Empire State Of Fright: The Monstrous Side Of The Empire State Building

If you ask people what the central symbol of New York is, they will probably point to the Statue of Liberty without too much hesitation. Since there aren’t enough people around me who are interested in it, I asked a similar question to Google, then to ChatGPT, and other AI services. Indeed, there is no doubt that the statue that dominates New York is its central icon, and also a sculpture with many frightening aspects. Still, it is impossible to refer to New York’s famous buildings and ignore what was for years the tallest building in the city, and even in the world. A building that became a cultural icon, partly thanks to a monster named King Kong, has experienced several disasters throughout history (including a plane crash) and is today considered one of the most popular tourist and observation sites in the Big Apple, with more than 4 million visitors a year.

This is the moment to present to you everything interesting, essential, and scary to know about the Empire State Building. Let’s start with some fun facts about the Empire State Building, and slowly approach the frightening aspects – and there are some – of one of the most famous skyscrapers in the world.

Cool Facts About The Empire State Building

When Was The Empire State Building Built?

The Empire State Building is a skyscraper located in New York, more precisely at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 34th Street in Midtown Manhattan. Its history begins in the 19th century, when the land on which the building stands today underwent its initial development as a farm. In the late 19th century (1893), the legendary Waldorf-Astoria Hotel was built on its grounds, which hosted the wealthy of New York. By the way, the Waldorf Astoria Hotel is still in operation today, located approximately 1.7 km north of the Empire State Building.

Who Built The Empire State Building?

The original hotel was demolished in 1929 to make way for the construction of the Empire State Building. William F. Lamb of a famous New York architectural firm, “Shreve, Lamb & Harmon”, designed the building. He took his early designs of “similar” buildings and created initial sketches of the structure in just two weeks. He did the planning from the upper floors of the building, downwards.

The first excavations for the Empire State Building began in January 1930, and the skeleton work started a few months later. Approximately 4,300 workers participated in the construction of the building, most of whom were European immigrants.

How Long Did It Take To Build The Empire State Building?

Compared to a complex project of this magnitude, the schedule was relatively fast. The construction team completed the building in just 410 days, an unprecedented time for buildings of this size, indeed at that time.

However, the construction was not without accidents, resulting in some tragedies. There are different versions regarding how many people died building the Empire State Building. Still, the official count speaks of five workers who died during construction due to slips, falls from the structure, or heavy construction materials falling on them.

The Empire State Began As A Failure

The Empire State Building opened as an office building on May 31, 1931.. In the first years, or even the first decades, the building did not justify the massive investment in it. It’s hard to say it was a big shock.

We must not forget that these were the years of the Great Depression in the United States; as a result, many offices in the building remained empty. The problematic location of the building at the time, for example, to public transportation stations, made it even more difficult. For a long time, the Empire State Building was surpassed by the Chrysler Building, a 319-meter skyscraper located in East Midtown, Manhattan. People gave it the unflattering nickname “Empty State Building”.

In the 1950s, the picture changed. The Empire State Building attracted more and more offices, becoming increasingly profitable. In 1951, theater producer, real estate developer, and art director Roger Stevens bought it for $51 million, a record price for a single building at the time.

How Tall Is The Empire State Building?

Believe it or not, the Empire State was once the tallest building in the world. It rises to a height of about 381 meters, or about 443.2 meters if you also take into account the famous mast at the top of the building, which is divided into 103 floors.

Since its construction for almost four decades, the Empire State Building has been the tallest in the world, while managing to surpass (literally) the Chrysler Building. It was on top of the world until the completion of the World Trade Center Tower in 1970. The September 11 attacks that caused the collapse of the Twin Towers restored it to being the tallest building in New York, at least until 2012, when workers completed the skeleton of the Freedom Tower. The Freedom Tower was erected near the ruins of the Twin Towers and reaches a height of more than 541 meters.

