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Facts about the Empire State Building

from The Empire State Building by Theodore James (1975)

Construction of the Empire State Building began in March of 1930 on the site of the old Waldorf-Astoria Hotel at 350 Fifth Avenue at 34th Street. It was completed 14 months later in May, 1931. Designed by the architectural firm of Shreve, Lamb, & Harmon Associates, the Empire State Building, at 102 stories, was the tallest building in the world until the completion of the first tower of the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan in 1972.

Location: 350 Fifth Avenue, between 33rd and 34th Streets, New 

York, NY 10001



Architects: Shreve, Lamb & Harmon Associates.



Builders: Starrett Brothers & Eken, Inc.



Managing Agents: Helmsley Spear, Inc.



Height: 1,472 feet (448 meters) to top of antennae. 1,250 feet (391 

meters) to 102nd floor observatory. 1,050 feet (320 meters) to 86th 

floor observatory.



Volume: 37 million cubic feet.



Area of Site: 83,860 square feet.



Cost including land: $40,948,900.



Cost of building alone: $24,718,000 (expected cost of $50 million 

did not materialize due to the Great Depression)



Construction schedule:



Excavation: Begun January 22, 1930, before demolition of old 

Waldorf-Astoria Hotel completed.



Construction: Begun March 17, 1930. Framework rose at the rate of 4 

1/2 stories per week.



Cornerstone: Laid by Alfred E. Smith, former governor of New York, 

September 17, 1930.



Masonry completed: November 13, 1930.



Official opening: May 1, 1931, by President Herbert Hoover, who 

pressed a button in Washington, D.C. to turn on the building's lights.



Total time: 7 million man hours, 1 year and 45 days work, including 

Sundays and holidays.



Work Force: 3,400 during peak periods.



Building Materials:



Exterior: Indiana limestone and granite, trimmed with aluminum and 

chrome-nickel steel from the 6th floor to the top.



Interior lobby: Ceiling high marble, imported from France, Italy, 

Belgium and Germany.

Lewis Hine was commissioned to photograph the construction of the building in 1930. Taking many of the risks the construction workers endured, Hine photographed the workers in precarious positions while they secured the iron and steel framework of the structure. In order to obtain the best vantage points, Hine was swung out in a specially designed basket 1,000 feet above Fifth Avenue.

Anthony T. Troncale