Editing Empire State Building (section)

==History==
The site was previously owned by [[John Jacob Astor]] of the prominent [[Astor family]], who had owned the site since the mid-1820s.<ref>{{cite book |last=Craven |first=Wayne |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1BrBHQfpEcAC&pg=PA35 |title=Gilded Mansions: Grand Architecture and High Society |publisher=W.W. Norton & Company |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-393-06754-5 |page=35 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Lewis |first=N.P. |url=https://archive.org/details/planningmodernc04lewigoog |title=The Planning of the Modern City: A Review of the Principles Governing City Planning |publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated |year=1916 |page=[https://archive.org/details/planningmodernc04lewigoog/page/n508 400] |access-date=October 21, 2017 }}</ref> In 1893, John Jacob Astor Sr.'s grandson [[William Waldorf Astor]] opened the Waldorf Hotel on the site.{{sfn|Douglas|2004|p=108}}{{sfn|McCarthy and Rutherford|1931|p=23}} Four years later, his cousin, [[John Jacob Astor IV]], opened the 16-story Astoria Hotel on an adjacent site.<ref name="waldorf-history" />{{sfn|Douglas|2004|p=108}}{{sfn|McCarthy and Rutherford|1931|p=77}} The two portions of the [[Waldorf–Astoria (1893–1929)|Waldorf–Astoria]] hotel had 1,300 bedrooms, making it the largest hotel in the world at the time.<ref>{{cite book |author=The American Architect and Building News Company |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xYlMAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA3 |title=American Architect and Architecture |publisher=The American Architect and Building News Company |year=1898 |edition=Public domain |volume=59–62 |page=3 }}</ref> After the death of its founding proprietor, [[George Boldt]], in early 1918, the hotel lease was purchased by [[Thomas Coleman du Pont]].{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=117}}<ref>{{cite news |date=February 3, 1918 |title=Coleman Du Pont Purchases The Waldorf–Astoria; Sale of Hotel Announced by George C. Boldt, Who Relinquishes Control Today. |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1918/02/03/102976977.pdf |access-date=October 24, 2017 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 5, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191205033101/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1918/02/03/102976977.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> By the 1920s, the old Waldorf–Astoria was becoming dated and the elegant social life of New York had moved much farther north.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=118}}{{sfn|Stern|Gilmartin|Mellins|1987|p=612}}<ref name="The New York Times 1928">{{Cite news |date=December 23, 1928 |title=Largest Office Building to Replace Waldorf-Astoria |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1928/12/23/archives/largest-office-building-to-replace-waldorfastoria-structure-will.html |access-date=November 20, 2020 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201208192827/https://www.nytimes.com/1928/12/23/archives/largest-office-building-to-replace-waldorfastoria-structure-will.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Additionally, many stores had opened on Fifth Avenue north of 34th Street.<ref name="Reynolds p. 286">{{harvnb|Reynolds|1994|ps=.|p=286 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=November 3, 1912 |title=Catharine Street as Select Shopping Centre Recalled in Lord & Taylor's Coming Removal |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1912/11/03/archives/catharine-street-as-select-shopping-centre-recalled-in-lord-taylors.html |access-date=October 11, 2019 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 11, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191011143425/https://www.nytimes.com/1912/11/03/archives/catharine-street-as-select-shopping-centre-recalled-in-lord-taylors.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The Astor family decided to build a [[Waldorf Astoria New York|replacement hotel]] on [[Park Avenue]]{{sfn|Douglas|2004|p=108}}<ref name="Reynolds p. 287">{{harvnb|Reynolds|1994|ps=.|p=287 }}</ref> and sold the hotel to Bethlehem Engineering Corporation in 1928 for $14–16&nbsp;million.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=118}} The hotel closed shortly thereafter on May 3, 1929.<ref name="waldorf-history" />

===Planning===
==== Early plans ====
[[File:Waldorf Astoria, New York City LCCN2002699564.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[Waldorf-Astoria (1893–1929)|Waldorf-Astoria]] in 1901]]Bethlehem Engineering Corporation originally intended to build a 25-story office building on the Waldorf–Astoria site. The company's president, Floyd De L. Brown, paid $100,000 of the $1&nbsp;million [[down payment]] required to start construction on the building, with the promise that the difference would be paid later.{{sfn|Douglas|2004|p=108}} Brown borrowed $900,000 from a bank but [[Default (finance)|defaulted]] on the loan.{{sfn|Douglas|2004|p=109}}{{sfn|Willis|Friedman|1998|pp=85–87}}

After Brown was unable to secure additional funding,{{sfn|Stern|Gilmartin|Mellins|1987|p=612}} the land was resold to Empire State Inc., a group of wealthy investors that included [[Louis G. Kaufman]], [[Ellis P. Earle]], [[John J. Raskob]], Coleman du Pont, and [[Pierre S. du Pont]].{{sfn|Douglas|2004|p=109}}{{sfn|Willis|Friedman|1998|pp=85–87}}<ref name="ChicagoTribune-Factbox">{{Cite news |work=Chicago Tribune |agency=Reuters |title=FACTBOX-History Of New York's Empire State Building |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/living/ct-xpm-2012-08-24-sns-rt-usa-shootingempirestate-building-20120824-story.html |access-date=November 27, 2018 |archive-date=November 28, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181128122937/https://www.chicagotribune.com/living/ct-xpm-2012-08-24-sns-rt-usa-shootingempirestate-building-20120824-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The name came from the [[Empire State|state nickname]] for New York.{{sfn|Al-Kodmany|2017|p=72}}<ref name="Reynolds p. 288">{{harvnb|Reynolds|1994|ps=.|p=288 }}</ref> [[Alfred E. Smith]], a former [[Governor of New York]] and U.S. presidential candidate whose [[Al Smith presidential campaign, 1928|1928 campaign]] had been managed by Raskob,<ref name="Reynolds p. 287" />{{sfn|Langmead|2009|p=79}} was appointed head of the company.{{sfn|Stern|Gilmartin|Mellins|1987|p=612}}{{sfn|Douglas|2004|p=109}}{{sfn|Willis|Friedman|1998|pp=85–87}} The group also purchased nearby land so they would have the {{Convert|2|acre|1}} needed for the base, with the combined plot measuring {{Convert|425|ft|m}} wide by {{Convert|200|ft|m}} long.<ref name="Reynolds p. 288" /><ref name="The New York Times 1929">{{Cite news |date=August 30, 1929 |title=Smith To Help Build Highest Skyscraper; Ex-Governor Heads Group That Will Put 80-Story Office Building on Waldorf Site |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1929/08/30/94177281.pdf |access-date=October 22, 2017 |issn=0362-4331 }}</ref> The Empire State Inc. consortium was announced to the public in August 1929.{{sfn|Langmead|2009|p=80}}{{sfn|Willis|1995|p=90}}<ref name="The New York Times 1929" /> Concurrently, Smith announced the construction of an 80-story building on the site, to be taller than any other buildings in existence.<ref name="The New York Times 1929" />{{sfn|Stern|Gilmartin|Mellins|1987|p=610}}

Empire State Inc. contracted [[William F. Lamb]], of architectural firm [[Shreve, Lamb and Harmon]], to create the building design.{{sfn|Jackson|2010|p=413}}<ref name="Reynolds p. 288" />{{sfn|Langmead|2009|p=89}} Lamb produced the initial building design using the firm's earlier designs for the [[Reynolds Building]] in [[Winston-Salem, North Carolina]], as the basis.{{sfn|Al-Kodmany|2017|p=72}} He had also been inspired by [[Raymond Hood]]'s design for the [[Daily News Building]], which was being constructed at the same time.<ref name="Reynolds p. 288" /> Concurrently, Lamb's partner [[Richmond Shreve]] created "bug diagrams" of the project requirements.{{sfn|Bascomb|2004|pp=246–247}} The [[1916 Zoning Resolution|1916 Zoning Act]] forced Lamb to design a structure that incorporated [[setback (architecture)|setbacks]] resulting in the lower floors being larger than the upper floors.{{Efn|name=zoning}} Consequently, the building was conceived from the top down,{{sfn|Wagner|2003|p=12}} giving it a pencil-like shape.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=157}} The plans were devised within a budget of $50 million and a stipulation that the building be ready for occupancy within 18 months of the start of construction.{{sfn|Stern|Gilmartin|Mellins|1987|p=612}} Design drawings and construction were concurrent. Steel drawings were completed in mid-January 1930, when foundations were underway.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=205}}

==== Design changes ====
[[File:Empire State Building plan.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Architectural sketch of heights and allowed building areas]]
The original plan of the building was 50 stories,{{sfn|Langmead|2009|p=81}} but was later increased to 60 and then 80 stories.<ref name="The New York Times 1929" /> Height restrictions were placed on nearby buildings<ref name="The New York Times 1929" /> to ensure that the top fifty floors of the planned 80-story, {{convert|1000|ft|m|adj=mid|-tall}} building{{sfn|Willis|Friedman|1998|p=14}}{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=129}} would have unobstructed views of the city.<ref name="The New York Times 1929" /> ''[[The New York Times]]'' lauded the site's proximity to [[mass transit]], with the [[Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation|Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit]]'s [[34th Street–Herald Square (BMT Broadway Line)|34th Street]] station and the [[PATH (rail system)|Hudson and Manhattan Railroad]]'s [[33rd Street station (PATH)|33rd Street]] terminal one block away, as well as [[Pennsylvania Station (1910–1963)|Penn Station]] two blocks away and [[Grand Central Terminal]] nine blocks away at its closest. It also praised the {{Convert|3000000|ft2|m2}} of proposed floor space near "one of the busiest sections in the world".<ref name="The New York Times 1929" /> The Empire State Building was to be a typical office building, but Raskob intended to build it "better and in a bigger way", according to architectural writer Donald J. Reynolds.<ref name="Reynolds p. 287" />

