Page 241 - DK Eyewitness Travel Guides - The World's Must-See Places

102nd-floor observatory

A Views from the Observatory
The 86th floor has outdoor observation decks for
bird's-eye views of Manhattan. On a clear day, n
visitors can see more than 80 miles (125 km) in all ~,~~~i~~r---- Tower
The metal, glass, and aluminum
directions. The observatory on the 1 02nd floor tower on top of the building was
closed in 1994. designed as a mooring mast for
airships, but this soon proved
impractical. The tower was later
converted into a television mast
CONSTRUCTION and now tr an smi ts TV and radio to
The building was designed to be the city and four other US states.
A lightning Strikes erected easily and speedily with
A natural lightning conductor, the everything possible prefabricated
bui !ding is struck up to 1 00 times
a year. The observation decks are and slotted into place at a rate of
closed during inclement weather. about four stories per week. !lliHli-IHiftl!'='ll;;;-- Colored Floodlights
The top 30 floors are
floodlit during special
and seasonal events.
~International Icon
The Empire State remains as
imposing and elegant as when it
first opened, a! though it has been Framework
surpassed in height and bulk. This is made from 60,000 High-speed elevators
tons of steel and was built travel at up to 1,200 ft
in 23 weeks. (366m} a minute
~ ~
STARRING ROLE =
The Empire State Building has been seen in
many movies. However, the finale from the
1933 classic King Kong is easily its most famous The building has 102
guest appearance, as the giant ape straddles the floors, but only &S
spire to do battle with army aircraft. In 1945, a have office space
real bomber flew too low over Manhattan in fog
and struck the building just above the 7Bth floor.
The luckiest escape was that of a young elevator
opera tor whose cabin pi un ged 79 floors. The
emergency brakes saved her life. .!LillllUJmf3:::J!-- Sandwi<h space
t:J between the floors
houses the wiring,
pipes, and cables
Aluminum Panels
These were used instead
of stone around the
6,500 windows. The steel
EmpireS tate trim masks rough edges
1,454 ft (443 m),
on the facing.
with mast
Empire State Run-Up
Eiffel Tower Ten million bricks In this annual event, it
1,063 ft (324 m) were used to line takes fit runners just 10
the whole building minutes to race up the
1,576 steps from the
Big Ben Great Pyramid lob by to the 86th floor.
320ft 482ft (147m) ~ Pecking Order
(975m) New Yorkers are justifiably
proud of their city's symbol,
which towers above the icons
of other countries.
More than 200
steel and concrete
piles support the
36S,00().ton
building
~Art Deco Medallions
Displayed throughout the
lobby, these depict symbols
of the modern age.