Empire State Building
| Empire State Building | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Aerial view of the Empire State Building in 2012 | |
| Record height | |
| Tallest in the world from 1931 to 1970[I] | |
| Preceded by | Chrysler Building |
| Surpassed by | World Trade Center (North Tower) |
| General information | |
| Status | Completed |
| Type | Office building; observation decks |
| Architectural style | Art Deco |
| Location | 350 Fifth Avenue[a] Manhattan, New York 10118[b] |
| Coordinates | 40°44′54″N 73°59′07″WCoordinates: 40°44′54″N 73°59′07″W |
| Construction started | March 17, 1930[2] |
| Completed | April 11, 1931[3] |
| Opened | May 1, 1931[4] |
| Cost | $40,948,900[5] ($572 million in 2020 dollars[6]) |
| Owner | Empire State Realty Trust |
| Height | |
| Tip | 1,454 ft (443.2 m)[7] |
| Roof | 1,250 ft (381.0 m)[7] |
| Top floor | 1,224 ft (373.1 m)[7] |
| Observatory | 80th, 86th, and 102nd (top) floors[7] |
| Dimensions | |
| Other dimensions | 424 ft (129.2 m) east–west; 187 ft (57.0 m) north–south[8] |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 102[7][8][9][c] |
| Floor area | 2,248,355 sq ft (208,879 m2)[7] |
| Lifts/elevators | 73[7] |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Shreve, Lamb and Harmon |
| Developer | Empire State Inc., including John J. Raskob and Al Smith |
| Structural engineer | Homer Gage Balcom |
| Main contractor | Starrett Brothers and Eken |
| Designated | June 24, 1986 |
| Reference no. | 82001192 |
| Designated | November 17, 1982 |
| Reference no. | 82001192 |
| Designated | May 19, 1981[10] |
| Reference no. | 2000[10] |
| Designated entity | Facade |
| Designated | May 19, 1981[11] |
| Reference no. | 2001[11] |
| Designated entity | Interior: Lobby |
| References | |
| I. ^ "Empire State Building". Emporis. Archived from the original on April 5, 2015. [7][12][13] | |
The Empire State Building is a 102-story[c] Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from "Empire State", the nickname of the state of New York. The building has a roof height of 1,250 feet (380 m) and stands a total of 1,454 feet (443.2 m) tall, including its antenna. The Empire State Building stood as the world's tallest building until the construction of the World Trade Center in 1970; following the latter's collapse in 2001, the Empire State Building reverted to being the city's tallest skyscraper until that title was surpassed in 2012. As of 2022, the building is the seventh-tallest building in New York City, the ninth-tallest completed skyscraper in the United States, the 54th-tallest in the world, and the sixth-tallest freestanding structure in the Americas.
The site of the Empire State Building, in Midtown South on the west side of Fifth Avenue between West 33rd and 34th Streets, was developed in 1893 as the Waldorf–Astoria Hotel. In 1929, Empire State Inc. acquired the site and devised plans for a skyscraper there. The design for the Empire State Building was changed fifteen times until it was ensured to be the world's tallest building. Construction started on March 17, 1930, and the building opened thirteen and a half months afterward on May 1, 1931. Despite favorable publicity related to the building's construction, because of the Great Depression and World War II, its owners did not make a profit until the early 1950s.
The building's Art Deco architecture, height, and observation decks have made it a popular attraction. Around four million tourists from around the world annually visit the building's 86th- and 102nd-floor observatories; an additional indoor observatory on the 80th floor opened in 2019. The Empire State Building is an international cultural icon: it has been featured in more than 250 television series and films since the film King Kong was released in 1933. The building's size has become the global standard of reference to describe the height and length of other structures. A symbol of New York City, the building has been named as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers. It was ranked first on the American Institute of Architects' List of America's Favorite Architecture in 2007. Additionally, the Empire State Building and its ground-floor interior were designated city landmarks by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1980, and were added to the National Register of Historic Places as a National Historic Landmark in 1986.
