BILLIONthe Empire State Building, arguably New York’s most iconic skyscraper, celebrated its 90th birthday last year. The tower was officially opened on May 1, 1931, just a year after its first steel beams were installed. The opening ceremonies were attended by Mayor Jimmy Walker and Governor Franklin Roosevelt. At 11:30 a.m., President Hoover pressed a button in Washington, D.C., lighting up the lobby of the new building and starting a day of speeches and celebrations.
At 1,250 feet, the Empire State Building is so utterly towering over every other building that any discussion of its replacement is mere conjecture. The previous world record holder, the 1,046-foot Chrysler Building, topped out about 200 feet below the Empire State’s peak. In theory, some future towers could be taller than the Empire State. But has there ever been such a huge fortune? “The height rivalry is over” speak New York Times. The opening of the new tower “at least ended a friendly competition in honor of skyscrapers”.
The Empire State Building has remained the tallest building in the world for more than 40 years. It was finally dethroned in the 1970s, when glass cans like the original World Trade Center and Chicago’s Sears Tower skyrocketed to new heights. In recent decades, a series of taller towers have sprung up around the world, from Shanghai to Dubai and beyond. Even so, nothing captures people’s collective imagination quite like the Empire State Building. Its streamlined silhouette remains a symbol not only of New York City but of a bygone era.
On a recent Friday afternoon, I was given a full VIP tour of the Empire State Building. It’s an end-to-end experience made for visiting celebrities, but is accessible to the public for a fee: $500 for groups of up to 4 (according to the building) website). For that price, VIP guests are paired with their tour guide, who will escort them to a private lounge for drinks, snacks, and an introduction. There’s even a make-up room to prepare for a last-minute photo shoot.
Leaving the lounge, Unlimited guests are taken to the elevator via a literal red carpet, bypassing the public queues and crowds. The Empire State Building has two observatories: the main outdoor deck on the 86th floor and a smaller indoor airstrip on the 102nd floor. Both are included as part of the Unlimited tour, but the observatory on the 102nd floor will charge extra for daily visitors (Adult rates are currently $44 for the 86th floor and $77 for both).
Unlimited guests can usually choose the nature of their visit, with their guides happy to accommodate virtually any request or timetable. Want a glass of champagne? Certainly. Want to visit the 102nd floor observatory first? Nothing. Do you have questions about the history of the building? They can tell you all about it. There’s an old-fashioned intimacy to the whole experience. Secret passageways, private elevators, and uniformed tour guides reveal a luxury you might not expect in a tourist mecca in the heart of Midtown Manhattan.
For me, the most thrilling moments of the tour were when I was given access to the limited spaces. There is an inimitable thrill of being taken to places no one is allowed to go. Our guide seemed interested in showing us some of the inner workings of the tower, such as the outdoor deck from which its summit is illuminated by an impressive array of LED beacons. We were also able to stop the elevator midway from the 86th to the 102nd floor, stepping out onto the metal runway inside the spire of the tower. Inside the undulating glass shaft, such a recognizable sliver of the New York skyline, is enough to give me chills.
By far the best experience of the day was being allowed to go up to the 10th floor. Through a locked metal gate and up a series of stairs so steep that it was harder than a step, we stepped onto an open-air platform. circle in what certainly feels like the top of the world. Leaning over the waist-high railing (not recommended for those with acrophobia), tourists on the 86th floor observatory look like ants. The city opens up in every direction, rivers and bridges melt in the curve of the horizon. On a clear day you can see as far as Connecticut and Pennsylvania. The same view as the 102nd floor, but the feeling of excitement outside, surrounded by the wind, is unmatched.
Courtesy Empire State Realty Trust
There are many things about the Empire State Building that cannot be imitated. In its time, it stands in a class of its own. Apart from the Eiffel Tower, there is no place on Earth where guests can stand 1,000 feet above the ground, atop what is essentially a giant antique. Today, there are dozens of taller buildings around the world, many of which are quite flashy, and most of them were built in just the last decade or two. But how many of them can actually be considered symbols? How many of them will still be relevant 91 years from today?
Relevance is a key word when considering the Empire State Building’s seniority on the New York skyline. With tourism recovering rapidly from the devastation of the pandemic, there are millions of dollars to contend with among the city’s myriad cultural attractions. Prior to 2020, the Empire State Building received approximately 4,000,000 visitors a year to its 86th and 102nd floor observatories.
But the nonagenarian tower is no longer alone on the horizon. For a short time, after the original World Trade Center was lost, the Empire State Building was New York’s only public observatory. But in 2005, it was joined by “Top of the Rock,” the long-standing shuttered terrace at Rockefeller Center. Then in 2015, the new glass One World Trade Center opened a sleek, month-long indoor floor.
More recently, tourists have flocked to “The Edge” at Hudson Yards and “Summit One Vanderbilt” on 42nd Street. The former balcony was essentially a triangular balcony hooked up to the side of 30 Hudson Yards, with eye-catching glass floors that often had to be tied up to control the flow of people taking selfies. The Edge even allows guests to wear and climb to the top of the tower (for a premium price), where they can recline out into the city from 1,400 feet. One Vanderbilt took it a step further, allowing guests to ascend to the outdoor observatory in an all-glass elevator built into the exterior of the tower’s facade. Inside, they built a thrilling disorienting room with mirrored ceilings and floors.
Courtesy Empire State Realty Trust
The Empire State Building doesn’t need such gimmicks. It’s the Empire State Building, after all. What it lacks in shiny add-ons it makes up for in romance and nostalgia. To be sure, the building has taken steps to modernize itself, with a new VIP lounge and airport on the 102nd floor. Their PR team has enjoyed an unexpected success in the “nothing” TikTok videos. stand out,” which often places the Empire State Building anthropomorphized based on the city’s newer, less attractive towers.
But even without these changes, tourists will still be drawn to the Empire State Building. After all, King Kong didn’t fight planes atop Hudson Yards. Meg Ryan didn’t make an appointment to see Tom Hanks in the glass elevator at Summit One Vanderbilt. For over 90 years, the Empire State Building has been the setting for countless movies and television series. It is immortalized in song and on stage. No other building is indelibly linked to the city. Today, as it approaches one hundred years old, no other tower perfectly captures the imagination of the world and the essence of New York.
