subject: Empire State Building [print this page] Towering over New York City at a staggering 1,250ft, the Empire State Building is one of the few skyscrapers that almost everyone on the planet have either been to or at the very least heard about. It's history and significance in America is nearly unparalleled and the structure not only stands as a landmark in man-made ingenuity but has also officially taken up one of the new seven wonders of the modern world'.
Completed in 1931, the forty-one million dollar structure was the world's tallest building for nearly forty years until the construction of the World Trade Centre towers. Since the 9/11 tragedy, the Empire State now re-retains the title of tallest building in New York. The funny thing is, though, is that a whole host of visitors to the city often get the building confused with the visually similar New York Chrysler building, a structure that also held the title of tallest building in the world' until they finished the Empire State just 11 months after.
Now undergoing a whopping $550 million renovation scheme (with a sizable chunk of that going towards making the entire building more energy efficient and eco-friendly than it currently is now), the structure has swiftly become a must-see for anyone venturing into New-York and of course the Americans have made sure that whilst you're there, you'll have plenty to do. Sky-rides, observation desks, tours, cafes and shops are all available throughout the many floors of the building, not to mention one spectacular view of the entire city once you reach the top. Now I'm not exactly one for heights but I can reassure any nervous visitors that once you're up there, you'll be too speechless to worry about the height.
From films, including blockbusters like King Kong and Independence Day to TV to literature, the Empire State Building has held an almost mythical allure to tourists and residents alike. It's been prevalent in countless famous photographs (most notably the globally recognised black-and-white construction shot of builders eating their lunch hundreds of feet up) and continues to stand as a significant and inescapably well-crafted structure that has and always will stand tall and proud in our ever evolving world.
