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The Empire State Building

The Empire State Building is cemented in both New York and U.S. History. Built during the Depression, the building was the center of a competition between Walter Chrysler (Chrysler Corp.) and John Jakob Raskob (creator of General Motors) to see who could build the tallest building.

From the time the construction began on March 17, 1930, the building's steel frame rose at an average rate of four and a half floors per week. To speed construction, the building's posts, beams, windows and window frames were made in factories and put together on the site. 60,000 tons of steel was brought in from the steel mills in Pennsylvania, 310 miles away, by train, barges and trucks.

William Lamb, an architect at the firm Shreve, Lamb & Harmon, was chosen to design the Empire State Building. His design was influenced by the perpendicular style of another architect, Eliel Saarinen. He happened to base most of his design on a simple pencil. The clean, soaring lines inspired him, and he modeled the building after it. He also decided that the columns of stone would be easier to put up if they were separated from the windows with metal strips. The strips covered the stone's edges, which meant the stone could be rough-cut at the quarry and then heaved into place without any final cutting or fitting, thus saving a great amount of time. The stonework began in June of 1930, and was completed in November. The windows were attached with metal brackets between the stone columns, with aluminum panels above and below each level.

By October 3, 1930, there were 88 floors finished and only 14 to go. These top floors took the form of a distinctive tower of glass, steel, and aluminum. The tower is about 200 ft. high and topped with a dome.
The building's history is full of interesting facts and marvelous accomplishments that still intrigue men, women and children of the world.

Some Facts in History

• In 1945 at the end of World War II, an Army Air Corps B-25 twin-engine bomber plane crashed into the 79th floor of the building in dense fog.
• From 1931 - present, the building acted as an "Ambassador to New York" to many of the world's renowned political and entertainment figures, such as, Fidel Castro, Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles, Prince Andrew, The Duchess of York, Nikita Khrushchev, King of Siam and others.
• The building's dirigible mast (now the base of the TV tower) was originally designed as a mooring mast for Air blimps (unfortunately because of several unsuccessful attempts and the volatile wind conditions at 1,350 feet, the idea was ultimately abandoned).

ESB Facts

86th Floor Observatory

The 86th floor Observatory, 1,050 feet (320 meters), reached by high speed, automatic elevators, has both a glass-enclosed area, which is heated in winter and cooled in summer, and spacious outdoor promenades on all four sides of the Building. High powered binoculars are available on the promenades for the convenience of visitors at a minimal cost. The 86th floor observatory is handicap accessible.

102nd Floor Observatory

102nd Floor Observatory tickets are only sold upon arrival at the Empire State Building at a cost of $15.00 in addition to regular admission tickets.

NOTE: The 102nd floor Observatory is closed for renovations effective September 29th until further notice. Please feel free to call 212.736.3100 for any questions regarding hours of operation.

Observatory Hours

Open daily 365 days a year.
8:00AM to 2:00AM 7 days a week. Last elevators go up at 1:15AM.

Observatory Holiday Hours

IMPORTANT: Everyone must go through the security check when entering the building. No glass or bottles are permitted to be taken to the Observatory. Cameras and camcorders are allowed but no tripods. ONLY carry-on size and style bags, suitcases, backpacks, duffle bags, luggage, etc., are permitted. We do not have a coat check, package, baggage check or holding area, so please do not attempt to bring non-carry-on style luggage to the Observatory.

Admission Prices at the Building

NOTE: 102nd Floor Observatory tickets are only sold upon arrival at the Empire State Building at a cost of $15.00 in addition to regular admission tickets.

Military personnel are admitted free when in full uniform.

Toddlers (5 or younger) are admitted free when accompanied by an adult
ticket holder.

Information on group rates can be obtained by faxing a request to the Group Sales Office at  (212) 947-1360  or by visiting the Observatory ticket office on the 2nd floor of the building.

ESB Express Pass

The lines at the Empire State Building Observatory are as legendary as the building itself. The line actually consists of 3 different lines. The first one is the security line that everyone must go through. Next comes the ticket line. Visitors with pre-purchased tickets can skip this line which can save a considerable amount of time during our busiest times. The 3rd and last line is for the elevators that take you to the Observatory.

While we have been told that anything this good is worth the wait, we have also heard laments that some people missed out on being able to visit the Empire State Building Observatory because they just didn’t have enough time to see and do everything while in NYC. Now you can. By purchasing an Express Pass you will automatically be moved to the front of each and every line.

Need more time for shopping or seeing a show? Perhaps there’s a restaurant that you just have to experience? Express Pass is the answer for you. It gives you enough time to do it all in the city that never sleeps.

ESB Observatory Audio Tour

The high point (no pun intended) of every visit to the Observatory is, of course, the spectacular 360-degree view of the Big Apple and the metropolitan area. Now, we’re going to make that experience even more exciting and rewarding with an audio tour and corresponding signage so that visitors will know exactly what they are seeing from every vantage point on the observation deck.

Narrating the tour is Tony, a fictional, but nonetheless authentic, native New Yorker born 50 years ago in Chelsea, an area of Manhattan not yet the hot, trendy neighborhood it is today. The tour is written from Tony’s point of view and is filled with his colorful, amusing and informative observations about his favorite city . . . and his favorite building.

To complement the audio tour and enable visitors to have better close-up views of what Tony is describing, we have installed more powerful binoculars on the outside deck of the Observatory.

Tickets are available for the audio tour at the ticket office located on the 2nd floor of the building.

Shops, Restaurants, and Services

See a list of shops, restaurants, and services located in the ESB.

Location:
The Empire State Building is located at 350, 5th Avenue New York, NY.Fifth Avenue (at 34th Street)
Below is a list of transportation information to help you plan your trip.

By Subway
1, 2, or 3 (Seventh Avenue Lines), A, C or E (Eighth Avenue Subway) to 34th Street/Penn Station. Also B, D, F, N, Q, R or Path to 34th Street/Avenue of the Americas .

By Train
To Penn Station: Long Island Railroad, New Jersey Transit, Amtrak.
From Westchester/Connecticut: Metro-North to Grand Central Station, subway
shuttle to Times Square to 1, 2, or 3 subway trains downtown one stop.

By Car
Drive into Manhattan via any connecting bridge, tunnel or road.
For more detailed directions click here.

By Bus
From Northern Manhattan/Upper East Side, M4.
From Upper West Side/Harlem, M10 south.
From Downtown/West Side, M10-north.
From other Manhattan locations, any north-south bus to 34th Street and transfer to M34 or M16. Disembark at Seventh Avenue.
From Northwest Queens, take Q32.

Transportation Info.

Train
NY City Transit (Travel directions by bus and subway)  (718) 330-1234 
Metro North Commuter Railroad  (212) 532-4900 
Long Island Rail Road  (718) 217-5477 
MTA Customer Service  (718) 330-3322 
NJ Transit  (973) 762-5100 

Ferry
New York Waterway  (800) 533-3779 

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