Site
The Empire State Building is located on the west side of Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, between 33rd Street to the south and 34th Street to the north.[16] Tenants enter the building through the Art Deco lobby located at 350 Fifth Avenue. Visitors to the observatories use an entrance at 20 West 34th Street; prior to August 2018, visitors entered through the Fifth Avenue lobby.[1] Although physically located in South Midtown,[17] a mixed residential and commercial area,[18] the building is so large that it was assigned its own ZIP Code, 10118;[19][20] as of 2012, it is one of 43 buildings in New York City that have their own ZIP codes.[21][b]
The areas surrounding the Empire State Building are home to other major points of interest, including Macy's at Herald Square on Sixth Avenue and 34th Street,[24] and Koreatown on 32nd Street between Madison and Sixth Avenues.[24][25] To the east of the Empire State Building is Murray Hill,[26] a neighborhood with a mix of residential, commercial, and entertainment activity.[27] The block directly to the northeast contains the B. Altman and Company Building, which houses the City University of New York's Graduate Center, while the Demarest Building is directly across Fifth Avenue to the east.[28] The nearest New York City Subway stations are 34th Street–Herald Square, one block west, and 33rd Street at Park Avenue, two blocks east; there is also a PATH station at 33rd Street and Sixth Avenue.[26]
Architecture
The Empire State Building was designed by Shreve, Lamb and Harmon in the Art Deco style.[29] The Empire State Building is 1,250 ft (381 m) tall to its 102nd floor, or 1,453 feet 89⁄16 inches (443.092 m) including its 203-foot (61.9 m) pinnacle.[30] It was the first building in the world to be more than 100 stories tall,[31] though only the lowest 86 stories are usable. The first through 85th floors contain 2.158 million square feet (200,500 m2) of commercial and office space, while the 86th story contains an observatory.[32][30][33] The remaining 16 stories are part of the spire, which is capped by an observatory on the 102nd floor; the spire does not contain any intermediate levels and is used mostly for mechanical purposes.[30] Atop the 102nd story is the 203 ft (61.9 m) pinnacle, much of which is covered by broadcast antennas, and surmounted with a lightning rod.[34]
The building has been named one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers.[35] The building and its street floor interior are designated landmarks of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, and confirmed by the New York City Board of Estimate.[29] It was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1986.[12][36][37] In 2007, it was first on the AIA's List of America's Favorite Architecture.[38]
Form
The Empire State Building has a symmetrical massing because of its large lot and relatively short base. Its articulation consists of three horizontal sections similar to the components of a column, namely a base, shaft, and capital.[32] The five-story base occupies the entire lot, while the 81-story shaft above it is set back sharply from the base.[39][40][41] The setback above the 5th story is 60 feet (18 m) deep on all sides.[32] There are smaller setbacks on the upper stories, allowing sunlight to illuminate the interiors of the top floors while also positioning these floors away from the noisy streets below.[42][43] The setbacks are located at the 21st, 25th, 30th, 72nd, 81st, and 85th stories.[44] The setbacks correspond to the tops of elevator shafts, allowing interior spaces to be at most 28 feet (8.5 m) deep (see § Interior).[32]
The setbacks were mandated by the 1916 Zoning Resolution, which was intended to allow sunlight to reach the streets as well.[d] Normally, a building of the Empire State's dimensions would be permitted to build up to 12 stories on the Fifth Avenue side, and up to 17 stories on the 33rd/34th Streets side, before it would have to utilize setbacks.[40] However, with the largest setback being located above the base, the tower stories could contain a uniform shape.[51][52][45] According to architectural writer Robert A. M. Stern, the building's form contrasted with the nearly contemporary, similarly designed 500 Fifth Avenue eight blocks north, which had an asymmetrical massing on a smaller lot.[39]
Facade
