The Empire State Building, the tallest manmade structure in the world until the World Trade Center was built in 1970, is a truly extraordinary modern phenomenon. While being built, contemporaries were astounded at the speed in which it rose. For an amazing 15 months, the construction site was alive with [L3 425 / the frantic activity of thousands of workers] in all departments of construction, working to a daily timetable scheduled right down to the minute. Trucks delivered a seemingly endless supply of materials. A contemporary newspaper remarked that "since the base of the Empire State occupies the entire site, all new supplies vanish inside the building, which now seems to generate itself, feeding on the never-ending stream of materials that arrive with split-second regularity." The Literary Digest in May 1931 compared the rising structure to a web being spun by the steelworkers. "Like little spiders they toil, spinning a fabric of steel against the sky. Crawling, climbing, swinging, swooping... weaving a web that was to stretch farther heavenward than the ancient tower of Babel."
Opening day on May 2, 1932, brought a variety of visitors. At the top of the Empire State Building, Franklin D Roosevelt thought "Central Park was so small that it reminded me of my cow pasture at Hyde Park." Some were disappointed. One visitor must have expected something cataclysmic and all he got was fog: "I pay a buck to come up here and see some fog. I stand in line for an hour for the chance to see some fog." One lady was confused by the elevator. Could it really transport her so far up into the sky? When she asked Alfred E Smith whether the elevator would go up or down, he replied: "It all depends what kind of life you've led."
Visitors continued to stream to the building, up the elevators and out on to the observation decks to see the city from a quarter mile up in the sky. [L3 408 / Among the famous people who visited], were politicians, religious leaders, royalty and top scientists. There were even dancing visitors. Some took it seriously, but many were overcome by its enormity and had to see it humorously, particularly when [L3 414 / suitable tenants could not be found] to occupy the thousands of feet of office space.
To date, only one major disaster has ever occurred at the site of the Empire State Building. On the morning of July 28, 1945, an army B-25 bomber crashed into the 79th floor in foggy weather. [L3 429 / Workers in the building at the time were shocked by the horrific scene]. Considering the immense damage which resulted, very few people were killed.
