The Empire State Building's construction began in 1930-- with 3,400 workers, 10 million bricks, 57,000 tons of steel, 473 miles of electrical wire, and 200,000 cubic feet of limestone.
It was completed just over a year later, in 1931, when it stood as the world's tallest building for 41 years. The Empire State Building was once referred to as "the eighth wonder of the world."
Why wouldn't the Empire State Building be the the world's eighth wonder? It's an elegant structure and it's iconic to the New York City skyline. It was built in the midst of the depression and at the time, New Yorkers' hearts swelled with collective pride at its height and stature.
The Empire State Building was something of which we could all be proud.
It turns out, however, that the Empire State Building is more than just a stunning, iconic structure soaring toward the sky in Midtown Manhattan.
The Empire state Building has had a turbulent past.
This past includes a whole host of suicides, shootings, and one plane crash. Plenty of people have died both outside and inside its walls.
Want to know what secrets are hidden amongst the steel, glass, and cloud soaring depths of the Empire State Building? Read on to find out.
1. It came about from the heat of competition
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It's true that sometimes competition can spur the highest heights of human achievement.
In the case of the Empire State Building, Walter Chrysler of the Chrysler Corporation and John Jakob Raskob from General Motors were enmeshed in a competition to see who could build the tallest building.
When Raskob entered the game, Chrysler had already started working on the Chrysler building. So Raskob gathered a group of investors, including the former New York Governor Alfred E. Smith. They chose the architecture firm Shreve, Lamb, and Harmon Associates to design the building.
Of course, the Chrysler Building has its own shady past, but the Empire did, in fact, surpass the Chrysler Building in height when it was completed in 1931 at 1,250 feet high.
For the next 41 years, the Empire State Building would be the tallest building in the world, until the World Trade Center was built in 1971.
2. There have been more than 30 suicides at the Empire State Building
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There have been more than 30 suicide attempts at the Empire Building.
While the building was still under construction, a worker who was laid off threw himself down an open elevator shaft. In 2006 a 21-year-old man jumped to his death and again in 2009, a woman who was an employee of the building leapt to her death as well.
One jumper even seriously injured a pedestrian walking in the street below in 1947.
Perhaps the most famous suicide of all was committed by 23-year-old Evelyn McHale, who leapt from the 86th floor observation deck and landed lifeless on the roof of a United Nations limousine in May of 1947.
Photography student Robert Wiles snapped a photograph of McHale minutes after her death, and the photo was featured in the May 1947 edition of Life Magazine.
There were also a couple of unsuccessful suicide attempts at the Empire State Building.
When Elvita Adams jumped from the 86th floor observation deck in December of 1972, a gust of wind blew her back onto the 85th floor. All she suffered was a broken hip. In 2013 33-year-old Nathanial Simone jumped from the 86th floor observation deck and landed unscathed on an 85th floor ledge.
[via 6sqft]
,3. A plane crashed into the Empire State Building in 1945
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Colonel William Smith was flying a U.S. Army B-25 bomber through New York City to pick up his commanding officer in Newark on July 28th, 1945.
While he was flying above LaGuardia airport, he asked for a weather report. Since the visibility was poor, the LaGuardia tower wanted him to land, but Smith requested and received permission from the military to continue on to Newark.
When he found himself submerged in dense fog, Smith dropped the bomber low to regain visibility, when he found himself in the middle of Manhattan, swarmed on all sides by skyscrapers.
At first, his plane was headed directly for the New York Central Building, but Smith was able to veer west and avoid it. He maneuvered wildly and avoided several skyscrapers, but suddenly he was headed for the Empire State Building.
Smith tried to get the bomber to twist away, but it was too late.
The bomber smashed into the north side of the Empire State Building at 9:49 a.m. The plane's high-octane fuel exploded, and hurtled flames down the side of the building. Thirteen people were killed, some at their desks and others while running from the flames.
Needless to say, the Empire State Building survived, but it cost $1 million in damage repairs.
[via History 1900s]
4. There have been two shootings at the Empire State Building
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Five workers were killed during the Empire State Building's construction; one worker was struck by a truck, another fell down an elevator shaft, one was hit by a hoist, one fell off a scaffold, and one was blasted in a blast area.
There were also two shootings at the Empire State Building.
In 1997, a man opened fire on the observation deck, killing one person and wounding six before he shot himself in the head. The gunman was a 69-year-old man named Ali Abu Kamal.
The second shooter was Jeffrey T. Johnson, a 58-year-old man who'd been laid off. He blamed his office rival Steven Ercolino for the loss of his job, and so Johnson hid behind a van and waited for Ercolino in August of 2012.
When Ercolino passed, Johnson shot him five times and then tried to blend into the crowd while Ercolino lay bleeding on the sidewalk.
The police had been tipped off to a shooting, and were waiting for Mr. Johnson at the doors to the Empire State Building. The officers confronted Johnson and he pulled out his gun, so they opened fire, shooting 16 rounds. Mr. Johnson was killed and nine bystanders were wounded by police bullets.
[via NY Times]
Check out 17 Facts New Yorkers Don't Know About the Flatiron Building.