The Empire State Building's Art Deco design is typical of pre–World War II architecture in New York City.[29] The facade is clad in Indiana limestone panels sourced from the Empire Mill in Sanders, Indiana,[53] which give the building its signature blonde color.[54] According to official fact sheets, the facade uses 200,000 cubic feet (5,700 m3) of limestone and granite, ten million bricks, and 730 short tons (650 long tons) of aluminum and stainless steel.[55] The building also contains 6,514 windows.[56] The decorative features on the facade are largely geometric, in contrast with earlier buildings, whose decorations often were intended to represent a specific narrative.[57]
The main entrance, composed of three sets of metal doors, is at the center of the facade's Fifth Avenue elevation, flanked by molded piers that are topped with eagles. Above the main entrance is a transom, a triple-height transom window with geometric patterns, and the golden letters "Empire State" above the fifth-floor windows.[58][41][59] There are two entrances each on 33rd and 34th Streets, with modernistic, stainless steel canopies projecting from the entrances on 33rd and 34th Streets there. Above the secondary entrances are triple windows, less elaborate in design than those on Fifth Avenue.[29][41][59]
The storefronts on the first floor contain aluminum-framed doors and windows within a black granite cladding.[41][59] The second through fourth stories consist of windows alternating with wide stone piers and narrower stone mullions. The fifth story contains windows alternating with wide and narrow mullions, and is topped by a horizontal stone sill.[41]
The facade of the tower stories is split into several vertical bays on each side, with windows projecting slightly from the limestone cladding. The bays are arranged into sets of one, two, or three windows on each floor.[58][60] The bays are separated by alternating narrow and wide piers, the inclusion of which may have been influenced by the design of the contemporary Daily News Building.[61] The windows in each bay are separated by vertical nickel-chrome steel mullions and connected by horizontal aluminum spandrels between each floor.[44][59] The windows are placed within stainless-steel frames, which eliminated the need to saved money by removing the need to apply a stone finish around the windows. In addition, the use of aluminum spandrels obviated the need for cross-bonding, which would have been required if stone had been used instead.[58]
Lights
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The building was originally equipped with white searchlights at the top. They were first used in November 1932 when they lit up to signal Roosevelt's victory over Hoover in the presidential election of that year.[62] These were later swapped for four "Freedom Lights" in 1956.[62] In February 1964, flood lights were added on the 72nd floor[63] to illuminate the top of the building at night so that the building could be seen from the World Fair later that year.[64] The lights were shut off from November 1973 to July 1974 because of the energy crisis at the time.[65] In 1976, the businessman Douglas Leigh suggested that Wien and Helmsley install 204 metal-halide lights, which were four times as bright as the 1,000 incandescent lights they were to replace.[66] New red, white, and blue metal-halide lights were installed in time for the country's bicentennial that July.[65][67] After the bicentennial, Helmsley retained the new lights due to the reduced maintenance cost, about $116 a year.[66]
Since October 12, 1977, the spire has been lit in colors chosen to match seasonal events and holidays.[58] Organizations are allowed to make requests through the building's website.[68] The building is also lit in the colors of New York-based sports teams on nights when they host games: for example, orange, blue, and white for the New York Knicks; red, white, and blue for the New York Rangers.[69] The spire can also be lit to commemorate events including disasters, anniversaries, or deaths, as well as for celebrations such as Pride and Halloween. In 1998, the building was lit in blue after the death of singer Frank Sinatra, who was nicknamed "Ol' Blue Eyes".[70]
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The structure was lit in red, white, and blue for several months after the collapse of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.[71] On January 13, 2012, the building was lit in red, orange, and yellow to honor the 60th anniversary of NBC program The Today Show.[72] After retired basketball player Kobe Bryant's January 2020 death, the building was lit in purple and gold, signifying the colors of his former team, the Los Angeles Lakers.[73]
In 2012, the building's four hundred metal halide lamps and floodlights were replaced with 1,200 LED fixtures, increasing the available colors from nine to over 16 million.[74] The computer-controlled system allows the building to be illuminated in ways that were unable to be done previously with plastic gels.[75] For instance, CNN used the top of the Empire State Building as a scoreboard during the 2012 United States presidential election, using red and blue lights to represent Republican and Democratic electoral votes respectively.[76] Also, on November 26, 2012, the building had its first synchronized light show, using music from recording artist Alicia Keys.[77] Artists such as Eminem and OneRepublic have been featured in later shows, including the building's annual Holiday Music-to-Lights Show.[78] The building's owners adhere to strict standards in using the lights; for instance, they do not use the lights to play advertisements.[75]
Interior
According to official fact sheets, the Empire State Building weighs 365,000 short tons (331,122 t) and has an internal volume of 37 million cubic feet (1,000,000 m3).[55] The interior required 1,172 miles (1,886 km) of elevator cable and 2 million feet (609,600 m) of electrical wires.[79] It has a total floor area of 2,768,591 sq ft (257,211 m2), and each of the floors in the base cover 2 acres (1 ha).[80] This gives the building capacity for 20,000 tenants and 15,000 visitors.[51]
The riveted steel frame of the building was originally designed to handle all of the building's gravitational stresses and wind loads.[81] The amount of material used in the building's construction resulted in a very stiff structure when compared to other skyscrapers, with a structural stiffness of 42 pounds per square foot (2.0 kPa) versus the Willis Tower's 33 pounds per square foot (1.6 kPa) and the John Hancock Center's 26 pounds per square foot (1.2 kPa).[82] A December 1930 feature in Popular Mechanics estimated that a building with the Empire State's dimensions would still stand even if hit with an impact of 50 short tons (45 long tons).[51]
Utilities are grouped in a central shaft.[40] On the 6th through 86th stories, the central shaft is surrounded by a main corridor on all four sides.[45] Per the final specifications of the building, the corridor is surrounded in turn by office space 28 feet (8.5 m) deep, maximizing office space at a time before air conditioning became commonplace.[83][84][32] Each of the floors has 210 structural columns that pass through it, which provide structural stability but limits the amount of open space on these floors.[45] The relative dearth of stone in the Empire State Building allows for more space overall, with a 1:200 stone-to-building ratio compared to a 1:50 ratio in similar buildings.[85]
Lobby
The original main lobby is accessed from Fifth Avenue, on the building's east side, and is the only place in the building where the design contains narrative motifs.[57] It contains an entrance with one set of double doors between a pair of revolving doors. At the top of each doorway is a bronze motif depicting one of three "crafts or industries" used in the building's construction—Electricity, Masonry, and Heating.[86] The three-story-high space, which runs parallel to 33rd and 34th Streets, contains storefronts to the north and south. These storefronts are flanked by tubes of dark rounded marble and topped by a vertical band of grooves set into the marble.[87] The lobby contains two tiers of marble: a lighter marble on the top, above the storefronts, and a darker marble on the bottom, flush with the storefronts. There is a pattern of zigzagging terrazzo tiles on the lobby floor, which leads from east to west.[87]
The western ends of the north and south walls include escalators to a mezzanine level.[87][e] At the west end of the lobby, behind the security desk, is an aluminum relief of the skyscraper as it was originally built (without the antenna).[88] The relief, which was intended to provide a welcoming effect,[11] contains an embossed outline of the building, with rays radiating from the spire and the sun behind it.[89] In the background is a state map of New York with the building's location marked by a "medallion" in the very southeast portion of the outline. A compass is depicted in the bottom right and a plaque to the building's major developers is on the bottom left.[90][89] A scale model of the building was also placed south of the security desk.[90]
