Empire State Building Construction: "Making A Skyscraper" circa
1930 Public domain film from the Library of Congress Prelinger
Archive. The Empire State Building is a 102-story landmark
skyscraper and American cultural icon in New York City at the
intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. It has a roof
height of 1,250 feet (381 meters), and with its antenna spire
included, it stands a total of 1,454 ft (443.2 m) high. Its name
is derived from the nickname for New York, the Empire State. It
stood as the world's tallest building for 40 years, from its
completion in 1931 until construction of the World Trade
Center's North Tower was completed in 1972. Following the
destruction of the World Trade Center in 2001, the Empire State
Building reclaimed the position of tallest building in New York
(although it was no longer the tallest in the world). Once the
new One World Trade Center is completed, the Empire State
Building will once again be demoted to second tallest building
in New York.