Thursday, October 6, 2016

Throwback Thursday "Construction of the Empire State Building"


                             Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine / NYPL Digital Gallery

This amazing photograph from Lewis Wickes Hine of the men building the Empire State Building are just remarkable. I had the wonderful opportunity to have the view of this building from my hotel room, and it was quite a site laying in bed. It just made me smile the whole time.

The project was unveiled August 29, 1929, by Al Smith, former New York governor, in the original location of the Waldorf Astoria hotel. The 1st assembly line for building skyscrapers was used in construction of the Empire State Building. At 102 floors and a roof height of 1,250 feet (381 meters), the Empire State Building was constructed in a mind-blowing 410 days. It was finished three months early and drastically under budget due to reduced building costs during the Depression. Only 6 men died during the construction of this fabulous piece of architecture. The Empire State Building did not become profitable until 20 years after it was built. From its completion in 1931 until construction of the World Trade Center’s North Tower in 1972, the Empire State Building stood as the tallest building in the world. 

The real heroes were the men who built this beautiful piece of iconic architecture which forever remains in our amazement.

You can view the whole collection of historic photographs from Lewis Wickes Hine on the New York Public Library Digital Gallery. 


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