Exhibit Chronicles Engineering, Construction of Empire State Building

In its 80th anniversary year, the Empire State Building unveiled a new, permanent exhibit that captures the global icon’s astonishing history, engineering and construction. Curated by Carol Willis of New York City’s Skyscraper Museum, the installation is located on the 80th floor of the World’s Most Famous Office Building and further enriches and enhances each visitor’s Observatory experience.

With content from The Skyscraper Museum’s archives, the exhibit illustrates three main themes:

Speed: Construction took only 11 months from the setting of the tower’s first steel columns on April 7, 1930, to the completed building by March 31, 1931—a full month before the official opening ceremonies on May 1, 1931.

Scale: Gigantic in every dimension, the record-breaking tower required immense amounts of materials and equipment to build what is still one of the tallest and largest manmade structures in the world.

Steel: The building’s steel frame was intricately designed with remarkable proportions, and all aspects of its construction remain extraordinary, even today.
The exhibit shares numerous remarkable facts as well as reproductions of nostalgic photos and mementos of the more than 3,400 workers who helped create history. Documents include stunning period photographs, architectural sketches and renderings, construction notes, and daily bookkeeping documents presented on a series of photomurals, banners, two panels and seven stands. In a unique twist, the exhibit uses the windows of the building to show views from 1931, creating a period look unimaginable unless seen.

Empire State Building visitors — with a regular admission ticket — can view the exhibit en route to the world-famous 86th and 102nd floor Observatories. The Observatory is open daily, 365 days a year, from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m.

About the Empire State Building
Soaring 1,454 feet above Midtown Manhattan, the Empire State Building is the “World’s Most Famous Office Building. With new investments in infrastructure, public areas and amenities, the Empire State Building has attracted first-rate tenants in a diverse array of industries from around the world. The skyscraper’s robust broadcasting technology supports all major television and FM radio stations in the New York metropolitan market. The Empire State Building was named America’s favorite building in a poll conducted by the American Institute of Architects. The Empire State Building Observatory is one of the world’s most beloved attractions and is the region’s #1 tourist destination. For more information on the Empire State Building, please visit www.esbnyc.com, www.facebook.com/EmpireStateBuilding or @ESBObservatory.