A cult building for filmmakers and an iconic landmark for thousands of tourists. That’s right, we are talking about the incredible Empire State Building, inaugurated on 1 May 1931.

Work began on its construction on 17 March 1930 and it took just 410 days to complete this ground-breaking pharaonic work, which was officially opened on 1 May 1931 by then-President Herbert Hoover at the push of a button from the White House in Washington.
The cost of building the Empire State came to $41 million and 3,500 workers were involved in erecting the 102 floors, requiring more than 60,000 tonnes of steel, 10 million bricks and 6,500 windows.
The building was originally 381 metres high when it was inaugurated and the antenna and the broadcast tower were added a few years later to provide radio and television signal services, increasing the overall height to 443 metres.

The Empire State Building generated an income of $156 million in 2011 alone so it can definitively be concluded that the cost of the building in its day has been more than compensated for over the course of its history.
The building has now been adapted to reduce consumption and make it more environmentally friendly with the use of LED light bulbs in place of the standard models.
Almost 90 years later it remains an emblematic part of the New York skyline and its terrace is the best place to enjoy incredible panoramic views of the city.

Photo: La Vanguardia