25 Random Facts About the Empire State Building
The "25 Random Facts" craze is sweeping the Internet according to an article in the New York Times; our contribution is today's list of 25 random facts about the Empire State Building:
- According to a study done by the National Park Service, the Empire State Building is one of the top ten destinations for U.S. travelers
- The building has more than 2 million square feet of commercial space.
- In 1945, a B-25 bomber crashed into the 79th floor, killing 14 people but doing little structural damage.
- The observation deck receives more than 4.3 million visitors each year.
- On an annual basis, visitors to the ESB represent every state in the U.S. and almost every country in the world.
- The Empire State Building was built on the original site of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, which has since moved over to Park Avenue.
- The building itself contains more than 60 miles of water pipe and 60,000 tons of steel -- that's enough to build double railroad tracks from NYC to Baltimore.
- Amazingly, the Empire State Building was built with horse power rather than the cranes, mixing trucks, and other machines available today.
- It was built 45 days ahead of schedule and $5 million under budget.
- At 1,454 feet, it has the world's greatest TV tower, reaching 8 million TV sets in a four-state area.
- Despite its world-class stature today, the building had difficulty attracting tenants when it was first completed, and was often ridiculed as the "Empty State Building."
- The Empire State Building has 73 elevators that move through 7 miles of shafts.
- The top of the building is occasionally left dark on foggy or rainy nights in the spring and fall to protect the 80 or so species of migratory birds that fly at lower altitudes in bad weather and might otherwise be attracted to the floodlights that illuminate the 72nd to 102nd floors and rush toward them like months to a flame.
- This famous office tower has more than 6,500 windows, which must be washed on a continuing basis.
- The top 30 floors are often bathed in colored lights to celebrate holidays throughout the year: red, white and blue for the 4th of July; green and red for Christmas, and so forth.
- For a time, there were thoughts of turning the skyscraper into a dirigible "airport." Although these plans were abandoned, evidence of this scheme lives on in the observatory of the 86th floor (which was to hold the customer lounges, ticket agencies and baggage rooms) and the observation deck on the 102nd story (which was to be the mooring site).
- The ESB is a National Historic Landmark.
- Its famous Art Deco spire, visible throughout much of Manhattan, is immortalized in countless movies, including King Kong and Sleepless in Seattle.
- The famous views are justifiable: on a clear day 80 mile visibility allows you to see landmarks in all five boroughs, as well as Long Island and New Jersey.
- In 1955 the American Society of Civil Engineers named the Empire State Building one of the "Seven Modern Wonders of the Western Hemisphere."
- The building was also named the eighth wonder of the modern world -- the only one built in the 20th century.
- The tower sits on a 2-acre lot.
- Pierre du Pont was one of the original investors in the ESB.
- The speed of construction was remarkable even by current standards: in one 10-day period, 14 stories were added to the building.
- Construction began just weeks after the Wall Street crash of 1929.
posted by Insider Travel Guides at 11:43 AM
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