While plans for the Empire State Building were being finalized, an intense competition in New York for the title of "[[List of tallest buildings in the world|world's tallest building]]" was underway. [[40 Wall Street]] (then the Bank of Manhattan Building) and the [[Chrysler Building]] in Manhattan both vied for this distinction and were already under construction when work began on the Empire State Building.{{sfn|Willis|Friedman|1998|p=14}} The "Race into the Sky", as popular media called it at the time, was representative of the country's optimism in the 1920s, fueled by the building boom in major cities.{{sfn|Rasenberger|2009|pp=388–389}} The race was defined by at least five other proposals, although only the Empire State Building would survive the [[Wall Street Crash of 1929]].{{sfn|Stern|Gilmartin|Mellins|1987|p=612}}{{efn|These proposals included the 100-story [[Metropolitan Life North Building]]; a {{convert|1050|ft|adj=on}} tower built by [[Abraham E. Lefcourt]] at Broadway and 49th Street; a 100-story tower developed by the [[Fred F. French]] Company on Sixth Avenue between 43rd and 44th streets; an 85-story tower to be developed on the site of the Belmont Hotel near Grand Central Terminal; and the Noyes-Schulte Company's proposed tower on Broadway between Duane and Worth streets. Only one of these projects was even partially completed: the base of the Metropolitan Life North Building.{{sfn|Stern|Gilmartin|Mellins|1987|pp=610, 612}}}} The 40 Wall Street tower was revised, in April 1929, from {{convert|840|ft|m}} to {{convert|925|ft|m}} making it the world's tallest.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=130}} The Chrysler Building added its {{convert|185|ft|m|adj=on}} steel tip to its roof in October 1929, thus bringing it to a height of {{convert|1046|ft|m}} and greatly exceeding the height of 40 Wall Street.{{sfn|Willis|Friedman|1998|p=14}} The Chrysler Building's developer, [[Walter Chrysler]], realized that his tower's height would exceed the Empire State Building's as well, having instructed his architect, [[William Van Alen]], to change the Chrysler's original roof from a stubby [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] dome to a narrow steel spire.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=130}} Raskob, wishing to have the Empire State Building be the world's tallest, reviewed the plans and had five floors added as well as a spire; however, the new floors would need to be set back because of projected wind pressure on the extension.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=131}} On November 18, 1929, Smith acquired a lot at 27–31 West 33rd Street, adding {{convert|75|ft|m}} to the width of the proposed office building's site.{{sfn|Bascomb|2004|p=230}}<ref>{{cite news |date=November 19, 1929 |title=Enlarges Site For 1,000-Foot Building; Empire State Adds 75 Feet in 33d Street to the Waldorf Hotel Plot. |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1929/11/19/107107719.pdf |access-date=October 24, 2017 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=November 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191102004515/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1929/11/19/107107719.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Two days later, Smith announced the updated plans for the skyscraper. The plans included an observation deck on the 86th-floor roof at a height of {{convert|1050|ft|m}}, higher than the Chrysler's 71st-floor observation deck.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=131}}{{sfn|Willis|1995|p=100}}

The 1,050-foot Empire State Building would only be {{convert|4|ft|m}} taller than the Chrysler Building,{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=131}}{{sfn|Goldman|1980|pp=31–32}}{{sfn|Willis|1995|pp=98–99}} and Raskob was afraid that Chrysler might try to "pull a trick like hiding a rod in the spire and then sticking it up at the last minute."{{sfn|Langmead|2009|p=81}}{{sfn|Bascomb|2004|p=235}}{{sfn|Goldman|1980|pp=31–32}} The plans were revised one last time in December 1929, to include a 16-story, {{convert|200|ft|adj=on}} metal "crown" and an additional {{convert|222|ft|m|adj=on}} mooring mast intended for [[Airship|dirigibles]]. The roof height was now {{convert|1250|ft|m}}, making it the tallest building in the world by far, even without the antenna.{{sfn|Bascomb|2004|p=247}}{{sfn|Langmead|2009|p=81}}{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=185}} The addition of the dirigible station meant that another floor, the 86th, would have to be built below the crown;{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=185}} however, unlike the Chrysler's spire, the Empire State's mast would serve a practical purpose.{{sfn|Bascomb|2004|p=235}} A revised plan was announced to the public in late December 1929, just before the start of construction.{{sfn|Stern|Gilmartin|Mellins|1987|p=612}}<ref name="The New York Times 1928" /> The final plan was sketched within two hours, the night before the plan was supposed to be presented to the site's owners in January 1930.{{sfn|Stern|Gilmartin|Mellins|1987|p=612}} ''The New York Times'' reported that the spire was facing some "technical problems", but they were "no greater than might be expected under such a novel plan."<ref name="The New York Times 1930a" /> By this time the blueprints for the building had gone through up to fifteen versions before they were approved.{{sfn|Langmead|2009|p=81}}<ref name="Dupre 2013">{{cite book |last=Dupre |first=Judith |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xcLwAAAAQBAJ |title=Skyscrapers: A History of the World's Most Extraordinary Buildings |publisher=Hachette Books |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-57912-942-2 |pages=38–39 |access-date=October 23, 2017 }}</ref><ref name="Bartlett 1976">{{cite news |last=Bartlett |first=Kay |date=March 14, 1976 |title=Empire State Building Challenged |page=9E |work=Utica Observer |agency=[[Associated Press]] |url=http://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/highlight-for-xml?altUrl=http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewpapers%2520Disk2%2FUtica%2520NY%2520Daily%2520Observer%2FUtica%2520NY%2520Observer%25201976.pdf%2FUtica%2520NY%2520Observer%25201976%2520-%25203040.pdf |access-date=October 23, 2017 |via=[[fultonhistory.com]] }}</ref> Lamb described the other specifications he was given for the final, approved plan:

{{Blockquote|text=The program was short enough—a fixed budget, no space more than 28 feet from window to corridor, as many stories of such space as possible, an exterior of limestone, and completion date of [May 1], 1931, which meant a year and six months from the beginning of sketches.{{sfn|Willis|1995|p=95}}{{sfn|Langmead|2009|p=81}}}}

=== Construction ===
The contractors were [[Starrett Brothers and Eken]], which were composed of [[Paul Starrett|Paul]] and [[William A. Starrett]] and [[Andrew J. Eken]].{{sfn|Langmead|2009|p=90}} The project was financed primarily by Raskob and Pierre du Pont,{{sfn|Flowers|2001|p=17}} while [[James Farley]]'s General Builders Supply Corporation supplied the building materials.{{sfn|Jackson|2010|p=413}} [[John W. Bowser]] was the construction superintendent of the project,{{sfn|Willis|Friedman|1998|p=46}} and the structural engineer of the building was Homer G. Balcom.{{sfn|Langmead|2009|p=89}}<ref>{{cite news |date=July 5, 1938 |title=Homer G. Balcom, Engineer, Is Dead |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1938/07/05/101020546.pdf |access-date=August 8, 2011 }}</ref> The tight completion schedule necessitated the commencement of construction even though the design had yet to be finalized.{{sfn|Langmead|2009|p=84}}

==== Hotel demolition ====
Demolition of the old Waldorf–Astoria began on October 1, 1929.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 2, 1929 |title=Razing Of Waldorf Started By Smith; Ceremony on Roof Marks the Beginning of Demolition of Historic Hotel |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1929/10/02/94184775.pdf |access-date=October 22, 2017 |issn=0362-4331 }}</ref> Stripping the building down was an arduous process, as the hotel had been constructed using more rigid material than earlier buildings had been. Furthermore, the old hotel's granite, wood chips, and "'precious' metals such as lead, brass, and zinc" were not in high demand, resulting in issues with disposal.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|pp=198–199}} Most of the wood was deposited into a woodpile on nearby 30th Street or was burned in a swamp elsewhere. Much of the other materials that made up the old hotel, including the granite and bronze, were dumped into the Atlantic Ocean near [[Sandy Hook, New Jersey|Sandy Hook]], New Jersey.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=200}}{{sfn|Douglas|2004|p=111}}

By the time the hotel's demolition started, Raskob had secured the required funding for the construction of the building.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=268}} The plan was to start construction later that year but, on October 24, the [[New York Stock Exchange]] experienced the major and sudden [[Wall Street Crash of 1929|Wall Street Crash]], marking the beginning of the decade-long [[Great Depression]]. Despite the economic downturn, Raskob refused to cancel the project because of the progress that had been made up to that point.{{sfn|Langmead|2009|p=80}} Neither Raskob, who had ceased speculation in the stock market the previous year, nor Smith, who had no stock investments, suffered financially in the crash.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=268}} However, most of the investors were affected and as a result, in December 1929, Empire State Inc. obtained a $27.5&nbsp;million loan from [[MetLife|Metropolitan Life Insurance Company]] so construction could begin.<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 14, 1929 |title=Approves $27,500,000 For Smith Project; Metropolitan Life Grants Loan to the Empire State Building Company. |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1929/12/14/92028848.pdf |access-date=October 22, 2017 |issn=0362-4331 }}</ref> The stock market crash resulted in no demand for new office space; Raskob and Smith nonetheless started construction,{{sfn|Rasenberger|2009|pp=394–395}} as canceling the project would have resulted in greater losses for the investors.{{sfn|Langmead|2009|p=80}}

==== Steel structure ====
[[File:Old timer structural worker2.jpg|thumb|A worker bolts beams in 1930 during construction; the [[Chrysler Building]] can be seen in the background.]]

