The Empire State Building, which is currently the tallest building in the world, stands at 1,472 feet. It has also been considered the 8th wonder from the modern world. But how did engineers construct his magnificent piece of architecture, and what designs did the decide to use to make the Empire State Building outstanding?.
The Empire State Building was constructed because of competition between Walter Chrysler and John Raskob (GMC) to see who could build the tallest building. To start out with, the process of building it started on March 17, 1930 where the old Waldorf-Astoria Hotel site on 350 5th Avenue and 34th Street, and was completed in May of 1931. The architects were Shreve, Lamb ,Harmon & Associates. The contractors were Starrett Brothers & Eken, Inc.
The Empire State Building is a commercial office tower or skyscraper made from a steel frame, stone cladding system with a low key Art Deco style. The building has 103 floors, and is 1,472 feet high. Some other facts are the following: 1,860 steps, 37 million cubic feet in volume, 365,000 tons in weight, has 6500 windows, 5 entrances, 73 elevators which 6 of them are freight elevators moving at speeds of 600-1400 feet per minute (you can go from the lobby to the 80th floor in 45 seconds). and 8 escalators.
As stated earlier, the architects were shreve, Lamb, Harmon & Asociates and the contractors were Starrett Brothers & Eken. Alfred E. Smith originally laid the cornerstone on September 30, 1930. The staarting of excavation began on January 22, 1930. It took 1 year and 45 days, including all Holidays and Sundays to complete. The total number of hours put into it was 7,000,000 hours and cost close to $40,948,000 for land and everything else, but $24,718,000 for just the building. The building and the land were going to be massive. The foundation went 55 feet below the ground, the basement went 35 feet below the ground, and the lobby went 47feet above sea level.
