Why Was the Empire State Building Built?

The Empire State Building in New York City ranks among one of the most impressive structures in the world, but a more interesting story lies in the reason the Empire State Building was built. When the building opened its doors in 1931, it was the tallest building in the world. It held this title until 1972, when it was surpassed by the World Trade Center's North Tower.

The Empire State Building was built for a competition. After the construction of the Eiffel Tower in France, architects all over the world saw it as a kind of taunt, especially American architects.

By the early twentieth century, a skyscraper race was underway in the United States. There was the Metropolitan Life Tower in 1909, followed by the Woolworth Building in 1913. Apparently, there was an intense competition in 1929 between Walter Chrysler, of the Chrysler Corporation, and John Raskob, a previous vice-president of General Motors, to see who could build the tallest building in the world in the shortest amount of time.

The 40 Wall Street building (formerly known as the Bank of Manhattan) was also in the race. Even though it was completed first, the 40 Wall Street building barely held the title for world's tallest building for a year before it was surpassed by the Chrysler Building in May 1930.

Anyway, John Raskob was determined to build the tallest building in the world, and he gathered a team of investors which included Coleman du Pont, Pierre S. du Pont, president of E.I Du Pont de Nemours, and Louis G. Kaufman and Ellis P. Earl, from Empire State, Inc. Together with good friend Alfred E. Smith, Raskob set about to make this dream a reality.

The Empire State Building was constructed during the great depression when the situation for many of Americans seemed dire, provided construction jobs for many workers and it is a physical symbol to many of man's undying struggle to rise up and meet any challenge.

Today, it is the symbol of New York City, maybe the most famous city in the world, and it has been visited by about 120 million people who pay to ride to the 86th floor and 102nd floors to gaze out of the observation decks situated on these floors.

Furthermore, its image is rampant in popular culture, having been featured in over 90 movies (the most popular of which is probably King Kong), television shows, music and literature. The Empire State Building appears to be here to stay.

The Building Process

First, a site had to be picked for the location of the building. The nature of the project required land that could support the very heavy weight of the anticipated structure. Bedrock was needed and this was only available in the right quantities in Manhattan. The base of the building would occupy two acres.

As such, the best site was found to be on Fifth avenue, between 33rd and 34th streets where a vacancy had been left after the glamorous Waldorf-Astoria hotel had closed its business. Raskob and his investment team acquired the land for a little under $20 million and demolished the old hotel by January 1930 with the debris removed by March to make way for the new building.

A design then had to be decided on. It allegedly took sixteen different designs of the Empire State Building before one was approved by Raskob. Shreve, Lamb and Harmon were hired as the architects for the projects. Raskob's main requirement was a tall building. His directive to the William F. Lamb was to make as tall a building with the available funding that would not fall down.

William Lamb came up with the design in two weeks, basing the Empire State Building design on  earlier designs for the Reynolds Building in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and the Carew Tower in Cincinnati, Ohio. As ingenious as Lamb's design was, Raskob himself put the icing on the cake. Worried about tricks Chrysler at the last minute to extend the height of his building, Raskob suggested putting a 'hat' at the top of the Empire State Building.

Construction

The construction methods of the time involved using mostly iron girders; but, to provide greater strength with a lower weight, steel was the material used for the Empire State Building.

With the race in mind, the material deliveries were scheduled in such a way that the construction workers were able to put the building together much as a toy is built: the materials would arrive just as they were needed and construction proceeded rapidly.

The final stage of the construction was the masonry work which was completed by May 1, 1931 when the ribbon cutting was performed and when President Hoover turned on the lights for the first time directly from Washington D.C.

The Empire State Building took a little over eighteen months to complete and cost about $40 million dollars, including the cost of the land. It stands at a total height of 1454 feet with 102 stories serviced by 73 elevators. There are over 6500 windows in the building, providing spectacular views from every side of the building.The mast on the top of the building was originally designed to be used as a dirigible mooring mast. A few attempts were made to dock, but the winds at the top were too volatile, so this use was abandoned.

The Empire State Building was built as proof that man can achieve anything he puts his mind to, even a 1454 foot structure during a time of great economic depression and sparse technology.