A structural steel contract was awarded on January 12, 1930,<ref>{{cite news |date=January 12, 1930 |title=Steel Contract Let; Empire State Building to Require Total of 50,000 Tons. |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1930/01/12/97787759.pdf |access-date=October 27, 2017 |issn=0362-4331 }}</ref> with excavation of the site beginning ten days later on January 22,{{sfn|Langmead|2009|p=85}} before the old hotel had been completely demolished.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=203}} Two twelve-hour shifts, consisting of 300 men each, worked continuously to dig the {{convert|55|ft|m|adj=on}} deep foundation.{{sfn|Langmead|2009|p=85}} Small pier holes were sunk into the ground to house the concrete footings that would support the steelwork.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=205}} Excavation was nearly complete by early March,<ref>{{cite news |date=March 6, 1930 |title=Excavating Finished For Smith Building; Steel Construction on Empire State Structure Here Will Begin on March 15. |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1930/03/06/118367296.pdf |access-date=October 27, 2017 |issn=0362-4331 }}</ref> and construction on the building itself started on March 17,{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=207}}{{sfn|Jackson|2010|p=413}} with the builders placing the first steel columns on the completed footings before the rest of the footings had been finished.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=206}} Around this time, Lamb held a press conference on the building plans. He described the reflective steel panels parallel to the windows, the large-block [[Indiana Limestone]] facade that was slightly more expensive than smaller bricks, and the building's vertical lines.{{sfn|Bascomb|2004|p=247}} Four colossal columns, intended for installation in the center of the building site, were delivered; they would support a combined {{convert|10000000|lb|kg}} when the building was finished.{{sfn|Bascomb|2004|p=248}}

The structural steel was pre-ordered and [[prefabrication|pre-fabricated]] in anticipation of a revision to the city's building code that would have allowed the Empire State Building's structural steel to carry {{convert|18000|psi|MPa}}, up from {{convert|16000|psi|MPa}}, thus reducing the amount of steel needed for the building. Although the 18,000-psi regulation had been safely enacted in other cities, Mayor [[Jimmy Walker]] did not sign the new codes into law until March 26, 1930, just before construction was due to commence.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=207}}<ref>{{cite news |date=March 26, 1930 |title=Standards For Steel Eased In New City Law; Bill Signed by Walker Allows 18,000-Pound Stress to the Square Inch. |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1930/03/26/113333006.pdf |access-date=October 27, 2017 |issn=0362-4331 }}</ref> The first steel framework was installed on April 1, 1930.<ref>{{cite news |date=April 1, 1930 |title=Start Empire State Building Frame. |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1930/04/01/96083643.pdf |access-date=October 27, 2017 |issn=0362-4331 }}</ref> From there, construction proceeded at a rapid pace; during one stretch of 10 working days, the builders erected fourteen floors.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=204}}{{sfn|Jackson|2010|p=413}} This was made possible through precise coordination of the building's planning, as well as the [[mass production]] of common materials such as windows and [[spandrel]]s.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|pp=204–205}} On one occasion, when a supplier could not provide timely delivery of dark Hauteville marble, Starrett switched to using Rose Famosa marble from a German quarry that was purchased specifically to provide the project with sufficient marble.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=205}}

The scale of the project was massive, with trucks carrying "16,000 partition tiles, 5,000 bags of cement, {{Convert|450|yd3|m3|disp=sqbr}} of sand and 300 bags of lime" arriving at the construction site every day.<ref name="Poore 1930">{{Cite news |last=Poore |first=C.G. |date=July 27, 1930 |title=Greatest Skyscraper Rises On A Clockwork Schedule; The Empire State Building Soars Upward, As a Modern Army Daily, Defeats Time, Far Above the Throngs on Fifth Avenue |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1930/07/27/102140403.pdf |access-date=October 23, 2017 |issn=0362-4331 }}</ref> There were also cafes and concession stands on five of the incomplete floors so workers did not have to descend to the ground level to eat lunch.{{sfn|Langmead|2009|p=86}}{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=222}} Temporary water taps were installed so workers did not waste time buying water bottles from the ground level.{{sfn|Langmead|2009|p=86}}{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=223}} Carts running on a small railway system transported materials from the basement storage{{sfn|Langmead|2009|p=86}} to elevators that brought the carts to the desired floors where they would then be distributed throughout that level using another set of tracks.<ref name="Poore 1930" />{{sfn|Popular Mechanics|December 1930|p=922}}{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=222}} The {{convert|57480|ST|LT}} of steel ordered for the project was the largest-ever single order of steel at the time, comprising more steel than was ordered for the Chrysler Building and 40 Wall Street combined.{{sfn|Bascomb|2004|p=246}}{{sfn|Rasenberger|2009|p=396}} According to historian [[John Tauranac]], building materials were sourced from numerous, and distant, sources with "limestone from Indiana, steel girders from Pittsburgh, cement and mortar from upper New York State, marble from Italy, France, and England, wood from northern and Pacific Coast forests, [and] hardware from New England."{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=204}} The facade, too, used a variety of material—most prominently Indiana limestone but also [[architectural terracotta]], brick,{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=149}} and [[black granite]] from Sweden.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Morales Demarco |first1=Manuela |last2=Oyhantçabal |first2=Pedro |last3=Stein |first3=Karl-Jochen |last4=Siegesmund |first4=Siegfried |title=Black Dimensional Stones: Geology, Technical Properties and Deposit Characterization of the Dolerites from Uruguay |journal=Environmental Earth Sciences |volume=63 |issue=7–8 |year=2011 |issn=1866-6280 |doi=10.1007/s12665-010-0827-5 |doi-access=free |pages=1879–1909 |bibcode=2011EES....63.1879M }}</ref>

By June 20, the skyscraper's supporting [[steel frame|steel structure]] had risen to the 26th floor, and by July 27, half of the steel structure had been completed.<ref name="Poore 1930" /> Starrett Bros. and Eken endeavored to build one floor a day in order to speed up construction, achieving a pace of four and a half stories per week;{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=212}}<ref name="CNN 1" /> prior to this, the fastest pace of construction for a building of similar height had been three and a half stories per week.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=212}} While construction progressed, the final designs for the floors were being designed from the ground up (as opposed to the general design, which had been from the roof down). Some of the levels were still undergoing final approval, with several orders placed within an hour of a plan being finalized.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=212}} On September 10, as steelwork was nearing completion, Smith laid the building's [[cornerstone]] during a ceremony attended by thousands. The stone contained a box with contemporary artifacts including the previous day's ''New York Times'', a U.S. currency set containing all denominations of notes and coins minted in 1930, a history of the site and building, and photographs of the people involved in construction.<ref>{{cite news |date=September 10, 1930 |title=Smith Lays Stone For Tallest Tower; 5,000 Witness Ceremony as Former Governor Wields Trowel at Empire State Building |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1930/09/10/118190517.pdf |access-date=October 27, 2017 |issn=0362-4331 }}</ref>{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=213}} The steel structure was topped out at {{convert|1048|ft|m}} on September 19, twelve days ahead of schedule and 23 weeks after the start of construction.{{sfn|Willis|Friedman|1998|p=164}} Workers raised a flag atop the 86th floor to signify this milestone.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=212}}<ref name="The New York Times 1930">{{cite news |date=September 20, 1930 |title=Workers Raise Flag 1,048 Feet Above Fifth Av. As Steel Frame of Smith Building Is Finished |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1930/09/20/102164159.pdf |access-date=October 27, 2017 |issn=0362-4331 }}</ref>

==== Completion and scale ====
[[File:Zeppelin bij Empire State Building in aanbouw - Zeppelin near the Empire State Building under construction (6943970242).jpg|thumb|During construction in October 1930; the [[USS Los Angeles (ZR-3)|USS ''Los Angeles'']], [[ZMC-2]] and a [[J-class blimp]] seen overhead]]
Work on the building's interior and crowning mast commenced after the topping out.<ref name="The New York Times 1930" /> The mooring mast topped out on November 21, two months after the steelwork had been completed.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=213}}<ref>{{cite news |date=November 22, 1930 |title=Empire State Tower Mast Up; Steel Workers Raise Flag |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1930/11/22/102190133.pdf |access-date=October 28, 2017 |issn=0362-4331 }}</ref> Meanwhile, work on the walls and interior was progressing at a quick pace, with exterior walls built up to the 75th floor by the time steelwork had been built to the 95th floor.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=214}} The majority of the facade was already finished by the middle of November.{{sfn|Langmead|2009|p=86}} Because of the building's height, it was deemed infeasible to have many elevators or large elevator cabins, so the builders contracted with the [[Otis Elevator Company]] to make 66 cars that could speed at {{convert|1200|ft/min}}, which represented the largest-ever elevator order at the time.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=215}}

In addition to the time constraint builders had, there were also space limitations because construction materials had to be delivered quickly, and trucks needed to drop off these materials without congesting traffic. This was solved by creating a temporary driveway for the trucks between 33rd and 34th Streets, and then storing the materials in the building's first floor and basements. [[Concrete mixer]]s, brick hoppers, and stone hoists inside the building ensured that materials would be able to ascend quickly and without endangering or inconveniencing the public.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=214}} At one point, over 200 trucks made material deliveries at the building site every day.{{sfn|Langmead|2009|p=86}} A series of relay and erection [[derrick]]s, placed on platforms erected near the building, lifted the steel from the trucks below and installed the beams at the appropriate locations.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=208}} The Empire State Building was structurally completed on April 11, 1931, twelve days ahead of schedule and 410&nbsp;days after construction commenced.{{sfn|Langmead|2009|p=86}} Al Smith shot the final rivet, which was made of solid gold.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|pp=213–214}}

[[File:Icarus, Empire State Building MET DP106525.jpg|thumb|alt=A photograph of a cable worker, taken by Lewis Hine as part of his project to document the Empire State Building's construction|Photograph of a cable worker taken by [[Lewis Hine]]]]

The project involved more than 3,500 workers at its peak,{{sfn|Jackson|2010|p=413}} including 3,439 on a single day, August 14, 1930.{{sfn|Willis|Friedman|1998|pp=130–133}} Many of the workers were Irish and Italian immigrants,{{sfn|Willis|Friedman|1998|p=204}} with a sizable minority of [[Mohawk people|Mohawk]] [[ironworker]]s from the [[Kahnawake]] reserve near [[Montreal]].{{sfn|Willis|Friedman|1998|p=204}}{{sfn|Rasenberger|2009|pp=390–391}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Weitzman |first=D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mEIGAwAAQBAJ |title=Skywalkers: Mohawk Ironworkers Build the City |publisher=Roaring Brook Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-4668-6981-3 |pages=85, 87–88 |access-date=October 23, 2017 }}</ref> According to official accounts, five workers died during the construction,{{sfn|Rasenberger|2009|p=398}}{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=221}} although the ''New York Daily News'' gave reports of 14 deaths{{sfn|Langmead|2009|p=86}} and a headline in the socialist magazine ''[[The New Masses]]'' spread unfounded rumors of up to 42 deaths.{{sfn|Flowers|2001|p=72}}{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=221}} The Empire State Building cost $40,948,900 to build (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|40,948,900|1931}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US-GDP}}),{{Inflation/fn|US-GDP}} including demolition of the Waldorf–Astoria. This was lower than the $60&nbsp;million budgeted for construction.<ref name="Sinclair, M. 1998">{{cite book |author=Fodor's |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SsovU3y-zUYC |title=Exploring New York City |last2=Sinclair |first2=M. |publisher=Fodor's Travel Publications |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-679-03559-6 |series=Fodor's Exploring Guides |page=101 |access-date=October 25, 2017 }}</ref>

