About Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is the art deco soul of New York, a limestone and granite giant that defined the skyscraper era. Built in a feverish race to the sky during the Great Depression, it stood as the world's tallest building for forty years. Its tapered silhouette, capped with a mooring mast for dirigibles, is the most recognizable shape in the Manhattan skyline, a symbol of American ambition and resilience.
From above, it sits squarely in the center of Midtown Manhattan, occupying a full city block. Its setbacks are visible as a series of steps leading to the spire. It towers over its neighbors, offering clear lines of sight to the rivers on both sides. The shadow it casts is massive, a dark rectangle moving across the grid of Fifth Avenue.
The lobby is a golden temple to commerce, but the real magic is on the 86th-floor observatory. There, with the wind whipping your face, you see the city as a map of infinite lights. It has starred in countless movies, been climbed by King Kong, and serves as the city's color-coded mood ring, lighting up for holidays and sports teams. It is the sturdy, elegant grandfather of all superscrapers.