fully rented in its earliest years, but it immediately became one
of the wonders of New York City and a favorite tourist attraction.
Ordinary folk and the famous alike made the trip up to the
observation tower and were enthralled by the sheer height of it
all.
Which factor had the greatest effect on the design of the
Empire State Building?
The stock market crash and the Great Depression
The building code in New York
The materials needed to build it
The need for an observation tower
Today, more than 50 years later, nearly two million people a year
ride the 1,250 feet up to its lofty tower to gaze out over
Manhattan and marvel at the city scene spread out below them.
On a clear day you can see 50 miles away. It is both unnerving
and exhilarating to realize that workmen have stood on exposed
beams in the open air at this great height to build the very
observation platform upon which you are standing.
Clouds and fog may float below you. In a high wind the top of the
building actually moves. It is frequently hit by lightning. The tip of
the TV tower above you is 1.472 feet above street level, yet the
steel skeleton of the building readily absorbs and dissipates both
the force of the wind and the electric charge of the lightning. The