[[Lewis Hine]] captured many photographs of the construction, documenting not only the work itself but also providing insight into the daily life of workers in that era.{{sfn|Langmead|2009|p=85}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Lewis Wickes Hine: The Construction of the Empire State Building, 1930–31 (New York Public Library Photography Collection) |url=http://catalog.nypl.org/iii/encore/record/C%7CRb11970057%7CSLewis+Wickes+Hine%7CP0%2C6%7COrightresult?lang=eng&suite=pearl |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221183839/http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/spe/art/photo/hinex/empire/empire.html |archive-date=February 21, 2009 |access-date=October 11, 2010 |publisher=New York Public Library }}</ref>{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=283}} Hine's images were used extensively by the media to publish daily press releases.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|pp=283–284}} According to the writer [[Jim Rasenberger]], Hine "climbed out onto the steel with the ironworkers and dangled from a derrick cable hundreds of feet above the city to capture, as no one ever had before (or has since), the dizzy work of building skyscrapers". In Rasenberger's words, Hine turned what might have been an assignment of "corporate flak" into "exhilarating art".{{sfn|Rasenberger|2009|pp=398–399}} These images were later organized into their own collection.<ref name="Young Young 2007 p. 144" /> Onlookers were enraptured by the sheer height at which the steelworkers operated. ''New York'' magazine wrote of the steelworkers: "Like little spiders they toiled, spinning a fabric of steel against the sky".{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=208}}

===Opening and early years===
[[File:NARA Empire State Building.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Aerial view of the Empire State Building in 1932|The Empire State Building in 1932. The building's antenna was installed 21 years later, in 1953.]]
The Empire State Building officially opened on May 1, 1931, forty-five days ahead of its projected opening date, and eighteen months from the start of construction.{{sfn|Stern|Gilmartin|Mellins|1987|p=613}}{{sfn|Jackson|2010|p=413}}{{sfn|Willis|1995|pp=100–101}} The opening was marked with an event featuring United States President [[Herbert Hoover]], who turned on the building's lights with the ceremonial button push from Washington, D.C.{{sfn|Langmead|2009|p=87}}{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|pp=227–228}}<ref name="The New York Times 1931">{{Cite news |date=May 2, 1931 |title=Empire State Tower, Tallest In World, Is Opened By Hoover; The Highest Structure Raised By The Hand Of Man |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1931/05/02/102231255.pdf |access-date=October 23, 2017 |issn=0362-4331 }}</ref> Over 350 guests attended the opening ceremony, and following luncheon, at the 86th floor including [[Jimmy Walker]], Governor [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], and [[Al Smith]].<ref name="The New York Times 1931" /> An account from that day stated that the view from the luncheon was obscured by a fog, with other landmarks such as the [[Statue of Liberty]] being "lost in the mist" enveloping New York City.<ref name="Cortland Standard 1931">{{cite news |date=May 2, 1931 |title=Empire State Building Open |page=1 |work=Cortland Standard |url=http://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/highlight-for-xml?altUrl=http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspapers%252021%2FCortland%2520NY%2520Standard%2FCortland%2520NY%2520Standard%25201931%2FCortland%2520NY%2520Standard%25201931%2520-%25201904.pdf |access-date=October 23, 2017 |via=[[fultonhistory.com]] }}</ref> The Empire State Building officially opened the next day.<ref name="Cortland Standard 1931" />{{sfn|Willis|Friedman|1998|p=46}} Advertisements for the building's observatories were placed in local newspapers, while nearby hotels also capitalized on the events by releasing advertisements that lauded their proximity to the newly opened building.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=231}}

According to ''The New York Times'', builders and real estate speculators predicted that the {{convert|1250|ft|m|adj=mid|-tall}} Empire State Building would be the world's tallest building "for many years", thus ending the great New York City skyscraper rivalry. At the time, most engineers agreed that it would be difficult to build a building taller than {{convert|1200|ft}}, even with the hardy Manhattan [[bedrock]] as a foundation.<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 2, 1931 |title=Rivalry For Height Is Seen As Ended |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1931/05/02/102231338.pdf |access-date=October 23, 2017 |issn=0362-4331 }}</ref> Technically, it was believed possible to build a tower of up to {{Convert|2000|ft|m|sigfig=1}}, but it was deemed uneconomical to do so, especially during the Great Depression.{{sfn|Popular Mechanics|December 1930|p=922}}<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 22, 1929 |title=75-Story Buildings Found Economical |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1929/09/22/91937350.pdf |access-date=October 23, 2017 |issn=0362-4331 }}</ref> As the tallest building in the world, at that time, and the first one to exceed 100 floors, the Empire State Building became an icon of the city and, ultimately, of the nation.{{sfn|Willis|Friedman|1998|p=56}}

In 1932, the Fifth Avenue Association gave the building its 1931 "gold medal" for architectural excellence, signifying that the Empire State had been the best-designed building on Fifth Avenue to open in 1931.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 24, 1932 |title=Empire Tower Wins 1931 Fifth Av. Prize; Association Gives Its Medal and Diploma for Building's Architectural Excellence |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1932/02/24/105785983.pdf |access-date=October 25, 2017 |issn=0362-4331 }}</ref> A year later, on March 2, 1933, the movie ''[[King Kong (1933 film)|King Kong]]'' was released. The movie, which depicted a large [[stop motion]] ape named [[King Kong|Kong]] climbing the Empire State Building, made the still-new building into a cinematic icon.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=25}}{{sfn|Langmead|2009|p=72}}

==== Tenants and tourism ====
At the beginning of 1931, Fifth Avenue was experiencing high demand for storefront space, with only 12 of 224 stores being unoccupied. The Empire State Building, along with 500 Fifth Avenue and [[608 Fifth Avenue]], were expected to add a combined 11 stores.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 8, 1931 |title=Few Shops Vacant on Fifth Avenue; Survey Discloses Only Twelve Stores Available in the Business Blocks |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1931/02/08/archives/few-shops-vacant-on-fifth-avenue-survey-discloses-only-twelve.html |url-status=live |access-date=March 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220315174142/https://www.nytimes.com/1931/02/08/archives/few-shops-vacant-on-fifth-avenue-survey-discloses-only-twelve.html |archive-date=March 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Dailey |first=John A. |date=February 8, 1931 |title=Fifth Avenue Still Leading Shopping Center: Few Stores Are Available North of Forty-Second St., Recent Survey Indicates $3,750 Foot Top Rental Shoe Healers Predominate, There Being 28 Such Shops |page=E1 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1114167981}} }}</ref> The office space was less successful, as the Empire State Building's opening had coincided with the [[Great Depression in the United States]].<ref name="Young Young 2007 p. 144" /> In the first year, only 23&nbsp;percent of the available space was rented,{{sfn|Willis|Friedman|1998|p=48}}{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=273}} as compared to the early 1920s, where the average building would be 52&nbsp;percent occupied upon opening and 90&nbsp;percent occupied within five years.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=271}} The lack of renters led New Yorkers to deride the building as the "Empty State Building"<ref name="Young Young 2007 p. 144" /><ref>See: {{Unbulleted list citebundle
| {{harvnb|ps=.|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1981|p=17}}
| {{harvnb|ps=.|Willis|1995|p=90}}
| {{harvnb|ps=.|Willis|Friedman|1998|p=48}}
| {{cite book |last=Schleier |first=Merrill |title=The skyscraper in American art, 1890–1931 |publisher=Da Capo Press |year=1990 |isbn=0-306-80385-2 |page=120 |oclc=20671553}}
| {{cite news |last=Smith |first=Adam |date=August 18, 2008 |title=A Renters' Market in London |magazine=Time |url=http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1833243,00.html |url-status=dead |access-date=July 10, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100419214305/http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1833243,00.html |archive-date=April 19, 2010}} }}</ref> or "Smith's Folly".{{sfn|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1981|p=17}}

The earliest tenants in the Empire State Building were large companies, banks, and garment industries.{{sfn|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1981|p=17}} [[Jack Brod]], one of the building's longest resident tenants,<ref name="Winters 1994">{{cite news |last=Winters |first=Patricia |date=July 17, 1994 |title=To Oldest Tenant, Empire State A Jewel |work=New York Daily News |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1994/07/17/to-oldest-tenant-empire-state-a-jewel/ |access-date=October 31, 2017 |via=Chicago Tribune |archive-date=September 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240921101224/https://www.chicagotribune.com/1994/07/17/to-oldest-tenant-empire-state-a-jewel/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Ramirez 1996">{{cite web |last=Ramirez |first=Anthony |date=June 30, 1996 |title=Neighborhood Report: Midtown; A Fixture at the Empire State |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/30/nyregion/neighborhood-report-midtown-a-fixture-at-the-empire-state.html |access-date=October 31, 2017 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=November 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107062115/http://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/30/nyregion/neighborhood-report-midtown-a-fixture-at-the-empire-state.html |url-status=live }}</ref> co-established the Empire Diamond Corporation with his father in the building in mid-1931<ref name="Martin 2008">{{cite web |last=Martin |first=Douglas |date=January 13, 2008 |title=Jack Brod, Early Tenant of Skyscraper, Dies at 98 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/13/nyregion/13brod.html |access-date=October 31, 2017 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221205171028/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/13/nyregion/13brod.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and rented space in the building until he died in 2008.<ref name="Martin 2008" /> Brod recalled that there were only about 20 tenants at the time of opening, including him,<ref name="Ramirez 1996" /> and that Al Smith was the only real tenant in the space above his seventh-floor offices.<ref name="Winters 1994" /> Generally, during the early 1930s, it was rare for more than a single office space to be rented in the building, despite Smith's and Raskob's aggressive marketing efforts in the newspapers and to anyone they knew.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|pp=273–274, 276, 279–280}} The building's lights were continuously left on, even in the unrented spaces, to give the impression of occupancy. This was exacerbated by competition from [[Rockefeller Center]]{{sfn|Willis|Friedman|1998|p=48}} as well as from buildings on [[42nd Street (Manhattan)|42nd Street]], which, when combined with the Empire State Building, resulted in surplus of office space in a slow market during the 1930s.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=311}}

