Ninety-five years ago, on May 1, 1931, the iconic symbol of New York’s financial might, Empire State Building opened. Conceived of and announced just prior to the Stock Market Crash of 1929, the building was meant to symbolize the financial might and ingenuity of the United States as it neared the end of the roaring twenties.
On the heels of his failed bid for the presidency in 1928, former New York State governor Al Smith, along with Wall Street titan John J. Raskob, announced the founding of the Empire State Building Corporation on August 29, 1929. Smith announced the sensational plan to build a skyscraper that would exceed 100 stories and become the tallest building in the world.
Construction of the building, designed by architectural firm Shreve, Lamb & Harmon Associates, began in March 1930. Following the rapid decline of stock market prices on “Black Thursday” and “Black Tuesday” in late October 1929, billions of dollars in wealth were wiped out, casting doubt on the prospects for such an ambitious project. Despite the stock market crash and the Great Depression beginning to take hold, construction moved forward.
Laying a Beam, Empire State Building, New York, circa 1931. (Image: SSPL/Universal Images Group) 
Construction of the Empire State Building in New York 1931. (Image: Photo12/Universal Images Group) 
John J Raskob. (Image: Harris & Ewing/LOC/Universal Images Group) 
Constructing the Empire State Building, New York, 1931. (Image: SSPL/Universal Images Group) 
Al Smith and wife. (Image: Buyenlarge/Universal Images Group) 
Laying a beam, Empire State Building, New York, circa 1931. (Image: SSPL/Universal Images Group) 
New York circa 1931. A workman sweeping the highest sidewalk in the world, the 81st story of the Empire State Building, the world’s tallest building. (Image: Underwood Archives/Universal Images Group) 
Empire State Building, New York. 1931. (Image: Sepia Times/Universal Images Group)
At a cost of $41 million, the 102-story Empire State Building was completed in an astonishing 410 days, becoming the tallest building in the world, a distinction that would last until 1971 when the first of the Twin Towers in lower Manhattan were completed. The Great Depression may have not prevented the building from being constructed, but it left its mark on the project. Much of the office space in the immense building remained unrented for several years, leading to the building’s early and unfortunate nickname “The Empty State Building”. It would take twenty years before the giant structure was profitable.
Despite it’s early struggles the Empire State Building quickly became an American and New York icon. Soon after its opening, the 1933 film King Kong would forever enshrine the structure in Hollywood lore. The building has been used in hundreds of films since its opening, including memorable romantic films Love Affair (1939), An Affair to Remember (1957) and Sleepless in Seattle (1993).
Empire State Building 1931. (Image: LOC/Universal Images Group) 
The Empire State Building. (Image: Sergio Pitamitz/VWPics/Universal Images Group) 
Empire State Building, Fifth Avenue on left, New York City, New York, USA, Angelo Rizzuto, Anthony Angel Collection, November 1952. (Image: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group) 
Empire State Building. (Image: Kike Calvo/Universal Images Group) 
Empire State Building’s night view. (Image: Leonardo Mangia/REDA/Universal Images Group) 
View over Manhattan island to the Empire State building. Seen from the Rockefeller Centre Top of the Rock viewing deck. (Image: Education Images/Universal Images Group) 
The Empire State Building skyscraper. (Image: Education Images/Universal Images Group)
Nearly one-hundred years later, the Empire State Building remains one of the world’s greatest examples of modernist Art Deco design. The structure’s 60,000 tons of steel, 200,000 cubic feet of limestone and granite, 730 tons of aluminum and its 10 million bricks propel this great building high into the sky above one of the world’s greatest cities.
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Sources:
“Empire State Building”; Encyclopedia Britannica, April 13, 2020 by Imaan Yousuf https://www.britannica.com/topic/Empire-State-Building
“Empire State Building”; Wonders of the World Databank, PBS https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/wonder/structure/empire_state.html
“10 Surprising facts About the Empire State Building”; History.com by Evan Andrews https://www.history.com/articles/10-surprising-facts-about-the-empire-state-building