Editing Empire State Building (section)

=== 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}}