As of 2025, the Empire State Building is “only” in 60th place on the list of tallest buildings in the world, far behind the Burj Khalifa in Dubai (about 828 meters), Merdeka 118 in Malaysia (about 678.9 meters), the Shanghai Tower (about 632 meters) and many others.

A Masterpiece Of The Art Deco Style

The Empire State Building is awe-inspiring visually, and not only because of its height. It is considered one of the most recognizable symbols of New York, some say the United States. Moreover, it is an example of Art Deco: a modern architectural style that combines precious materials, works of art, and several recurring visual symbols, such as embossed geometric shapes, bright colors, and more. Perhaps for these reasons, the American Society of Civil Engineers designated the Empire State Building as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World, alongside the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the Channel Tunnel connecting Britain and France, the CN Tower in Toronto, the Panama Canal, and others.

It is worth noting that the choice of Art Deco for the Empire State Building style was not accidental. First of all, it was the style that was very common in the United States in those years. It also fit very well with New York’s bylaws, which tried to prevent a situation in which skyscrapers would block sunlight from reaching the streets. The requirement was therefore for buildings to have a stepped shape, up to a certain height: that is, for the higher floors to be relatively narrow, partly thanks to the play of massing and the emphasis on vertical lines. You can see that in the case of the Empire State Building, the first floors are wide (up to the full width of the lot), and they become much thinner, tapering up to its pointed end.

The building weighs an estimated 340,000 tons, and its construction cost about $41 million. If we take into account the massive inflation that has occurred since those years, then in today’s terms, the construction cost is about $770 million.

Stairs, Stairs, And More Stairs

If you’re one of those who prefer climbing stairs because it’s healthier than using an elevator, the Empire State Building poses a great challenge for you.

So, how many stairs are in the Empire State Building? Along with 6,500 windows and 73 (!) elevators, you will find 1,860 stairs here, from street level to the floor 102. Every year since 1978, the annual Stair Race takes place here, in which participants climb from the entrance to the 86th floor (i.e., 1,576 steps), a distance of 320 meters. The current Empire State Building stair race record was set in 2003 by Austrian cyclist Paul Kreik, who completed the race in 9 minutes and 33 seconds.

Of The World’s Most Ecological Buildings

It goes without saying that a building that has stood for almost 100 years needs extensive renovation and maintenance work. One of the most significant projects in this regard, in the case of the Empire State Building, took place in 2010, with a comprehensive renovation costing about $500 million.

A significant portion of this amount, approximately $120 million, was dedicated to ecological goals, including energy efficiency initiatives such as replacing 6,500 windows with ones that transmit light while blocking solar radiation effectively, and upgrading the air conditioning system to a more economical one. The building received a gold rating from the U.S. Green Building Council in 2011.

Regardless of its environmental efforts, such an enormous building must meet the highest safety standards. Every year, it experiences approximately 100 direct lightning strikes, which typically end without causing damage.

Is The Empire State Building Scary? (Spoiler: Yes!)

With all due respect to its height, iconic role in the New York landscape, or impressive design, we are here to talk mainly about some of the scarier facts about the Empire State Building. Incidents that ended in disaster or near-disaster, including accidents, fires, and acts of terrorism.

Here are some of the scary sides ot the building:

The Crash That Led To A Guinness World Record

You can’t talk about a plane crash, in the context of New York, without mentioning the September 11 attacks from 2001, the largest and deadliest terrorist attacks in human history. The Empire State Building was evacuated after the first plane hit New York, but luckily wasn’t damaged.

However, a few decades earlier, the Empire State Building also experienced damage. On Saturday, July 28, 1945, a B-25 Mitchell bomber piloted by Lieutenant Colonel William F. Smith, Jr., crashed into the north side of the building, between the 79th and 80th floors. The cause was not a terrorist attack, but rather very complex flight conditions (mainly fog), combined with loss of direction or human error by the pilot.

