The Empire State Building, the 102-story skyscraper on Fifth Ave. between West 33rd and 34th Streets in Midtown Manhattan stands 1,454 feet tall. It was the world’s tallest building for 39 years from its completion in 1931 until the World Trade Center’s North Tower was completed in 1970. It has been named one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Excavation of the site began on January 22, 1930, and construction of the building began on March 17. The project involved 3,400 workers, mostly European immigrants, as well as hundreds of Mohawk iron workers. Despite an astonishing lack of safety regulations, only five workers died during construction.
The construction of the Empire State Building was part of a competition in New York City for the “world’s tallest building” with 40 Wall Street and the Chrysler Building. The Empire State Building surpassed both buildings in height upon its completion on April 11, 1931, 12 days ahead of schedule.
1929-1931 Empire State Building under Construction. mashableNew York 1950s. Worker on Empire State Building. servatiusSept. 29, 1930 Flirting with danger is just routine work for the steel workers arranging the steel frame for the Empire State Building, which became the world’s tallest structure when completed. PinterestSteelworker Carl Russell sits at 1,222 feet (400 meters) on top of a steel beam casually waving to the cameraman. ImgurOct. 29, 1930 A construction worker hangs from an industrial crane during the construction of the Empire State Building. BETTMANN: CORBISFeb. 28, 1956 “Workmen place one of the new beacon lights in position on the 90th floor of an impressive electronic crown in the form of four far-reaching night beacons. Combined, the four Empire State Night lights will generate almost two billion candle power of light and will be the brightest continuous source of man-made light in the world. Engineers say the beacons can be seen from as far as 300 miles. Cost of the installation is $250,000.” BETTMANN/CORBIS1) July 30, 1945 “Workmen erect scaffolding on the 33rd Street Side of the Empire State Building as reconstruction work on the skyscraper begins. In spite of the damage the structure suffered when a B-25 crashed between the 78th and 79th stories, the world’s tallest building was open today (July 30th), two days after the tragic accident.” BETTMANN/CORBIS1) Sept. 19, 1930 “Workmen at the new Empire State building that is being erected on the site of the old Waldorf Astoria Hotel at 34th Street and 5th Avenue. in New York, by a corporation headed by the former Governor Al Smith, raised a flag on the 88th story of the great building, 1,048 feet above the street. The flag thus is at the highest point in the city higher than the Crystler Building. Photo shows the workmen at the ceremonies.” BETTMANN/CORBISSept. 29, 1930, Erected on the site of the old Waldorf Astoria, this building will rise 1,284 feet into the air. A zeppelin mooring mast will cap this engineering feat. Mashable
