Editing Empire State Building (section)

===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>