Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story[c] Art Deco skyscraper in the Midtown South neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from "Empire State", the nickname of the state of New York. The building has a roof height of 1,250 feet (380 m) and stands a total of 1,454 feet (443.2 m) tall, including its antenna. The Empire State Building was the world's tallest building until the first tower of the World Trade Center was topped out in 1970; following the September 11 attacks in 2001, the Empire State Building was New York City's tallest building until it was surpassed in 2012 by One World Trade Center. As of 2022, the building is the seventh-tallest building in New York City, the ninth-tallest completed skyscraper in the United States, and the 54th-tallest in the world.
Not to be confused with Empire Building (Manhattan).Empire State Building
Completed
350 Fifth Avenue[a]
Manhattan, New York, 10118[b]
U.S.
March 17, 1930[2]
September 19, 1930
April 11, 1931[3]
May 1, 1931[4]
Empire State Realty Trust
1,454 ft (443.2 m)[5]
204 ft (62.2 m)[5]
1,250 ft (381.0 m)[5]
1,224 ft (373.1 m)[5]
80th, 86th, and 102nd (top) floors[5]
424 ft (129.2 m) east–west; 187 ft (57.0 m) north–south[6]
2,248,355 sq ft (208,879 m2)[5]
73[5]
Empire State Inc., including John J. Raskob and Al Smith
June 24, 1986
82001192
November 17, 1982
82001192
September 27, 1982[12]
06101.001691
May 19, 1981[13]
2000[13]
Facade
May 19, 1981[14]
2001[14]
Interior: Lobby
The site of the Empire State Building, on the west side of Fifth Avenue between West 33rd and 34th Streets, was developed in 1893 as the Waldorf–Astoria Hotel. In 1929, Empire State Inc. acquired the site and devised plans for a skyscraper there. The design for the Empire State Building was changed fifteen times until it was ensured to be the world's tallest building. Construction started on March 17, 1930, and the building opened thirteen and a half months afterward on May 1, 1931. Despite favorable publicity related to the building's construction, because of the Great Depression and World War II, its owners did not make a profit until the early 1950s.
The building's Art Deco architecture, height, and observation decks have made it a popular attraction. Around four million tourists from around the world annually visit the building's 86th- and 102nd-floor observatories; an additional indoor observatory on the 80th floor opened in 2019. The Empire State Building is an international cultural icon: it has been featured in more than 250 television series and films since the film King Kong was released in 1933. The building's size has become the global standard of reference to describe the height and length of other structures. A symbol of New York City, the building has been named as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers. It was ranked first on the American Institute of Architects' List of America's Favorite Architecture in 2007. Additionally, the Empire State Building and its ground-floor interior were designated city landmarks by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1980, and were added to the National Register of Historic Places as a National Historic Landmark in 1986.
Site
The Empire State Building is located on the west side of Fifth Avenue, between 33rd Street to the south and 34th Street to the north, in the Midtown South neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City.[17] Tenants enter the building through the Art Deco lobby located at 350 Fifth Avenue. Visitors to the observatories use an entrance at 20 West 34th Street; prior to August 2018, visitors entered through the Fifth Avenue lobby.[1] Although physically located in South Midtown,[18] a mixed residential and commercial area,[19] the building is so large that it was assigned its own ZIP Code, 10118;[20][21] as of 2012, it is one of 43 buildings in New York City that have their own ZIP codes.[22][b]
The areas surrounding the Empire State Building are home to other major points of interest, including Macy's at Herald Square on Sixth Avenue and 34th Street,[25] and Koreatown on 32nd Street between Madison and Sixth avenues.[25][26] To the east of the Empire State Building is Murray Hill,[27] a neighborhood with a mix of residential, commercial, and entertainment activity.[28] The block directly to the northeast contains the B. Altman and Company Building, which houses the City University of New York's Graduate Center, while the Demarest Building is directly across Fifth Avenue to the east.[29] The nearest New York City Subway stations are 34th Street–Herald Square, one block west, and 33rd Street at Park Avenue, two blocks east; there is also a PATH station at 33rd Street and Sixth Avenue.[27]
Lights representing the Democratic and Republican parties as results are tabulated in the 2012 presidential election
The Empire State Building is bathed annually in rainbow-colored lighting during the Pride Month of June, evoking the international LGBT icon, as seen in this 2015 image.
![The Empire State Building illuminated by rainbow-colored lighting at night]]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2a/Empire_State_Building_in_Rainbow_Colors_for_Gay_Pride_2015_%2819076876770%29.jpg/200px-Empire_State_Building_in_Rainbow_Colors_for_Gay_Pride_2015_%2819076876770%29.jpg)
As of 2013, the building housed around 1,000 businesses.[359] Current tenants include:
Former tenants include:
