After the steel skeleton was complete, stairways were installed. Then came the electric cables and various kinds of piping - the building's veins and arteries. The lower floors were plastered before the roof was made tight. The overlapping [L3 306 / schedule] held. The building rose at an average of four and a half stories per week. During one 10-day period, 14,5 stories were completed. Work went so fast, in fact, that the New York Times said that construction was like "a chase up into the sky."
In March of 1931, the scaffolding was removed from the tower. The building appeared complete, although work continued on the interior until opening day.
THE LOBBY:
The most spectacular approach to the Empire State Building is the Fifth Avenue side. On the wall opposite the doorway is a great brass and aluminum plaque depicting the Empire State under a blazing sun. The marble in the lofty lobby comes from Italy, France, Belgium and Germany.
The 34th Street entrances open onto a long hall, three stories high and lined with Rellante and Rose Fanmosa marbles. The high silver-leaf ceiling is painted in metallic colors with geometric patterns suggesting stars, sunbursts and snowflakes.
In 1963 illuminated panels were added to the lobby depicting the [L3 307 / Seven Ancient Wonders of the World] - plus a modern Eighth Wonder, the Empire State Building.
