The Empire State Building

 

5 Fascinating Facts About The Empire State Building

On May 1, 1931, the Empire State Building was officially opened when President Herbert Hoover turned the lights on with a push of a button from Washington, D.C. Here are 5 little-known facts about one of the United States’ most iconic skyscrapers...

The Empire State Building Went Up in 13 Months At 102 stories tall, the Empire State Building was meant to rival two other prominent skyscrapers being built at the time: the Chrysler Building and 40 Wall Street. While its height was certainly awe-inspiring, perhaps even more amazing was the fact that John Jakob Raskob's crew built the entire building in just over a year. At their peak, construction crews were completing 4.5 stories a week. The project completed way ahead of schedule and under-budget.

During World War II, the Building Was Hit by a Bomber The Empire State Building observation deck is on the 86th floor. On a sunny day, visitors can see five different states from there: New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Connecticut. On a foggy day in July 1945, a Mitchell B-25 bomber was traveling to New York City from Massachusetts. The accounts differ, but it is believed the plane was denied landing permission at the airport and advised to turn away from the city because of the weather. The pilot, William Franklin Smith, Jr., ended up crashing into the skyscraper, and the ac

The Mast at the Top of the Empire State Building Was Originally a Docking Station for Airships. When the building was constructed in the early 1930s, transatlantic airships were gaining steam and appeared to be the future of intercontinental travel. As a result, the building's designers included a 200-foot mast at the top of the building intended as a docking station for arriving airships. Passengers would deboard via a ramp, go through customs, and be on the streets of Manhattan in seven minutes or less. But high winds (and the eventual distaste for airship travel) made the concept a complete flop. Aside from a couple of publicity stunts, the tower was never used for docking purposes.

One Woman Fell 75 Stories From Inside the Building and Survived When the bomber crashed into the building in 1945, pieces of the plane’s engine went into several of the 73 elevator shafts, severing the cables in two of the cars. Unfortunately, Betty Lou Oliver, one of the elevator operators, age 19, was inside one of them on the 75th floor when it happened, and the elevator fell all the way to the sub-basement. Fortunately, over 1,000 feet of the severed cable had landed at the elevator shaft bottom in advance, which cushioned the landing, and although she was seriously injured, Oliver survived.

Three People Have Parachuted Off the Building's Observation Deck. If you've ever been to the top of the Empire State Building, you know there is security and fencing up everywhere. And for good reason: In 1986, two daredevils successfully hid parachutes from security and launched themselves from the top of the building. Both survived and were arrested. Fourteen years later, another man followed suit and jumped from the observation deck. He managed to evade capture and later successfully jumped from the Chrysler Building, too. He was finally caught while attempting a jump from the World Trade Center.

Answer: The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building stands 1,454 feet tall, including its antenna. Its name is derived from "Empire State", the nickname of New York. As of 2019, the building is the 5th-tallest completed skyscraper in the United States and the 28th-tallest building in the world. The Empire State Building stood as the world's tallest building for nearly 40 years until the completion of the 110-story North Tower of the original World Trade Center was completed.

On this day in 1993, top women’s tennis player Monica Seles was stabbed by a deranged German man during a match in Hamburg, Germany. The assailant, a fan of German tennis star Steffi Graf, apparently hoped that by injuring Seles his idol Steffi Graf would be able to regain her No. 1 ranking. Seles became a victim of the on-court attack when 38-year-old Gunter Parche leaned over a fence and stabbed her between the shoulder blades with a 9-inch long knife. Parche was quickly apprehended and Seles was taken to the hospital. She didn’t play again professionally for another two years.