In 1962 the building was washed for the first time. Thirty men, working from baskets suspended from the top, took six months to scrub the 500,000 square feet of limestone. The cost was $200,000, but the insurance policy protecting the workers cost $3,000,000. Three thousand gallons of waterproof coating were rubbed into the surface.
Formerly, the windows were washed several times a year. Today they are washed continuously. As soon as the job is finished, it starts again.
