Empire State Building

A 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Manhattan, completed in 1931. It was the world’s tallest building for nearly four decades and remains a landmark of New York City.

Art Deco: An ornamental design style that flourished internationally from the 1920s through the 1930s. Its geometric ornament and streamlined forms give the skyscraper its distinctive character.
Empire State Inc.: The business group formed to finance and develop the Empire State Building. Its investors and executives organized the project and pursued the title of world’s tallest building.
William F. Lamb: An American architect and partner at Shreve, Lamb & Harmon, best known for designing the Empire State Building. Lamb led the building’s design, working within a compressed schedule and budget.
Empire State Building observatories: Public viewing areas on the Empire State Building’s 86th and 102nd floors. The observatories turn the tower’s height into a major visitor attraction.
World's tallest building: The building recognized as having the greatest height under a stated measurement at a given time. The Empire State Building held this distinction from 1931 until 1970.
Steel-frame construction: A building method in which a skeleton of steel columns and beams supports floors and walls. A steel skeleton allowed the tower to rise rapidly to its extraordinary height.
John J. Raskob: An American financier and business executive who helped initiate and finance the Empire State Building. Raskob promoted the project and helped drive its competition for record height.
Louis Skidmore: An American architect who later co-founded the architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. Early in his career, Skidmore worked on the Empire State Building project.
Broadcasting from the Empire State Building: Radio and television transmission from antennas atop the Empire State Building. Its height and central location make it a prominent broadcasting site.
Chrysler Building: An Art Deco skyscraper in Manhattan, completed in 1930 and briefly the world’s tallest building. The two towers became rivals in New York’s race for architectural height.

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