Aggressive marketing efforts served to reinforce the Empire State Building's status as the world's tallest.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|pp=286–289}} The observatory was advertised in local newspapers as well as on railroad tickets.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|pp=290–291}} The building became a popular tourist attraction, with one million people each paying one dollar to ride elevators to the observation decks in 1931.{{sfn|Jackson|2010|p=1326}} In its first year of operation, the observation deck made approximately $2&nbsp;million in revenue, as much as its owners made in rent that year.{{sfn|Willis|Friedman|1998|p=48}}<ref name="Young Young 2007 p. 144" /> By 1936, the observation deck was crowded on a daily basis, with food and drink available for purchase at the top,{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=291}} and by 1944 the building had received its five-millionth visitor.<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 9, 1944 |title=British Flier, On Wedding Trip, Gets Bond As 5,000,000th Empire State Tower Visitor |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1944/09/09/88609404.pdf |access-date=October 24, 2017 |issn=0362-4331 }}</ref> In 1931, [[NBC]] took up tenancy, leasing space on the 85th floor for radio broadcasts.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|pp=294–295}}<ref name="Haskett 1967" /> From the outset the building was in debt, losing $1&nbsp;million per year by 1935. Real estate developer [[Seymour Durst]] recalled that the building was so underused in 1936 that there was no elevator service above the 45th floor, as the building above the 41st floor was empty except for the NBC offices and the Raskob/Du Pont offices on the 81st floor.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=295}}

==== Other events ====
Per the original plans, the Empire State Building's [[#Above the 102nd floor|spire]] was intended to be an [[airship]] docking station. Raskob and Smith had proposed dirigible ticketing offices and passenger waiting rooms on the 86th floor, while the airships themselves would be tied to the spire at the equivalent of the building's 106th floor.{{sfn|Langmead|2009|p=82}}{{sfn|Jackson|2010|pp=1344}} An elevator would ferry passengers from the 86th to the 101st floor{{efn|name=101st-floor|The 101st floor was later renamed the 102nd floor and is 101 floors above ground. The former 102nd floor, now the 103rd floor, is now a balcony that is off-limits to the public, and is 102 floors above ground.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=237}}}} after they had checked in on the 86th floor,<ref name="Hearst Magazines 1931" /> after which passengers would have climbed steep ladders to board the airship.{{sfn|Langmead|2009|p=82}} The idea was impractical and dangerous due to powerful updrafts caused by the building itself,{{sfn|Goldman|1980|p=44}} the wind currents across Manhattan,{{sfn|Langmead|2009|p=82}} and the spires of nearby skyscrapers.<ref name="smithsonian2000">{{cite magazine |last=Reingold |first=Lester A. |date=July 2000 |title=Airships and the Empire State Building—Fact and Fiction |journal=Air & Space/Smithsonian }}</ref> Even if the airship could successfully navigate all these obstacles, its crew would have to jettison some [[ballast]] by releasing water onto the streets below in order to maintain stability, and then tie the craft's nose to the spire with no mooring lines securing the tail end of the craft.<ref name="Rothstein 2011" />{{sfn|Langmead|2009|p=82}}<ref name="smithsonian2000" /> On September 15, 1931, a small commercial [[United States Navy]] airship circled 25 times in {{convert|45|mph|0|adj=on}} winds.<ref>{{cite news |date=September 15, 1931 |title=Throng Strains Necks as Blimp Tries to Kiss Empire State Mast |page=3 |work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle |url=https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/57565568/ |access-date=October 26, 2017 |via=[[Brooklyn Public Library]]; [[Newspapers.com]] |archive-date=October 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026162809/https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/57565568/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The airship then attempted to dock at the mast, but its ballast spilled and the craft was rocked by unpredictable [[eddy (fluid dynamics)|eddies]].<ref name="Daily Sentinel 1931">{{cite news |date=September 15, 1931 |title=Blimp Moored to Tower of Empire State Building |page=1 |work=Daily Sentinel |agency=[[Associated Press]] |url=http://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/highlight-for-xml?altUrl=http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspapers%252023%2FRome%2520NY%2520Daily%2520Sentinel%2FRome%2520NY%2520Daily%2520Sentinel%25201931%2FRome%2520NY%2520Daily%2520Sentinel%25201931%2520-%25203298.pdf |access-date=October 23, 2017 |via=[[fultonhistory.com]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=September 16, 1931 |title=Moors to Empire State; Small Dirigible Makes Brief Contact While Traffic Is Jammed Below |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1931/09/16/118424702.pdf |access-date=October 24, 2017 |issn=0362-4331 }}</ref> The near-disaster scuttled plans to turn the building's spire into an airship terminal, although one blimp did manage to make a single newspaper delivery afterward.{{sfn|Stern|Gilmartin|Mellins|1987|p=612}}{{sfn|Langmead|2009|p=82}}

On July 28, 1945, a [[B-25 Mitchell]] bomber [[1945 Empire State Building B-25 crash|crashed]] into the north side of the Empire State Building, between the 79th and 80th floors.{{sfn|Jackson|2010|pp=413–414}} One engine completely penetrated the building and landed in a neighboring block, while the other engine and part of the landing gear plummeted down an elevator shaft. Fourteen people were killed in the incident,{{sfn|Berman|Museum of New York City|2003|p=86}}<ref name="Bartlett 1976" /> but the building escaped severe damage and was reopened two days later.{{sfn|Berman|Museum of New York City|2003|p=86}}<ref name="Brooklyn Daily Eagle 1945">{{cite news |date=July 30, 1945 |title=Army Pushes Bomber Crash Investigation |page=1 |work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle |url=https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/52688081/ |access-date=October 26, 2017 |via=[[Brooklyn Public Library]]; [[Newspapers.com]] |archive-date=August 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815004853/https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/52688081/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Profitability===
[[File:Looking Up at Empire State Building.JPG|thumb|A series of [[Setback (architecture)|setbacks]] causes the building to taper with height.]]By the 1940s, the Empire State Building was 98 percent occupied.<ref name="Reynolds p. 293" /> The structure [[Break-even (economics)|broke even]] for the first time in the 1950s.<ref name="Young Young 2007 p. 144" />{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=332}} At the time, mass transit options in the building's vicinity were limited compared to the present day. Despite this challenge, the Empire State Building began to attract renters due to its reputation.{{sfn|Jackson|2010|pp=1188}} A {{convert|222|ft|m|adj=on}} [[radio antenna]] was erected on top of the towers starting in 1950,<ref name="Buffalo Courier-Express 1950" /> allowing the area's television stations to be broadcast from the building.<ref name="Kinney 1953" />

Despite the turnaround in the building's fortunes, Raskob listed it for sale in 1951,<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 18, 1951 |title=Empire State Tower Reported Near Sale |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1951/12/18/archives/empire-state-tower-reported-near-sale.html |access-date=September 21, 2017 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=September 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170922100457/http://www.nytimes.com/1951/12/18/archives/empire-state-tower-reported-near-sale.html |url-status=live }}</ref> with a minimum asking price of $50&nbsp;million.<ref name="Jamestown Journal 1951" /> The property was purchased by business partners [[Roger L. Stevens]], [[Henry Crown]], Alfred R. Glancy and [[Ben Tobin]].<ref name="Bagli 2013">{{cite web |last=Bagli |first=Charles V. |date=April 28, 2013 |title=Empire State Building Has a Tangled History |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/05/business/empire-state-building-has-a-tangled-history.html |url-access=limited |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/05/business/empire-state-building-has-a-tangled-history.html |archive-date=January 1, 2022 |access-date=September 21, 2017 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}{{cbignore }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Saxon |first=Wolfgang |date=June 16, 1996 |title=Ben Tobin, 92, Investor in Hotels And in Real Estate |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/16/us/ben-tobin-92-investor-in-hotels-and-in-real-estate.html |access-date=January 16, 2019 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=November 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181126112516/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/16/us/ben-tobin-92-investor-in-hotels-and-in-real-estate.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Nitkin |first=David |date=June 9, 1996 |title=Ben Tobin, Bought Or Built Notable Broward Buildings |url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1996-06-09-9606080292-story.html |access-date=January 16, 2019 |website=Sun-Sentinel |archive-date=November 7, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107012229/https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1996-06-09-9606080292-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The sale was brokered by the [[Charles F. Noyes]] Company, a prominent real estate firm in upper Manhattan,<ref name="Jamestown Journal 1951" /> for $51&nbsp;million, the highest price paid for a single structure at the time.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=366}} By this time, the Empire State had been fully leased for several years with a waiting list of parties looking to lease space in the building, according to the ''Cortland Standard''.<ref>{{cite news |date=May 26, 1951 |title=Empire State Building Will Change Hands |page=1 |work=Cortland Standard |agency=[[Associated Press]] |url=http://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/highlight-for-xml?altUrl=http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspapers%252021%2FCortland%2520NY%2520Standard%2FCortland%2520NY%2520Standard%25201951%2FCortland%2520NY%2520Standard%25201951%2520-%25201985.pdf |access-date=October 23, 2017 |via=[[fultonhistory.com]] }}</ref> That same year, six news companies formed a partnership to pay a combined annual fee of $600,000 to use the [[#Broadcast stations|building's antenna]],<ref name="Jamestown Journal 1951" /> which was completed in 1953.<ref name="Kinney 1953" /> Crown bought out his partners' ownership stakes in 1954, becoming the sole owner.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 15, 1954 |title=Deal Is Closed On Empire State; Col. Henry Crown Increases His Ownership to 100% in Famed Office Structure |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1954/10/15/archives/deal-is-closed-on-empire-state-col-henry-crown-increases-his.html |access-date=September 21, 2017 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=September 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170922100302/http://www.nytimes.com/1954/10/15/archives/deal-is-closed-on-empire-state-col-henry-crown-increases-his.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The following year, the [[American Society of Civil Engineers]] named the building one of the "Seven Modern Civil Engineering Wonders".<ref>{{cite news |date=December 29, 1955 |title=Empire State Building Given Special Award |page=28 |work=Chicago Tribune |url=https://chicagotribune.newspapers.com/clip/24803875/empire_state_building_given_special/ |access-date=October 26, 2017 |via=[[Chicago Tribune]]; [[Newspapers.com]] }}</ref><ref name="ASCE Metropolitan Section">{{cite web |title=Empire State Building |url=http://www.ascemetsection.org/committees/history-and-heritage/landmarks/empire-state-building |access-date=October 26, 2017 |website=ASCE Metropolitan Section |archive-date=September 10, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910163040/http://www.ascemetsection.org/committees/history-and-heritage/landmarks/empire-state-building |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1961, [[Lawrence A. Wien]] signed a contract to purchase the Empire State Building for $65&nbsp;million, with [[Harry B. Helmsley]] acting as partners in the building's operating lease.<ref name="Bagli 2013" /><ref name="The New York Times 1961">{{Cite news |date=August 23, 1961 |title=Empire State Sold; Price Is 65 Million; Empire State Building Bought By Syndicate for $65,000,000 |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1961/08/23/118923240.pdf |access-date=September 21, 2017 |issn=0362-4331 }}</ref> This became the new highest price for a single structure.<ref name="The New York Times 1961" /> Over 3,000 people paid $10,000 for one share each in a company called Empire State Building Associates. The company in turn [[sublease]]d the building to another company headed by Helmsley and Wien, raising $33&nbsp;million of the funds needed to pay the purchase price.<ref name="Bagli 2013" /><ref name="The New York Times 1961" /> In a separate transaction,<ref name="The New York Times 1961" /> the land underneath the building was sold to [[Prudential Insurance]] for $29&nbsp;million.<ref name="Bagli 2013" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=August 24, 1961 |title=New Buyer to Sell Empire State To Prudential in Leaseback Deal |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1961/08/24/97617875.pdf |access-date=September 21, 2017 |issn=0362-4331 }}</ref> Helmsley, Wien, and Peter Malkin quickly started a program of minor improvement projects, including the first-ever full-building facade refurbishment and window-washing in 1962,{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=351}}<ref>{{cite news |date=August 3, 1962 |title=Tower at Empire State Getting First Cleaning |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1962/08/03/83213750.pdf |access-date=October 27, 2017 |issn=0362-4331 }}</ref> the installation of new flood lights on the 72nd floor in 1964,{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=353}}<ref name="The New York Times 1964" /> and replacement of the manually operated elevators with automatic units in 1966.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|pp=352–353}} The little-used western end of the second floor was used as a storage space until 1964, at which point it received escalators to the first floor as part of its conversion into a highly sought retail area.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=352}}<ref>{{cite web |date=December 24, 1964 |title=The Empire State Gets Escalators |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/12/24/the-empire-state-gets-escalators.html |access-date=October 26, 2017 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171027125535/http://www.nytimes.com/1964/12/24/the-empire-state-gets-escalators.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Loss of "tallest building" title===
[[File:World Trade Center, New York City - aerial view (March 2001).jpg|thumb|left|upright|alt=The World Trade Center as seen from the air|The [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]]'s North Tower surpassed the Empire State Building in height by 1970.<ref name="The New York Times 1970">{{cite web |date=October 20, 1970 |title=World Trade Center Becomes World's Highest Building By 4 Feet |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/10/20/archives/world-trade-center-becomes-worlds-highest-building-by-4-feet.html |access-date=October 26, 2017 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026164356/http://www.nytimes.com/1970/10/20/archives/world-trade-center-becomes-worlds-highest-building-by-4-feet.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="The New York Times 1970a">{{cite web |date=December 24, 1970 |title=Trade Center 'Topped Out' With Steel Column 1,370 Feet Above Street |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/12/24/archives/trade-center-topped-out-with-steel-column-1370-feet-above-street.html |access-date=October 26, 2017 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026213534/http://www.nytimes.com/1970/12/24/archives/trade-center-topped-out-with-steel-column-1370-feet-above-street.html |url-status=live }}</ref>]]

