Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story contemporary Art Deco style skyscraper in New York City, USA, declared by the American Society of Civil Engineers to be one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World, it was designed by the collaboration of Shreve, Lamb and Harmon, the general contractors Starrett Brothers and Eken, and other mechanical and mechanical engineers, financed by John J. Raskob and Pierre S. DuPont, and the construction company was chaired by ex-Governor Alfred E. Smith. It was finished in 1931. The tower takes its name from the nickname of New York State. Since the World Trade Center was destroyed during the September 11, 2001 attacks, it is again the tallest building in New York City. It is currently the second tallest building in the United States after the Sears Tower in Chicago.
The building belongs to the World Federation of Great Towers, and has been designated as a Landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, and confirmed by the New York City Board of Estimate. Its street floor interior has also been so designated.
Description
Unlike most of today's high-rise buildings, the Empire State has a classic façade. The building's distinctive art deco spire was originally designed to be a mooring mast and depot for Dirigibles. However, after a couple of test attempts with airships, the idea proved to be impractical and dangerous due to the powerful updrafts caused by the size of the building itself, though the T-shaped mooring devices remain in place. The building is normally described as being 102 stories tall, but it actually only has 85 stories of commercial and office space (2,158,000 square feet), and an observation deck on the 86th floor. The remaining 16 stories represent the Mooring Mast and the Spire–which today is the Broadcast Antenna. The actual 102nd Floor was originally the landing platform for the Dirigible Gang Plank one elevator, which travels between the 86th and 102nd floors was supposed to transport passengers after they checked-in on the 86th Floor.
“The monumental Fifth Avenue entrance is less interesting than the modernistic stainless steel canopies of the” entrances on 33rd and 34th Streets. “All of them lead to 2-story-high corridors (which are crossed by stainless steel and glass enclosed bridges” at the 2nd floor level.) around the elevator core”, which contains 67 elevators. There are various “setbacks” in the building's design, as required by the New York City's Zoning Resolution of 1916 (aimed at, among other things, reducing shadows cast by tall buildings). These setbacks give the building its unique tapered silhouette.
The lobby is three stories high and contains an aluminum relief of the skyscraper (lacking the later added antenna). The north corridor contains eight illuminated panels, created by Roy Sparkia and Renée Nemorov in 1963, depicting the building as the Eighth Wonder of the World alongside the traditional seven.
The building has one of the most popular outdoor observatories in the world, having been visited by over 110 million people. The 86th floor observation deck offers impressive 360-degree views of the city.
Long-term forecasting of the life cycle of the structure was implemented at the design phase to ensure that the building's future intended uses were not restricted by the requirements of future generations. This is particularly evident in the over-design of the building's electrical system.
There is a second observation deck on the 102nd floor that is open to the public. It was closed in 1999, but reopened in November 2005. Completely enclosed and much smaller, it may be closed on high-traffic days.
Statistics
The tower rises to 1,250 feet (381 m) at the 102nd floor, and its full structural height (including broadcast antenna) reaches 1,453 feet and 8 9/16th inches (443 m). It was the first building to have more than 100 floors, 102 to be exact.
It remained the tallest skyscraper in the world for a record 41 years (and the world's tallest man-made structure for 23 years) until the construction of the World Trade Center, and shortly afterwards the Sears Tower. Following the events of September 11, 2001, the Empire State Building regained the title of tallest building in New York City, and the 2nd tallest building in the United States (see the 50 Tallest buildings in the U.S. list).
The building weighs approximately 330,000 metric tonnes. The building has 6,500 windows, 73 elevators and 1,860 steps to the top floor. Total floor area: 2,200,000 square feet (200,000 m²).
The Empire State Building is located at 350 Fifth Avenue, ZIP Code 10118, between 33rd and 34th Streets, in Midtown Manhattan, at approximately 40°44´55''N, 73°59´11''W. It is directly across from Weehawken Cove, on the other side of the Hudson River.
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