National Historic Landmark-Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is the symbol of New York, just as the Eiffel Tower is to Paris and Big Ben is to London. It is still the biggest tourist attraction in the biggest tourist city in
the world.
Beautifully finished in the Art Deco style, the vertical lines of the structure give it the appearance of a soaring spire that rises one-fifth of a mile high. This famous skyscraper is also an engineering masterpiece supported by an elastic steel skeleton.
The design was the finest work of architect William Lamb, Chief designer for the firm of Shreve, Laub, and Harmon. The "tallest building" when it was finished in April 1931, it lost
its title in the 1970's to both Chicago's Sear's Tower and the World Trade Center in New York. It remains, however, New York city's most widely recognized architectural symbol.
The history of the site is typical of the development of an urban area in New York city from open farm land purchased in 1827 by William B. Astor, second son of John Jacob Astor, to
its eventual purchase in 1929 by Empire State Building interests. Over a 50 year period, 34th Street and Fifth Avenue became the city's most fashionable residential area where
palatial houses were built for the Vanderbilts, A.T. Stewart, August Belmont and the Hamilton-Fishes.
Two Astor houses were built at 33rd Street and Fifth Avenue)one for John Jacob Astor, Jr. and the other for William Backhouse Astor. They became the meeting center of New York society's "four hundred." In 1890, William B. Astor sold his house, had it razed and built the Waldorf Hotel followed in 1897 by the Astoria Hotel on the site of the John J. Astor, Jr.
house. Hotel construction gave way to commercial development (Altman's, Bonwit Teller, Tiffany's) which in turn was displaced by tall office buildings (Flatiron, New York Trust,
Squibb, etc.). The culmination of this activity came in 1930 when the old Waldorf-Astoria Hotel was demolished and the Empire State rose on the site.
Today the Empire State is a successful, fully tenanted building with "the best view of New York" from its Observation Tower. It has survived an airplane disaster on July 28, 1945 when an Army bomber hit the 79th floor in the fog and mist. It tore a hole in the facade 18 x 20 feet wide and as the upper levels caught fire from burning fuel the construction of the skyscraper was given the most severe test)and it passed. It shook twice on impact and settled)fire and smoke did the most damage. Since 1961, the Empire State has been centrally air conditioned. Moving stairs to the lower concourse have been installed and the facade has been cleaned and painted. It is still a premier office address in New York City and one of the world's most famous buildings.