The crash caused a fire, during which 14 people died, including the pilot. The most memorable case is that of one of the survivors, elevator operator Betty Lou Oliver. She was injured in the crash and was put into the elevator by the medical team. However, they did not take into account the fact that the elevator cables were damaged, and the elevator plummeted rapidly downward. Miraculously, Betty Lou Oliver survived the fall. To this day, her case holds the Guinness World Record for “Longest fall survived in a lift (elevator).”

To this day, we talk about the crash as something that could have ended much more seriously if the plane had hit another part of the building. In fact, the damage was quite minimal, and the building was back in operation on Monday. In any case, the crash is considered very significant in the field of American tort law. The passage of the Federal Tort Claims Act (1946) followed, introducing a section that allows a citizen injured in an accident due to the fault of one or another institutional factor to sue, even retroactively, the government.

The Many Empire State Building Suicide Attempts

Like many other tall buildings, the Empire State Building has been a starting point for suicide attempts over the years, most of which are unfortunately successful. Since the construction of the building was completed, more than 30 suicide attempts have been recorded, mainly jumping from one of the higher floors.

It all started during the building’s construction, when a laid-off worker refused to accept the evil decree and jumped to his death through an open elevator shaft. In the 1940s, suicide attempts increased, leading to the installation of an iron fence around the observation deck, which opened to the public in 1947. The straw that broke the camel’s back was five suicide attempts in just three weeks.

In terms of numbers, you can’t compare the suicide rates from the Empire State Building to other popular suicide sites, such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco or the “Suicide Forest” in Japan, which we wrote about not long ago. One reason for this may be, ironically, that New York has enough other skyscrapers to jump from. According to data released by the City of New York a few years ago, about a fifth of suicides in the city do so by jumping from one of the skyscrapers. By 2008, when the recording of such cases stopped, about 5,000 people had fallen to their deaths.

There were also a few suicide attempts that, surprisingly, were unsuccessful. One of them gave 29-year-old Bronx resident Elvita Adams the nickname “Lucky One.” Adams had lost her job and was facing financial hardship, which meant she was about to be evicted. In desperation, she jumped from the 86th floor to her death. However, a strong wind sent her flying back to the 85th floor. She ended the day with no more than a fractured pelvis.

The Most Beautiful Suicide Photo Ever Taken

In New York, a city known for its style, there are several “iconic” suicides, chief among which is this one that has been described as the most beautiful suicide ever. On May 1, 1947, an American bookkeeper named Evelyn McHale jumped to her death from the 86th floor of the Empire State Building, aged 23. She left a note detailing her reasons, chief among them her fear of marrying her husband:

“I don’t want anyone in or out of my family to see any part of me. Could you destroy my body by cremation? I beg of you and my family, don’t have any service for me or remembrance for me. My fiancé asked me to marry him in June. I don’t think I would make a good wife for anybody. He is much better off without me. Tell my father, I have too many of my mother’s tendencies.”

Shockingly, Evelyn McHale fell onto the roof of a luxury limousine, parked near the building. A nearby photography student, Robert Wiles, took a photo of McHale lying on the roof of the car a few minutes later. The image was published in Life magazine a few weeks later and became an iconic image.

“The Most Beautiful Suicide” has been interpreted in numerous ways due to its unique composition and the fact that McHale is seen as resting, dozing, or even daydreaming, with crossed legs, slightly raised arms, a peaceful expression, closed eyes, and hair and dress that appear motionless.

The picture has appeared on Andy Warhol’s suicide-themed print, music album covers (for example, it is one of the illustrations on the cover of Pearl Jam’s ninth album, “Backspacer”), and more. Music videos have paid homage to the image, from David Bowie’s single “Jump They Say” to Radiohead’s masterpiece “Street Spirit (Fade Out)” to Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood.”

