This is going to be a series. Every Friday, I will write an article that focuses on a moment in history, that happened on that date. Today 5/1/20, I will cover a story on the Empire State Building.
On May 1st, 1931, President Herbert Hoover officially dedicated New York City’s Empire State Building, by pressing a button in the White House which turned the lights of the building on. The gesture was symbolic, having the president turn the lights on, miles from the building itself.
The Empire State building was born out of a rivalry between Walter Chrysler and John Jakob Raskob. They held a competition to see who could construct the larger building. At the time, Chrysler had already started construction on the famous Chrysler Building, Nestled in Midtown Manhattan, it was an immense 1,046 foot skyscraper and held the title as the world’s tallest building for about 11. months. Through this competition, Raskob gathered a team of well known investors, including former NY Governor Alfred E. Smith, and they chose Shreve, Lamb and Harmon Associates as the architecture firm to head this project. The Empire State follows the architectural trends at the time as it was constructed in Art Deco. The general shape of the building followed a pencil. Such inspiration is fairly obvious in the building, with its fairly uniform body, till it tapers off to the top in its large tower at the top. Essentially like a pencil. Such a shape is very builder friendly. This is clearly reflected in the ease of construction and the time spent. At a time, it was growing at over 4 stories a week. Ahead of schedule and under budget (at $40,000,000) it was completed in just over a year.
Revealed to be 102 stories and 1,250 feet tall (1,454 if the spire is included), upon its completion, it was the worlds tallest building. At the time, the United States was facing the heights of the Great Depression. Millions unemployed starving. The Empire State Building offered a sense of pride to New Yorkers which the desperately needed, along with offering thousands of jobs everyday. It offered a positive economic impact to the city while lifting the moods of many people in the city. A monument worthy of New York itself.
Citation:
History.com Editors. “This Day in History.” HISTORY, A&E Television Networks, 28 Apr. 2020,
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/empire-state-building-dedicated. Accessed 1
May 2020.
link: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/empire-state-building-dedicated