The Empire State
Building
From the Today
in History Archives
On May 1, 1931, with the press of a button in
Washington, D.C., President Herbert Hoover turned on the lights of
the Empire State Building. This event officially opened the
edifice, at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 34th Street in New York
City, to the public. At 102 stories, it reigned as the world's
tallest skyscraper until 1954.
In 1929, a corporation which included Alfred E. Smith (former
Governor of New York) and John Jacob Raskob (financial captain
behind the growth of General Motors), and others formed to
construct the Empire State Building. Excavation began in January
of the following year, construction commenced in March, and Smith
laid its cornerstone in September. The steel framework rose at a
rate of 4 1/2 stories per week. The building's construction was
completed in a phenomenal one year and 45 days.
Upon its completion, the 1454-foot Empire State Building became
an icon for all things New York. Its Art Deco lobby presented
10,000 square feet of marble and its mast, currently a TV tower,
was originally intended as a mooring for dirigibles. It has been
featured in scores of stories and films, perhaps the most the most
famous being the 1933 production of King Kong
starring Fay Wray
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