Happy birthday to the Empire State Building
The Empire State Building celebrates its 75th birthday today.
The iconic skyscraper is New York’s tallest building, soaring more than a quarter of a mile above the heart of Manhattan.
Since opening in 1931 during America’s Great Depression after being constructed in just 13 months, it has seen almost 110 million visitors.
In all, it has 102 floors, but tourists stop at the 86th floor observation deck, at 1,050 feet, to marvel at the panoramic views across the city and beyond.
The tower, which was in the headlines last week after a stuntman attempted to parachute from it, has a total of 1,860 steps and is struck by lightning 100 times a year.
It has been immortalised on the big screen numerous times, famously being captured on celluloid in the 1933 King Kong film. The observation deck was also the location where Cary Grant waited in vain for Deborah Kerr in An Affair To Remember, and where Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan had their fateful meeting in Sleepless In Seattle.
It was the world’s tallest building for 40 years, until the World Trade Centre was built.
Since the destruction of the twin towers in the September 11 attacks, it is New York City’s highest structure again.
The Empire State Building’s construction provided jobs for more than 3,000 workers during a time of great unemployment, although 14 immigrant workers were killed during the operation.
Its spire was originally planned as a mooring point for airships, an idea which was swiftly branded dangerous and abandoned.
Different multicoloured lighting schemes are often used on the upper tier of the building to celebrate events such as Valentine’s Day and July 4.
Today the floodlights will be plain white in a recreation of the tower’s appearance on the day it first opened for business.
