Empire State Building

The Empire State Building is a 102-story, <a href="/facts/Art_Deco/y1xFeh9t">Art Deco</a>-style <a href="/facts/Supertall/HU2lFpXK">supertall</a> skyscraper in the <a href="/facts/Midtown_South/SKC6SWHP">Midtown South</a> neighborhood of <a href="/facts/Manhattan/fF9JeXjh">Manhattan</a> in New York City. The building was designed by <a href="/facts/Shreve,_Lamb_%26_Harmon/YXzpPU9C">Shreve, Lamb & Harmon</a> and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from "<a href="/facts/Empire_State/wcMN7M7r">Empire State</a>", the <a href="/facts/List_of_U.S._state_nicknames/lkt7tGEK">nickname</a> 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 <a href="/facts/Antenna_(radio)/pGlcXBvc">antenna</a>. The Empire State Building was the world's tallest building until the first tower of the <a href="/facts/World_Trade_Center_(1973%E2%80%932001)/mtSktMFe">World Trade Center</a> was <a href="/facts/Construction_of_the_World_Trade_Center/6CghBrA9">topped out in 1970</a>; following the <a href="/facts/Collapse_of_the_World_Trade_Center/aCjr1jFw">September 11 attacks</a> in 2001, the Empire State Building was once more New York City's tallest building until it was surpassed in 2012 by <a href="/facts/One_World_Trade_Center/o35h6ac9">One World Trade Center</a>. As of 2025<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Empire_State_Building&action=edit">[update]</a>, the building is the <a href="/facts/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_New_York_City/UdI6KCao">eighth-tallest building in New York City</a>, the <a href="/facts/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_the_United_States/VTI2xTr8">tenth-tallest completed skyscraper in the United States</a>, and the <a href="/facts/List_of_tallest_buildings/wkeLK00x">59th-tallest completed skyscraper in the world</a>.
The site of the Empire State Building, on the west side of <a href="/facts/Fifth_Avenue/wTMv028r">Fifth Avenue</a> between West <a href="/facts/33rd_Street_(Manhattan)/WWgX9moD">33rd</a> and <a href="/facts/34th_Street_(Manhattan)/qt4NTzUE">34th Streets</a>, was developed in 1893 as the <a href="/facts/Waldorf-Astoria_(1893%E2%80%931929)/vcEm9y6H">Waldorf–Astoria Hotel</a>. 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 <a href="/facts/Great_Depression/5K13wcg0">Great Depression</a> and <a href="/facts/World_War_II/2efV5L1U">World War II</a>, its owners did not make a profit until the early 1950s.
The building's <a href="/facts/Art_Deco_architecture_of_New_York_City/I88axuW1">Art Deco architecture</a>, height, and <a href="/facts/Observation_deck/ucMKLNSB">observation decks</a> 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 <a href="/facts/Cultural_icon/r61E5wrT">cultural icon</a>: it has been featured in more than 250 television series and films since the film <a href="/facts/King_Kong_(1933_film)/HPvaw2uE">King Kong</a> was released in 1933. The building's size has been used as a 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 <a href="/facts/Seven_Wonders_of_the_Modern_World/daPzgAEy">Seven Wonders of the Modern World</a> by the <a href="/facts/American_Society_of_Civil_Engineers/FVPmz6sf">American Society of Civil Engineers</a>. It was ranked first on the <a href="/facts/American_Institute_of_Architects/tEkC3mtc">American Institute of Architects</a>' List of <a href="/facts/America%27s_Favorite_Architecture/1oF6hLF2">America's Favorite Architecture</a> in 2007. Additionally, the Empire State Building and its ground-floor interior were designated city landmarks by the <a href="/facts/New_York_City_Landmarks_Preservation_Commission/00NH9xxv">New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission</a> in 1980, and were added to the <a href="/facts/National_Register_of_Historic_Places/leUNvfW6">National Register of Historic Places</a> as a <a href="/facts/National_Historic_Landmark/gSl4aEdv">National Historic Landmark</a> in 1986.

Empire State Building open-in-new

Empire State Building