The Shooting At The Empire State Building

Given the Empire State Building’s central location, it may come as a surprise that there have been “only” two shootings here over the years. The first occurred on February 24, 1997, when a gunman opened fire on seven people on the observation deck. The shooter killed one person, injured six others to varying degrees, and then committed suicide. The killer was a 69-year-old “Palestinian” man.

On August 24, 2012, a business dispute led to another murder. Jeffrey Johnson, fired the previous year, shot and killed the person who had fired him. The police officers on the scene shot Jeffrey no less than 16 times to death, but shrapnel and stray bullets also injured nine bystanders.

A Must-Have: A View From The Top Of The Empire State Building

The Empire State Building was the first in the world to offer more than 100 floors. Today, the first 85 floors of the building are utilized for commercial and office purposes, spanning a total area of over 200,000 square meters.

The relevant floor for tourists is the 86th floor, which features observation areas offering a magnificent view of New York. Then there are 16 upper floors in the Art Deco style and an additional observation floor, the 102nd floor. From this floor, there is also an elevator shaft that leads to the 103rd floor, which was once intended as a docking area for airships. Today, it is primarily used for the maintenance of the mast, which stands 62 meters high, and its transmission antennas.

But how can you visit the Empire State Building? You can purchase tickets for the two main observation points, located on the 86th floor and the 102nd floor, with the upper point being the more expensive option. Many visitors here will point out that you can settle in for the view from the 86th floor, which features a small museum and an observation terrace that surrounds the floor, allowing you to see New York in 360 degrees. On the 102nd floor, however, the (breathtaking) view is through transparent windows.

You can also find tickets for the Empire State Building that allow you to skip the line, as well as a swift express ticket. We recommend making your reservation online, as it may help you avoid the long lines at the venue entrance. The reservation is convenient, fast, and in some cases can be canceled up to 24 hours before the designated date (depending on the type of ticket).

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Thanks To King Kong: The Empire State Building In Culture

Over the years, the Empire State Building has become a cultural symbol, receiving a place of honor in books, television series, and films. The most significant representation is, of course, the masterpiece “King Kong” by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, about the giant gorilla who comes from “Skull Island” to New York, where he discovers that the most enormous monsters are probably humans.

In the most iconic scene from the film, King Kong attempts to escape the army’s fire and climbs the roofs of skyscrapers in the New York skyline. He arrives with his lover Ann Darrow at the top of the tower, where he tries to fight off the planes. Despite his heroic efforts, King Kong is shot dead and falls from the tower; the film ends with a sentence that has since become a classic: “Oh, no, it wasn’t the airplanes. It was Beauty killed the Beast”.

Peter Jackson recreated the epic scene in his 2005 film “King Kong,” in which Andy Serkis (Gollum from “The Lord of the Rings”) played King Kong using advanced motion capture technology, while Naomi Watts (“Mulholland Drive,” “The Ring,” “21 Grams,” “The Impossible”) played Ann. Although the result here was imposing and bombastic, given that we are still discussing a film with a budget exceeding $200 million, many argue that it lacks the magic of the original movie, including in this specific scene.

In any case, the image of King Kong on the Empire State Building has become very famous. In 1983, to mark the 50th anniversary of the original masterpiece, they placed a 27-meter-high inflatable doll on the top floor of the building.

Even without King Kong, the Empire State Building has a place in culture. It has appeared in countless films, sometimes as a synecdoche for New York (a symbol that shows that the plot takes place in New York) and sometimes as a more integral part of the plot, for example its destruction in disaster films (“Independence Day”, “Oblivion”), romantic scenes (“Annie Hall,” “Sleepless in Seattle”, “You’ve Got Mail”) and more. The Empire State Building appears in an endless list of television series (such as the American science fiction series “Fringe,” “Gossip Girl,” and ‘The Mindy Project”), books (for example, “Percy Jackson and the Olympians,” which features an expanded version of the building on its 600th floor where you will find Olympus), video games and of course countless products and collectibles, such as Lego sets, puzzles, photos, T-shirts, cups, key chains – and the list goes on.

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