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The plaque at the western end of the lobby is on the eastern interior wall of a one-story tall rectangular-shaped corridor that surrounds the banks of escalators, with a similar design to the lobby.[91] The rectangular-shaped corridor actually consists of two long hallways on the northern and southern sides of the rectangle,[92] as well as a shorter hallway on the eastern side and another long hallway on the western side.[91] At both ends of the northern and southern corridors, there is a bank of four low-rise elevators in between the corridors.[90][57][93] The western side of the rectangular elevator-bank corridor extends north to the 34th Street entrance and south to the 33rd Street entrance. It borders three large storefronts and leads to escalators (originally stairs), which go both to the second floor and to the basement. Going from west to east, there are secondary entrances to 34th and 33rd Streets from the northern and southern corridors, respectively.[87][e] The side entrances from 33rd and 34th Street lead to two-story-high corridors around the elevator core, crossed by stainless steel and glass-enclosed bridges at the mezzanine floor.[29][41][90]
Until the 1960s, an Art Deco mural, inspired by both the sky and the Machine Age, was installed in the lobby ceilings.[88] Subsequent damage to these murals, designed by artist Leif Neandross, resulted in reproductions being installed. Renovations to the lobby in 2009, such as replacing the clock over the information desk in the Fifth Avenue lobby with an anemometer and installing two chandeliers intended to be part of the building when it originally opened, revived much of its original grandeur.[94] The north corridor contained eight illuminated panels created in 1963 by Roy Sparkia and Renée Nemorov, in time for the 1964 World's Fair, depicting the building as the Eighth Wonder of the World alongside the traditional seven.[93][95] The building's owners installed a series of paintings by the New York artist Kysa Johnson in the concourse level. Johnson later filed a federal lawsuit, in January 2014, under the Visual Artists Rights Act alleging the negligent destruction of the paintings and damage to her reputation as an artist.[96] As part of the building's 2010 renovation, Denise Amses commissioned a work consisting of 15,000 stars and 5,000 circles, superimposed on a 13-by-5-foot (4.0 by 1.5 m) etched-glass installation, in the lobby.[97]
Elevators
The Empire State Building has 73 elevators in all, including service elevators.[98] Its original 64 elevators, built by the Otis Elevator Company,[80] in a central core and are of varying heights, with the longest of these elevators reaching from the lobby to the 80th floor.[40][99] As originally built, there were four "express" elevators that connected the lobby, 80th floor, and several landings in between; the other 60 "local" elevators connected the landings with the floors above these intermediate landings.[52] Of the 64 total elevators, 58 were for passenger use (comprising the four express elevators and 54 local elevators), and eight were for freight deliveries.[45] The elevators were designed to move at 1,200 feet per minute (366 m/min). At the time of the skyscraper's construction, their practical speed was limited to 700 feet per minute (213 m/min) per city law, but this limit was removed shortly after the building opened.[80][45]
Additional elevators connect the 80th floor to the six floors above it, as the six extra floors were built after the original 80 stories were approved.[30][100] The elevators were mechanically operated until 2011, when they were replaced with automatic elevators during the $550 million renovation of the building.[101] An additional elevator connects the 86th and 102nd floor observatories, which allows visitors access the 102nd floor observatory after having their tickets scanned. It also allows employees to access the mechanical floors located between the 87th and 101st floors.[81]
Observation decks
The 80th, 86th, and 102nd floors contain observatories.[102][88][103] The latter two observatories saw a combined average of four million visitors per year in 2010.[104][105][106] Since opening, the observatories have been more popular than similar observatories at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, the Chrysler Building, the first One World Trade Center, or the Woolworth Building, despite being more expensive.[105] There are variable charges to enter the observatories; one ticket allows visitors to go as high as the 86th floor, and there is an additional charge to visit the 102nd floor. Other ticket options for visitors include scheduled access to view the sunrise from the observatory, a "premium" guided tour with VIP access, and the "AM/PM" package which allows for two visits in the same day.[107]
