The Empire State building, a famously known building that attracts millions of tourists each year, has become an American icon in New York City. This grand building stands at 1,250 feet high with 102 floors, and it currently the tallest building in the NYC. Apart from this building being a major tourist center, the Empire State building made a major impact in our society during the Great Depression. The designer of the Empire State building was William F. Lamb, who remarkably designed the whole project in about 2 weeks. The building deign featured an art deco design, common of pre–World War II, which was not commonly seen in America. Lamb also purposely designed the building to be simple, functional, and inexpensive to build. Once all of the design plans were finalized, the first construction began on March 17, 1930; also known as St. Patrick’s Day. This major building required about 3,400 hard workers, most of which were European immigrants working for cheap labor. The amount of workers was significant during this time period because it provided jobs for the many people who were unemployed post stock-market crash.

A unique factor about the building was that it was to be constructed in steel, making it stand tall and strong with minimal bulk. After 410 days, the tallest building in New York City was finally finished, and was open to the public on May 1, 1931. The Empire State building even caused a positive impact by lifting the spirits of many Americans during the depression. Even the price to such a project was unexpected. The total of the entire building ended up costing fewer than the expected 50 million dollars. Since the opening of this miraculous building, the great Empire State building still stands tall even after surviving a plane crash on July 28, 1945. The Empire State Building has also come to play an important role in popular culture. Many people, who have not scene the building in person, have most likely seen it in movies such as Sleepless in Seattle, King Kong and Elf. Today, the most visited spot of the building is known as the observation deck. It has one of the most popular outdoor observatories in the world, and has been visited by over 110 million people. The observation deck gives people the opportunity to experience a bird’s eye view of the entire city, and lets you peer over rooftops and the streets of New York City. Especially during the holidays, the building becomes a beautiful site to visit at night as it shines bright with colorful lights. For example if you visit the city during Christmas time, you will see bright green and red lights shining up the tower. All in all, the Empire State building has grown to symbolize New York City. Even today, New York is nick-named “The Empire State” after the grand building. Although other buildings have now surpassed the Empire’s height, the Empire State Building still remains an icon of New York and a place for people to see from all over the world.