Empire State Building

New York

Empire State Building

New York City

Opened in 1931, the Empire State Building was the first building to top 100 floors, an astonishing milestone that only added to the mystique of this art-deco masterpiece and global icon. Otis supplied the elevators – the fastest of their day.

Building name

Empire State Building

Height
m

Otis^® elevators

Otis^® escalators

01/10

Title contenders

During construction, the building was competing for the “world’s tallest” title against two other New York City projects: 40 Wall Street and the Chrysler Building, both opened in 1930. Each held the title for less than a year.

02/10

The mast

Investors insisted that adding the mast had nothing to do with beating the Chrysler Building (319 meters), though it increased the Empire State Building’s height from 320 meters to 381. The mast would serve as a mooring for dirigibles. That idea proved unworkable.

03/10

New York minute

Construction took less than 14 months. And the architects Shreve, Lamb, and Harmon produced the architectural drawings in just two weeks, using their previous design for the Reynolds Building in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

04/10

Robot elevators

The original 68 elevators could handle 85,000 trips a day, reported Popular Science magazine. City officials revised codes to permit the high-speed elevators. The majority featured signal controls to govern speed and leveling. Dubbed “robots,” the elevators still needed an attendant.

05/10

Illuminations

Lights atop the building were first used to signal Franklin Roosevelt’s 1932 presidential victory. Flood lights were added three decades later, and then supplemented by metal-halide lamps. In 2012, LED lights increased the available colors from nine to 16 million.

06/10

Observation decks

The most popular is the outdoor observation deck on the 86th floor, with its 360-degree views. A glass-enclosed observation room is on the 102nd floor at the top of the mast.

07/10

Going green

The building began undergoing a series of retrofits in 2009 to reduce energy consumption by 38 percent. Management reports that results for the first three years exceeded projections.

08/10

Starring role

The building had a starring role in the 1933 cult classic King Kong and in three romantic tearjerkers: Love Affair (1939), An Affair to Remember (1957) and Sleepless in Seattle (1993). The 86th-floor observation deck figures prominently in the last three.

09/10

1945 plane crash

Flying in thick fog, a B-25 bomber crashed into the building between the 79th and 80th floors. The wing cut through the elevator shaft, slicing the governor ropes. The elevator cab plunged 80 floors. Miraculously, the attendant survived the fall.

10/10

Broadcasting

RCA began transmitting from the building when it opened in 1931. Today, New York City is the country’s largest media market, and nearly all of the city’s commercial television and FM radio stations transmit from there.

An enduring partnership

To help realize their vision, the original owners selected Otis^® elevators for their new building. In 2011, management entrusted us with the system’s modernization.

Modernization

The modernization is among the largest in our history – and among the most complex. New machines are brought up in pieces. Custom rigs lower counterweights into place. The new high-rise cars run faster, smoother and quieter. We’re also installing three new Gen2^® elevators.

Products

A new Gen2^® elevator will carry visitors from the 86th to the 102nd floor. An altimeter will tell passengers how high they are at any given point.

"The Empire State Building is like family to us. And it’s a thrill to be helping the trust realize its 21st-century vision for this amazing landmark."