Empire State Building

The structure of the Empire State sits on land previously owned by a prominent family from New York, the Astor Family. The family used the site for the Waldorf Hotel in 1893. The hotel was expanded four years later with the addition of the 16-story Hotel Astoria structure next to the Waldorf Hotel. The hotels offered a combined 13000 rooms to guests, making it the largest hotel in the world at the time. The Astoria-Waldorf hotel closed its doors in 1929 after three decades of service when it was sold to Bethlehem Engineering Corporation.

The Bethlehem Engineering Corporation bought the land to construct a 25-story building to house multiple business offices. However, lack of funding meant the land had to be sold to a company helmed by a group of investors called Empire State Inc. Alfred Emanuel Smith, who has served four terms as governor of New York, was the head of the company at the time. Under his leadership, the company members, which included well-known business names like Louis Graveraet Kaufman, John Jakob Raskob, Ellis Earl, and prominent members of the Dupont family, bought the 2-acre land adjacent to the old hotels’ site. The Empire State Inc. announced plans for a consortium on the 425-by-200-foot piece of land. The initial plans provided by the architect firm Shreve, Lamb, and Harmon featured an 80-story building, which would have been higher than any other in existence at the time. Later, five more floors and an observation deck on the 86th floor were added to the plan, ensuring that the Empire State Building would remain the tallest building in the world for many years.