In 1961, the same year that Helmsley, Wien, and Malkin had purchased the Empire State Building, the [[Port Authority of New York and New Jersey]] formally backed plans for a new [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]] in [[Lower Manhattan]].<ref>{{cite news |date=March 12, 1961 |title=355 Million World Trade Center Backed by Port Authority Study; 355 Million World Trade Center Backed by Port Authority Study |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1961/03/12/100239808.pdf |access-date=October 26, 2017 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200126151750/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1961/03/12/100239808.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false |url-status=live }}</ref> The plan originally included 66-story twin towers with column-free open spaces. The Empire State's owners and real estate speculators were worried that the twin towers' {{convert|7.6|e6ft2|m2}} of office space would create a glut of rentable space in Manhattan as well as take away the Empire State Building's profits from lessees.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|pp=353–354}} A revision in the World Trade Center's plan brought the twin towers to {{convert|1370|ft|m}} each or 110 stories, taller than the Empire State.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=354}} Opponents of the new project included prominent real-estate developer [[Robert Tishman]], as well as Wien's Committee for a Reasonable World Trade Center.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=354}} In response to Wien's opposition, Port Authority executive director [[Austin J. Tobin]] said that Wien was only opposing the project because it would overshadow his Empire State Building as the world's tallest building.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ennis |first=Thomas W. |date=February 15, 1964 |title=Critics Impugned On Trade Center |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/02/15/cr-tics-impugned-on-trade-center.html |access-date=October 26, 2017 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171027074800/http://www.nytimes.com/1964/02/15/cr-tics-impugned-on-trade-center.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The World Trade Center's twin towers started [[Construction of the World Trade Center|construction]] in 1966.<ref>{{cite news |date=August 6, 1966 |title=Jackhammers Bite Pavement to Start Trade Center Job |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1966/08/06/82504559.pdf |access-date=October 26, 2017 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180303144625/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1966/08/06/82504559.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The following year, the [[Ostankino Tower]] succeeded the Empire State Building as the [[List of tallest freestanding structures|tallest freestanding structure in the world]].<ref name="CBS News 2012" /> In 1970, the Empire State surrendered its position as the world's tallest building,{{sfn|Berman|Museum of New York City|2003|pp=105–106}} when the World Trade Center's still-under-construction North Tower surpassed it, on October 19;<ref name="The New York Times 1970" /><ref name="The New York Times 1970a" /> the North Tower was [[topping out|topped out]] on December 23, 1970.<ref name="The New York Times 1970a" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Timeline: World Trade Center Chronology |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/newyork/timeline/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070502225357/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/newyork/timeline/index.html |archive-date=May 2, 2007 |access-date=May 15, 2007 |publisher=PBS – American Experience }}</ref>

In December 1975, the observation deck was opened on the 110th floor of the Twin Towers, significantly higher than the 86th floor observatory on the Empire State Building.<ref name="Bartlett 1976" /> The latter was also losing revenue during this period, particularly as a number of broadcast stations had moved to the World Trade Center in 1971; although the Port Authority continued to pay the broadcasting leases for the Empire State until 1984.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|pp=356–357}} The Empire State Building was still seen as prestigious, having seen its forty-millionth visitor in March 1971.{{sfn|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1981|p=18}}

===1980s and 1990s===
By 1980, there were nearly two million annual visitors,{{sfn|Jackson|2010|p=1326}} although a building official had previously estimated between 1.5&nbsp;million and 1.75&nbsp;million annual visitors.<ref name="Mouat 1979" /> The building received its own ZIP code in May 1980 in a roll out of 63 new postal codes in Manhattan. At the time, its tenants collectively received 35,000 pieces of mail daily.<ref name="The New York Times 1980">{{Cite news |date=May 1, 1980 |title=Manhattan Adding 63 ZIP Codes; Empire State Gets Own Code |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1980/05/01/111235073.pdf |access-date=October 31, 2017 |issn=0362-4331 }}</ref> The Empire State Building celebrated its 50th anniversary on May 1, 1981, with a much-publicized, but poorly received, laser light show,<ref>{{cite news |last=Phelps |first=Timothy M. |date=May 1, 1981 |title=Light Show More Like a Flicker |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/05/01/nyregion/light-show-more-like-a-flicker.html |access-date=October 29, 2017 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=November 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107042324/http://www.nytimes.com/1981/05/01/nyregion/light-show-more-like-a-flicker.html |url-status=live }}</ref> as well as an "Empire State Building Week" that ran through to May 8.<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 30, 1981 |title=Empire State Celebrates 50th Year |page=1 |work=Auburn Citizen-Advertiser |agency=[[United Press International]] |url=http://fultonhistory.com/Newpapers%20Disk2/Auburn%20NY%20Citizen%20Advertiser/Auburn%20NY%20Citizen%20Advertiser%201981%20pdf/Newspaper%20Auburn%20NY%20Citizen%20Advertiser%201981%20-%201284.PDF |access-date=October 29, 2017 |via=[[fultonhistory.com]] }}</ref>{{sfn|Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior|1981|page=16}} The [[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]] (LPC) voted to designate the building and its lobby as city landmarks on May 19, 1981,<ref name="Haberman 1981">{{Cite news |last=Haberman |first=Clyde |date=May 20, 1981 |title=Panel Creates a Historic District in Manhattan's East 60's and 70's |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/05/20/nyregion/panel-creates-a-historic-district-in-manhattan-s-east-60-s-and-70-s.html |access-date=May 7, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220507190916/https://www.nytimes.com/1981/05/20/nyregion/panel-creates-a-historic-district-in-manhattan-s-east-60-s-and-70-s.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Sutton 1981">{{Cite news |last=Sutton |first=Larry |date=May 20, 1981 |title=Puttin' Fix on Upper East Side Ritz |pages=141 |work=New York Daily News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101297522/puttin-fix-on-upper-east-side/ |access-date=May 7, 2022 |archive-date=May 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220507191435/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101297522/puttin-fix-on-upper-east-side/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Capital improvements were made to the Empire State Building during the early to mid-1990s at a cost of $55&nbsp;million.<ref name="Dunlap 1994">{{cite news |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |date=July 8, 1994 |title=Trump Plans Revitalization of Empire State Building |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/08/nyregion/trump-plans-revitalization-of-empire-state-building.html |access-date=October 31, 2017 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=November 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107031919/http://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/08/nyregion/trump-plans-revitalization-of-empire-state-building.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Because all of the building's windows were being replaced at the same time, the LPC mandated a paint-color test for the windows; the test revealed that the Empire State Building's original windows were actually red.<ref name="Gray 1992">{{Cite news |last=Gray |first=Christopher |date=June 14, 1992 |title=Streetscapes: The Empire State Building; A Red Reprise for a '31 Wonder |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/14/realestate/streetscapes-the-empire-state-building-a-red-reprise-for-a-31-wonder.html |access-date=December 26, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221226233119/https://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/14/realestate/streetscapes-the-empire-state-building-a-red-reprise-for-a-31-wonder.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The improvements also entailed replacing alarm systems, elevators, windows, and air conditioning; making the observation deck compliant with the [[Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990]] (ADA); and refurbishing the limestone facade.<ref name="Oser 1996">{{Cite news |last=Oser |first=Alan S. |date=July 21, 1996 |title=Perspectives; The Empire State Building's Two-Front Campaign |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/21/realestate/perspectives-the-empire-state-building-s-two-front-campaign.html |access-date=September 21, 2017 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=September 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170922100909/http://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/21/realestate/perspectives-the-empire-state-building-s-two-front-campaign.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The observation deck renovation was added after disability rights groups and the [[United States Department of Justice]] filed a lawsuit against the building in 1992, in what was the first lawsuit filed by an organization under the new law.<ref>{{cite news |last=Andrews |first=Edmund L. |date=January 28, 1992 |title=Advocates of Disabled File Complaint About the Empire State Building |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/28/nyregion/advocates-of-disabled-file-complaint-about-the-empire-state-building.html |access-date=October 31, 2017 |archive-date=November 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107023244/http://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/28/nyregion/advocates-of-disabled-file-complaint-about-the-empire-state-building.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Hamilton 1994">{{Cite news |last=Hamilton |first=Andrea |date=March 4, 1994 |title=Empire State Building to Provide Better Access for Disabled |pages=11 |work=The Buffalo News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115221051/empire-state-building-to-provide-better/ |access-date=December 26, 2022 |archive-date=December 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221226233118/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115221051/empire-state-building-to-provide-better/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A settlement was reached in 1994, in which Empire State Building Associates agreed to add ADA-compliant elements, such as new elevators, ramps, and automatic doors, during the renovation.<ref name="Hamilton 1994" /><ref>{{cite press release |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=US V. Empire State Building of NYC |url=https://www.justice.gov/crt/foia/readingroom/frequent_requests/ada_settlements/ny/ny2.txt |format=TXT file |publisher=United States Department of Justice |date=March 3, 1994 |access-date=October 31, 2017 |archive-date=February 5, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110205050423/http://www.justice.gov/crt/foia/readingroom/frequent_requests/ada_settlements/ny/ny2.txt |url-status=live }}</ref>

