The Making of the Empire State Building
Video: The Empire State Building Turns 80
Eighty years ago on Sunday, President Herbert Hoover officially dedicated New York City’s Empire State Building, the world’s tallest skyscraper at that time. The lofty structure’s construction took just over a year and employed up to 3,400 workers a day at the height of the Great Depression. Though no longer the world’s tallest building—that title belongs to Dubai’s Burj Khalifa tower, which soars 2,717 feet into the sky—the 102-story Art Deco gem remains a major tourist attraction and one of the city’s most iconic landmarks.