The 86th floor observatory contains both an enclosed viewing gallery and an open-air outdoor viewing area, allowing for it to remain open 365 days a year regardless of the weather. The 102nd floor observatory is completely enclosed and much smaller in size. The 102nd floor observatory was closed to the public from the late 1990s to 2005 due to limited viewing capacity and long lines.[108][109] The observation decks were redesigned in mid-1979.[110] The 102nd floor was again redesigned in a project that was completed in 2019, allowing the windows to be extended from floor to ceiling and widening the space in the observatory overall.[111][112] An observatory on the 80th floor, opened in 2019, includes various exhibits as well as a mural of the skyline drawn by British artist Stephen Wiltshire.[113][103]
According to a 2010 report by Concierge.com, the five lines to enter the observation decks are "as legendary as the building itself". Concierge.com stated that there were five lines: the sidewalk line, the lobby elevator line, the ticket purchase line, the second elevator line, and the line to get off the elevator and onto the observation deck.[114] However, in 2016, New York City's official tourism website, NYCgo.com, made note of only three lines: the security check line, the ticket purchase line, and the second elevator line.[115] Following renovations completed in 2019, designed to streamline queuing and reduce wait times, guests enter from a single entrance on 34th Street, where they make their way through 10,000-square-foot (930 m2) exhibits on their way up to the observatories. Guests were offered a variety of ticket packages, including a package that enables them to skip the lines throughout the duration of their stay.[112] The Empire State Building garners significant revenue from ticket sales for its observation decks, making more money from ticket sales than it does from renting office space during some years.[105][116]
New York Skyride
In early 1994, a motion simulator attraction was built on the 2nd floor,[117] as a complement to the observation deck.[118] The original cinematic presentation lasted approximately 25 minutes, while the simulation was about eight minutes.[119] The ride had two incarnations. The original version, which ran from 1994 until around 2002, featured James Doohan, Star Trek's Scotty, as the airplane's pilot who humorously tried to keep the flight under control during a storm.[120][121] After the September 11 attacks in 2001, the ride was closed.[118] An updated version debuted in mid-2002, featuring actor Kevin Bacon as the pilot, with the new flight also going haywire.[122] This new version served a more informative goal, as opposed to the old version's main purpose of entertainment, and contained details about the 9/11 attacks.[123] The simulator received mixed reviews, with assessments of the ride ranging from "great" to "satisfactory" to "corny".[124]
Spire
Above the 102nd floor
The final stage of the building was the installation of a hollow mast, a 158-foot (48 m) steel shaft fitted with elevators and utilities, above the 86th floor. At the top would be a conical roof and the 102nd-floor docking station.[125][126] Inside, the elevators would ascend 167 feet (51 m) from the 86th floor ticket offices to a 33-foot-wide (10 m) 101st-floor[f] waiting room.[127][128] From there, stairs would lead to the 102nd floor,[f] where passengers would enter the airships.[125] The airships would have been moored to the spire at the equivalent of the building's 106th floor.[128][129]
As constructed, the mast contains four rectangular tiers topped by a cylindrical shaft with a conical pinnacle.[126] On the 102nd floor (formerly the 101st floor), there is a door with stairs ascending to the 103rd floor (formerly the 102nd).[f] This was built as a disembarkation floor for airships tethered to the building's spire, and has a circular balcony outside.[15] It is now an access point to reach the spire for maintenance. The room now contains electrical equipment, but celebrities and dignitaries may also be given permission to take pictures there.[130][131] Above the 103rd floor, there is a set of stairs and a ladder to reach the spire for maintenance work.[130] The mast's 480 windows were all replaced in 2015.[132] The mast serves as the base of the building's broadcasting antenna.[126]
Broadcast stations