Prudential sold the land under the building in 1991 for $42&nbsp;million to a buyer representing hotelier {{ill|Hideki Yokoi|ja|横井英樹}}, who was imprisoned at the time in connection with the deadly {{ill|Hotel New Japan Fire|ja|ホテルニュージャパン火災}} at the {{ill|Hotel New Japan|ja|ホテルニュージャパン}} in Tokyo.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 1, 1991 |title=Company News; Empire State Buyer Found |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/01/business/company-news-empire-state-buyer-found.html |access-date=September 21, 2017 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=September 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170922050731/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/01/business/company-news-empire-state-buyer-found.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1994, [[Donald Trump]] entered into a joint-venture agreement with Yokoi, with a shared goal of breaking the Empire State Building's lease on the land in an effort to gain total ownership of the building so that, if successful, the two could reap the potential profits of merging the ownership of the building with the land beneath it.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Donald Trump's Failed and Fraught Attempt to Own the Empire State Building |url=https://www.6sqft.com/donald-trumps-failed-and-fraught-attempt-to-own-the-empire-state-building/ |access-date=January 29, 2019 |website=6sqft |date=April 18, 2016 |archive-date=January 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190130053214/https://www.6sqft.com/donald-trumps-failed-and-fraught-attempt-to-own-the-empire-state-building/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Having secured a half-ownership of the land, Trump devised plans to take ownership of the building itself so he could renovate it, even though Helmsley and Malkin had already started their refurbishment project.<ref name="Dunlap 1994" /> He sued Empire State Building Associates in February 1995, claiming that the latter had caused the building to become a "high-rise slum"<ref name="Bagli 2013" /> and a "second-rate, rodent-infested" office tower.<ref name="Gilpin 1995">{{Cite news |last=Gilpin |first=Kenneth N. |date=February 17, 1995 |title=Company News; Trump Sues Empire State Building Management Company |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/02/17/business/company-news-trump-sues-empire-state-building-management-company.html |access-date=September 21, 2017 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=September 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170922051205/http://www.nytimes.com/1995/02/17/business/company-news-trump-sues-empire-state-building-management-company.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Trump had intended to have Empire State Building Associates evicted for violating the terms of their lease,<ref name="Gilpin 1995" /> but was denied.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 22, 1995 |title=Trump Loses Round in Empire State Suit |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/03/22/business/trump-loses-round-in-empire-state-suit.html |access-date=September 21, 2017 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=September 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170922051745/http://www.nytimes.com/1995/03/22/business/trump-loses-round-in-empire-state-suit.html |url-status=live }}</ref> This led to Helmsley's companies countersuing Trump in May.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Johnston |first=David Cay |date=May 31, 1995 |title=Helmsley, In a Countersuit Against Trump, Alleges a Conspiracy as Big as the Empire State |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/05/31/nyregion/helmsley-countersuit-against-trump-alleges-conspiracy-big-empire-state.html |access-date=September 21, 2017 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=February 21, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170221093340/http://www.nytimes.com/1995/05/31/nyregion/helmsley-countersuit-against-trump-alleges-conspiracy-big-empire-state.html |url-status=live }}</ref> This sparked a series of lawsuits and countersuits that lasted several years,<ref name="Bagli 2013" /> partly arising from Trump's desire to obtain the building's master lease by taking it from Empire State Building Associates.<ref name="Oser 1996" /> Upon Harry Helmsley's death in 1997, the Malkins sued Helmsley's widow, [[Leona Helmsley]], for control of the building.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bagli |first=Charles V. |year=1997 |title=With Helmsley Death, Wife Faces Battle for Empire |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/06/nyregion/with-helmsley-death-wife-faces-battle-for-empire.html |access-date=September 21, 2017 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200607051554/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/06/nyregion/with-helmsley-death-wife-faces-battle-for-empire.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== 21st century ===
====2000s====
Following the destruction of the World Trade Center during the September 11 attacks, the Empire State Building again became the [[List of tallest buildings in New York City|tallest building in New York City]], but was only the [[List of tallest buildings in the world|second-tallest building in the Americas]] after the [[Willis Tower|Sears (later Willis) Tower]] in Chicago.<ref name="CBS News 2012" /><ref name="Dunlap 2012" /><ref name="New York Daily News 2012" /> As a result of the attacks, transmissions from nearly all of the city's commercial television and FM radio stations were again broadcast from the Empire State Building.{{sfn|Guerrero et al.|2002|p=37}} The attacks also led to an increase in security due to persistent terror threats against prominent sites in New York City.<ref>{{cite web |last=Rashbaum |first=William K. |date=July 15, 2002 |title=Terror Makes All the World A Beat for New York Police |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/15/nyregion/terror-makes-all-the-world-a-beat-for-new-york-police.html |access-date=October 31, 2017 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=November 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107120009/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/15/nyregion/terror-makes-all-the-world-a-beat-for-new-york-police.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2002, Trump and Yokoi sold their land claim to the Empire State Building Associates, now headed by Malkin, in a $57.5&nbsp;million transaction.<ref name="Bagli 2013" /><ref name="Bagli 2002">{{Cite news |last=Bagli |first=Charles V. |date=March 19, 2002 |title=Partnership in Deal for Empire State Building |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/19/nyregion/partnership-in-deal-for-empire-state-building.html |access-date=September 21, 2017 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 27, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110127165316/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/19/nyregion/partnership-in-deal-for-empire-state-building.html |url-status=live }}</ref> This action merged the building's title and lease for the first time in half a century.<ref name="Bagli 2002" /> Despite the lingering threat posed by the 9/11 attacks, the Empire State Building remained popular with 3.5&nbsp;million visitors to the observatories in 2004, compared to about 2.8&nbsp;million in 2003.<ref>{{cite web |last=Collins |first=Glenn |date=August 14, 2004 |title=Making Sense of New York, From 86 Stories Up; Views From the Empire State Building, Mapped Out in Steel |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/14/nyregion/making-sense-new-york-86-stories-up-views-empire-state-building-mapped-steel.html |access-date=October 31, 2017 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=November 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107115209/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/14/nyregion/making-sense-new-york-86-stories-up-views-empire-state-building-mapped-steel.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Even though she maintained her ownership stake in the building until the post-consolidation IPO in October 2013, [[Leona Helmsley]] handed over day-to-day operations of the building in 2006 to Peter Malkin's company.<ref name="Bagli 2013" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=August 30, 2006 |title=Helmsley Caves In – Empire State Bldg. War Ends |work=New York Post |url=https://nypost.com/2006/08/30/helmsley-caves-in-empire-state-bldg-war-ends/ |access-date=September 21, 2017 |archive-date=September 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170922051536/http://nypost.com/2006/08/30/helmsley-caves-in-empire-state-bldg-war-ends/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2008, the building was temporarily "stolen" by the ''[[New York Daily News]]'' to show how easy it was to transfer the deed on a property, since city clerks were not required to validate the submitted information, as well as to help demonstrate how fraudulent deeds could be used to obtain large mortgages and then have individuals disappear with the money. The paperwork submitted to the city included the names of [[Fay Wray]], the famous star of ''King Kong'', and [[Willie Sutton]], a notorious New York bank robber. The newspaper then transferred the deed back over to the legitimate owners, who at that time were Empire State Land Associates.<ref>{{cite news |date=December 2, 2008 |title=It Took 90 Minutes to 'Steal' the Empire State Building |newspaper=New York Daily News |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/money/90-minutes-daily-news-steal-empire-state-building-article-1.353477 |access-date=June 16, 2017 |archive-date=June 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170607185902/http://www.nydailynews.com/news/money/90-minutes-daily-news-steal-empire-state-building-article-1.353477 |url-status=live }}</ref>

====2010s to present====
[[File:EmpireStateBuildingCU.jpg|thumb|alt=The Empire State Building as seen at night, illuminated in blue and white|The Empire State Building lit in blue and white annually for commencement at [[Columbia University]]]]
[[File:ESBandDowntown2015.jpg|thumb|alt=The Empire State Building at sunset looking south. Buildings can be seen in the distance, including One World Trade Center.|The current [[One World Trade Center]] (seen in the distance) surpassed the Empire State Building's height on April 30, 2012.]]

