems after the construction of so much office space inside the ESB in a time where work was most needed. A big part of the brand new building was Empty up to the point the New York Times used to refer to it as ” The Empty State Building". To answer to that the President of the Corporation of the ESB  hired a group of people to turn on some lights at night inside so everyone will think that it was well occupied.

The best help arrived as a savior in 1933 with the movie ‘KING KONG’ .It brought back the tower to the highest of its fame

Another creative way to make our nights brighter looking up  since 1932 lights on top and  from 1976 with colors and over the years changing them for all special occasions. For exemple Green for St Patrick’s Day, Blue-White-Red on Independance Day .

 In 1945 at the end of World War II, an Army Air Corps B-25 twin-engine bomber plane crashed into the 79th floor of the building in dense fog, killing 14 persons including the pilot who thought the tower was just 1000 ft or shorter. the incident took place in the morning.

Another amazing fact is The building’s dirigible mast (now the base of the TV tower) was originally designed as a mooring mast for Air blimps (unfortunately because of several unsuccessful attempts and the volatile wind conditions at 1,350 feet, the idea was ultimately abandoned).

Since 1986 it is a National Landmark, a title that i think it should have been given as a world’s landmark knowing it’s the most  famous skyscrapper.

An Emperor always stands tall , even after a hit, he manages to make people trust the way he celebrates every good they do or have. It’s a Symbol.

All visitors everyday except certain holidays have between 8 am and 1:15 am the following morning everyday to go visit the observation deck at the 86 th floor and depend on the season with a little more money the 1o2nd floor. As many tourists want to go up i recommend you go online and get the express pass to avoid the long waiting lines of a beautiful summer day.

It’s imperative for any New Yorker or visitor to say i have visited the Empire State Building 

There are 1,860 steps from street level to the 102nd floor.

10-20 thousand people visit the Empire State Building daily.

On a clear day, you can see for almost 80 miles from the top of the Empire State Building.

Lightening strikes the Empire State Building about 100 times a year.

The  record time to Run Up the stairs of the Empire State Building is 9 mins.33 sec

If you never came to NYC or even online , you definitly have seen the Empire State Building in countless of movies just to start with a few

 and the whole list available at here

 Now i love this next video it’s short but it’s powerful. . a  Lightning Strike Empire State Building

Just as Powerful that strike can be my love for this iconic building, i can’t describe it all i wish i could, but i hope you can understand this stand of  The Empire State Building.

Mamadou Diallo

Licensed NYC Sightseeing Guide

NYC Passionate www.NYCBestours.com</a>

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