The Empire State Building

Construction of the Empire State Building began in March of 1930 on the site of the old Waldorf-Astoria Hotel at 350 Fifth Avenue at 34th Street in New York City. It was completed 14 months later in May of 1931. Designed by the architectural firm of Shreve, Lamb, & Harmon Associates, the Empire State Building, at 102 stories, was the tallest building in the world until the completion of the first tower of the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan in 1972.

The official opening was May 1, 1931, by President Herbert Hoover, who pressed a button in Washington, D.C. to turn on the building's lights.