Starting in 2009, the building's public areas received a $550&nbsp;million renovation, with improvements to the air conditioning and waterproofing, renovations to the observation deck and main lobby,<ref name="Barron 2009" /> and relocation of the gift shop to the 80th floor.<ref name="Cortese 2008">{{cite web |last=Cortese |first=Amy |date=October 5, 2008 |title=The Empire State Building Gets a Makeover |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/05/realestate/commercial/05sqft.html |access-date=October 27, 2017 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 28, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028044917/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/05/realestate/commercial/05sqft.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="esbnyc1">{{cite web |title=2009 ULI Fall Meeting & Urban Land Expo&nbsp;– Green Retrofit: What Is Making This the Wave of the Future? |url=http://www.esbnyc.com/sustainability_energy_efficiency.asp |publisher=Empire State Realty Trust |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101122082831/http://esbnyc.com/sustainability_energy_efficiency.asp |archive-date=November 22, 2010 |access-date=October 11, 2010 |format=PDF }}</ref> About $120&nbsp;million was spent on improving the [[efficient energy use|energy efficiency]] of the building, with the goal of reducing energy emissions by 38% within five years.<ref name="esbnyc1" /><ref name="Navarro 2009" /> For example, all of the windows were refurbished onsite into film-coated "superwindows" which block heat but pass light.<ref name="Navarro 2009" /><ref name="fa2012">{{cite magazine |last=Lovins |first=Amory |date=March–April 2012 |title=A Farewell to Fossil Fuels |url=http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/137246/amory-b-lovins/a-farewell-to-fossil-fuels |magazine=Foreign Affairs |access-date=September 12, 2013 |archive-date=July 7, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120707031832/http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/137246/amory-b-lovins/a-farewell-to-fossil-fuels |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=368}} [[Air conditioning]] operating costs on hot days were reduced, saving $17&nbsp;million of the project's capital cost immediately and partially funding some of the other retrofits.<ref name="fa2012" /> The Empire State Building won the [[Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design|Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)]] Gold for Existing Buildings rating in September 2011, as well as the [[World Federation of Great Towers]]' Excellence in Environment Award for 2010.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=368}} For the LEED Gold certification, the building's energy reduction was considered, as was a large purchase of [[carbon offset]]s. Other factors included low-flow bathroom fixtures, green cleaning supplies, and use of recycled paper products.<ref>{{cite web |title=Empire State Building Achieves LEED Gold |url=https://www.usgbc.org/articles/empire-state-building-achieves-leed-gold |access-date=June 29, 2020 |publisher=U.S. Green Building Council |archive-date=July 31, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190731210032/https://www.usgbc.org/articles/empire-state-building-achieves-leed-gold |url-status=live }}</ref>

On April 30, 2012, [[One World Trade Center]] topped out, surpassing the Empire State Building as the city's tallest skyscraper.<ref name="New York Daily News 2012"/> By 2014, the building was owned by the Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT), with Anthony Malkin as chairman, CEO, and president.<ref>{{cite web |title=Empire State Realty Trust |url=http://www.empirestaterealtytrust.com/properties |access-date=March 7, 2014 |archive-date=October 8, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131008135213/http://www.empirestaterealtytrust.com/properties |url-status=live }}</ref> The ESRT was a public company, having begun trading publicly on the New York Stock Exchange the previous year.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yousuf |first=Hibah |date=October 2, 2013 |title=Empire State Building IPO Disappoints |url=https://money.cnn.com/2013/10/02/investing/empire-state-building-ipo/index.html |access-date=January 18, 2017 |website=CNNMoney |archive-date=January 31, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170131194056/http://money.cnn.com/2013/10/02/investing/empire-state-building-ipo/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In August 2016, the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) was issued new fully diluted shares equivalent to 9.9% of the trust; this investment gave them partial ownership of the entirety of the ESRT's portfolio, and as a result, partial ownership of the Empire State Building.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 23, 2016 |title=Empire State Realty Trust Announces $622 Million Investment by Qatar Investment Authority |url=http://www.empirestaterealtytrust.com/news/post/empire-state-realty-trust-announces-622-million-investment-by-qatar-investment-authority |access-date=January 29, 2019 |website=Empire State Realty Trust – ESRT |language=en |archive-date=January 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190130000315/http://www.empirestaterealtytrust.com/news/post/empire-state-realty-trust-announces-622-million-investment-by-qatar-investment-authority |url-status=live }}</ref> The trust's president John Kessler called it an "endorsement of the company's irreplaceable assets".<ref name="Egan 2016">{{Cite web |last=Egan |first=Matt |date=August 24, 2016 |title=Qatar Buys Chunk of Empire State Building |url=https://money.cnn.com/2016/08/24/investing/empire-state-building-opec-qatar/index.html |access-date=January 18, 2017 |website=CNNMoney |archive-date=January 19, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170119052821/http://money.cnn.com/2016/08/24/investing/empire-state-building-opec-qatar/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The investment has been described by the real-estate magazine ''[[The Real Deal (magazine)|The Real Deal]]'' as "an unusual move for a sovereign wealth fund", as these funds typically buy direct stakes in buildings rather than real estate companies.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Putzier |first=Konrad |date=August 25, 2016 |title=Qatar's Empire State Building Investment Is Rare Move for Foreign Fund |url=https://therealdeal.com/2016/08/25/qatars-empire-state-building-investment-is-rare-move-for-foreign-fund/ |access-date=January 18, 2017 |website=The Real Deal New York |archive-date=January 31, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170131184719/https://therealdeal.com/2016/08/25/qatars-empire-state-building-investment-is-rare-move-for-foreign-fund/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Other foreign entities that have a stake in the ESRT include investors from Norway, Japan, and Australia.<ref name="Egan 2016" />

A renovation of the Empire State Building was commenced in the 2010s to further improve energy efficiency, public areas, and amenities.<ref name="am New York 2018" /> In August 2018, to improve the flow of visitor traffic, the main visitor's entrance was shifted to 20 West 34th Street as part of a major renovation of the observatory lobby.<ref name="New York 2018">{{cite web |date=August 23, 2018 |title=New York's Empire State Building Gets a Surprising Upgrade |url=https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/new-york-empire-state-building-surprising-upgrade |access-date=October 10, 2018 |archive-date=October 11, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181011053509/https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/new-york-empire-state-building-surprising-upgrade |url-status=live }}</ref> The new lobby includes several technological features, including large LED panels, digital ticket kiosks in nine languages, and a two-story architectural model of the building surrounded by two metal staircases.<ref name="am New York 2018" /><ref name="New York 2018" /> The first phase of the renovation, completed in 2019, features an updated exterior lighting system and digital hosts.<ref name="New York 2018" /> The new lobby also features free Wi-Fi provided for those waiting.<ref name="am New York 2018" /><ref>{{cite web |last1=Quito |first1=Anne |date=August 23, 2018 |title=How Designers Keep You Calm in Long Queues (It Sometimes Involves Elephants) |url=https://qz.com/quartzy/1367021/the-empire-state-building-debuts-a-new-observatory-entrance-designed-to-improve-its-very-long-queue/ |access-date=June 4, 2019 |website=Quartz |publisher=Quartzy |archive-date=June 4, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190604053237/https://qz.com/quartzy/1367021/the-empire-state-building-debuts-a-new-observatory-entrance-designed-to-improve-its-very-long-queue/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A {{Convert|10,000|ft2|m2|adj=on}} exhibit with nine galleries opened in July 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ricciulli |first=Valeria |date=July 29, 2019 |title=See Inside the New Empire State Building Mini Museum Showcasing Its History |url=https://ny.curbed.com/2019/7/29/8934703/empire-state-building-exhibit-observatory-history-nyc |access-date=July 30, 2019 |website=Curbed NY |archive-date=July 29, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190729173022/https://ny.curbed.com/2019/7/29/8934703/empire-state-building-exhibit-observatory-history-nyc |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=July 30, 2019 |title=King Kong Returns To The Empire State Building Inside New Immersive Museum |url=https://gothamist.com/2019/07/30/empire_state_building_museum_photos.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190730212352/https://gothamist.com/2019/07/30/empire_state_building_museum_photos.php |archive-date=July 30, 2019 |access-date=July 30, 2019 |website=Gothamist |language=en }}</ref> The 102nd floor observatory, the third phase of the redesign, reopened to the public on October 12, 2019.<ref name="Wallace 2019" /><ref name="Russell 2019" /><ref name="CBS News 2019a" /> That portion of the project included outfitting the space with floor-to-ceiling glass windows and a brand-new glass elevator.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Weiss |first=Lois |date=October 9, 2019 |title=Empire State Building to Open New Observatory on 102nd Floor |url=https://nypost.com/2019/10/08/empire-state-building-to-open-new-observatory-on-102nd-floor/ |access-date=November 5, 2019 |website=New York Post |language=en |archive-date=November 4, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191104005506/https://nypost.com/2019/10/08/empire-state-building-to-open-new-observatory-on-102nd-floor/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The final portion of the renovations to be completed was a new observatory on the 80th floor, which opened on December 2, 2019.<ref name="Ricciulli 2019" /><ref name="CBS News 2019" /> In total, the renovation cost $160 million<ref name="CBS News 2019a" /> or $165&nbsp;million and took four years to finish.<ref name="Ricciulli 2019" /><ref name="CBS News 2019" />

A comprehensive restoration of the building's mooring and antenna masts also began in June 2019. Antennas on the mooring mast were removed or relocated to the upper mast, while the aluminum panels were cleaned and coated with silver paint.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Londono |first=Vanessa |date=September 28, 2020 |title=Empire State Building Spire Restoration Nears Completion in Midtown |url=https://newyorkyimby.com/2020/09/empire-state-building-restoration-nearly-complete.html |access-date=March 4, 2022 |website=New York YIMBY |language=en-US |archive-date=March 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220304041855/https://newyorkyimby.com/2020/09/empire-state-building-restoration-nearly-complete.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Gannon 2020">{{cite web |last=Gannon |first=Devin |date=September 25, 2020 |title=Empire State Building's Art Deco Spire Returns in All Its Glory After Restoration |url=https://www.6sqft.com/empire-state-buildings-art-deco-spire-returns-in-all-its-glory-after-restoration/ |access-date=March 4, 2022 |website=6sqft |archive-date=March 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220304041854/https://www.6sqft.com/empire-state-buildings-art-deco-spire-returns-in-all-its-glory-after-restoration/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Marani 2020">{{cite web |last=Marani |first=Matthew |date=October 16, 2020 |title=Restoration of the Empire State Building's Art Deco Crown Nears Completion |url=https://www.archpaper.com/2020/10/facades-empire-state-building-nears-completion-of-art-deco-crown-restoration/ |access-date=March 4, 2022 |website=The Architect's Newspaper |archive-date=April 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408162402/https://www.archpaper.com/2020/10/facades-empire-state-building-nears-completion-of-art-deco-crown-restoration/ |url-status=live }}</ref> To minimize disruption to the observation decks, the restoration work took place at night. The project was completed by late 2020.<ref name="Marani 2020" />