Broadcasting began at the Empire State Building on December 22, 1931, when NBC and RCA began transmitting experimental television broadcasts from a small antenna erected atop the mast, with two separate transmitters for the visual and audio data. They leased the 85th floor and built a laboratory there.[133] In 1934, RCA was joined by Edwin Howard Armstrong in a cooperative venture to test his FM system from the building's antenna.[134][135] This setup, which entailed the installation of the world's first FM transmitter,[135] continued only until October of the next year due to disputes between RCA and Armstrong.[133][134] Specifically, NBC wanted to install more TV equipment in the room where Armstrong's transmitter was located.[135]
After some time, the 85th floor became home to RCA's New York television operations initially as experimental station W2XBS channel 1 then, from 1941, as commercial station WNBT channel 1 (now WNBC channel 4). NBC's FM station, W2XDG, began transmitting from the antenna in 1940.[133][136] NBC retained exclusive use of the top of the building until 1950 when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ordered the exclusive deal be terminated. The FCC directive was based on consumer complaints that a common location was necessary for the seven extant New York-area television stations to transmit from so that receiving antennas would not have to be constantly adjusted. Other television broadcasters would later join RCA at the building on the 81st through 83rd floors, often along with sister FM stations.[133] Construction of a dedicated broadcast tower began on July 27, 1950,[137] with TV, and FM, transmissions starting in 1951. The 200-foot (61 m) broadcast tower was completed in 1953.[126][54][138] From 1951, six broadcasters agreed to pay a combined $600,000 per year for the use of the antenna.[139] In 1965, a separate set of FM antennae was constructed ringing the 103rd floor observation area to act as a master antenna.[133]
The placement of the stations in the Empire State Building became a major issue with the construction of the World Trade Center's Twin Towers in the late 1960s, and early 1970s. The greater height of the Twin Towers would reflect radio waves broadcast from the Empire State Building, eventually resulting in some broadcasters relocating to the newer towers instead of suing the developer, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.[140] Even though the nine stations who were broadcasting from the Empire State Building were leasing their broadcast space until 1984, most of these stations moved to the World Trade Center as soon as it was completed in 1971. The broadcasters obtained a court order stipulating that the Port Authority had to build a mast and transmission equipment in the North Tower, as well as pay the broadcasters' leases in the Empire State Building until 1984.[141] Only a few broadcasters renewed their leases in the Empire State Building.[142]
The September 11 attacks destroyed the World Trade Center and the broadcast centers atop it, leaving most of the city's stations without a transmitter for ten days until the Armstrong Tower in Alpine, New Jersey was re-activated temporarily.[143] By October 2001, nearly all of the city's commercial broadcast stations (both television and FM radio) were again transmitting from the top of the Empire State Building. In a report that Congress commissioned about the transition from analog television to digital television, it was stated that the placement of broadcast stations in the Empire State Building was considered "problematic" due to interference from nearby buildings. In comparison, the congressional report stated that the former Twin Towers had very few buildings of comparable height nearby thus signals suffered little interference.[144] In 2003, a few FM stations were relocated to the nearby Condé Nast Building to reduce the number of broadcast stations using the Empire State Building.[145] Eleven television stations and twenty-two FM stations had signed 15-year leases in the building by May 2003. It was expected that a taller broadcast tower in Bayonne, New Jersey, or Governors Island, would be built in the meantime with the Empire State Building being used as a "backup" since signal transmissions from the building were generally of poorer quality.[146] Following the construction of One World Trade Center in the late 2000s and early 2010s, some TV stations began moving their transmitting facilities there.[147]
As of 2021, the Empire State Building is home to the following stations:[148]
- Television: WABC-7, WPIX-11, WXTV-41 Paterson, and WFUT-68 Newark
- FM: WNYL-92.3, WPAT-93.1 Paterson, WNYC-93.9, WPLJ-95.5, WXNY-96.3, WQHT-97.1, WSKQ-97.9, WEPN-98.7, WHTZ-100.3 Newark, WCBS-101.1, WFAN-101.9, WNEW-FM-102.7, WKTU-103.5 Lake Success, WAXQ-104.3, WWPR-105.1, WQXR-105.9 Newark, WLTW-106.7, and WBLS-107.5
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