The Empire State Building is one of the most famous skyscrapers and buildings in the world. It is a symbol of New York City and popular culture icon, appearing in many movies such as King Kong, Sleepless in Seattle and Manhattan. Here are some fun facts and trivia about the Empire State Building.
What is the location of the building?
The Empire State Building is situated in between 33rd Street and 34th Street, at 350 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan, New York City.
What is the height of the Empire State Building?
There are several ways to measure the height of the skyscraper. The total height of the Empire State Building, all the way up to the lightning rod is 1,454 feet. From the ground to the tip of the building measures at 1,250 fee and from the ground to the observatory on the 102nd floor is 1,224 feet.
Who designed the Empire State Building?
The building’s design was by the architectural firm of Shreve, Lamb & Harmon Associates.
Who was the contractor for the building?
The construction firm of Starrett Brothers & Eken built the Empire State Building.
How long did it take to complete the construction of the Empire State Building?
The building was scheduled to take 18 months to build but was completed in one year and 45 days.
What was the cost for constructing the building?
Due to the Great Depression, the cost of construction was actually less than anticipated. It cost $24,718,000 to construct the Empire State Building. The total cost, including the building site was $40,948,900.
How many floors does the building have?
The building has 102 floors.
How many steps does it take to reach the top of the Empire State Building?
From the street up to the 102nd floor there are 1,860 steps.
How many windows does the Empire State Building have?
The skyscraper contains 6,500 rectangular-shaped windows.
How many hours did it take to build the building?
7,000,000 man hours were used to construct the Empire State Building..
How many workers worked on the construction of the Empire State Building?
At peak construction times, there were up to 3,400 workers on the construction site.
How much steel is contained in the building’s frame?
The steel skeleton of the Empire State Building contains 57,000 tons of steel.
What amount of telephone wire is contained in the building?
There is 17 million feet of telephone wiring in the Empire State Building.
How many people died during the construction of the building?
At the time of construction, there were many rumors circulating that hundreds of workers were dying. However, the official records show only 5 workers being killed. One fell out of an elevator shaft and another off a scaffold, one was struck hit by a truck and another by a hoist, and one worker was killed while in a blast area.
What is contained inside the skyscraper?
Most of the Empire State Building is comprised of office space. It is also a major tourist attraction and has observatories on the 86th floor and 102nd floor where visitors can enjoy great views of New York City and the surrounding areas.