Empire State of Mind

In 1799, John Thompson was sold a tract of land near the center of Manhattan island for farming. This land would be sold to a number of different owners until 1929 when Empire State, Inc. was formed and plans for a building began. 

Photo: rootsweb.ancestry.com, modified by Hilary Grabowska. Red indicates the location of the farm and the future location of the Empire State Building.


March 17, 1930, despite the Great Depression, construction on the Empire State Building began. Over 3,000 men, mostly European immigrants but hundreds of Mohawks also contributed, built the building in a year and 45 days. 

 

Photo: boredbuilder.com

The building features the artistic style of art deco, which was popular before World War II. Initially, the art deco spire was meant to be a mooring mast for dirigible. It was quickly discovered that this was not a good idea and a TV antenna replaced the mast.

Photo: Hilary Grabowska

The 86th floor is the observation deck that is visited by tourists every year. It has been estimated that over 100 million people have visited the deck and viewed NYC. On a clear day, viewers can see 80 miles away from the tower. 

Photo: njpostalhistory.org