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Although The Empire State Building is not one of the tallest buildings anymore, it is the most famous building in the world erected by man. The building soars more than a quarter of a mile into the sky. It has been nicknamed "the cathedral of the skies." More than 90 million people have visited this engineering marvel. Most have scanned the skyline from one of the two observation decks.

Let's talk a little bit about the history of this famous building site. In 1799, the City of New York sold a tract of land (now bounded by Broadway and Sixth Avenue on the west, Madison Avenue on the east, 33^rd Street on the south, and 36^th Street on the north) to John Thompson for $2,600. Mr. Thompson farmed the tract of land for 26 years. In 1825, he sold the farm to Charles Lawton, for $10,000, who turned around and sold it in 1827, to William B. Astor, the second son of John Jacob Astor, for $20,500. Astor bought the land for an investment. In 1859 John Jacob Astor, Jr. built a mansion on the corner of 33^rd and Fifth Avenue. His older brother, William B. built his mansion next door in 1862. In 1893, John Jacob Jr's house was razed and the Waldorf Hotel was built on the site. In 1897, the William B. house was razed and the Astoria Hotel was erected on the site. The two hotels were considered one complex and was known as, you guessed it!, the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Then in 1928 the hotel complex was sold to Bethlehem Engineering Corporation for nearly $20 million. Talk about property appreciation!!!! In 1929, John Jacob Raskob (creator of General Motors), Coleman du Pont, Pierre S. du Pont, Louis G. Kaufman and Ellis P. Earl, formed Empire State, Inc. and named Alfred E. Smith, former Governor of New York and Presidential Candidate, as head of the corporation. They began building the current wonder and on May 1, 1931, President Hoover pressed a button in Washington, D.C. officially opening and turning on the Empire State Building's lights. The rest is history!

The building has a rich history of famous visitors. Lassie even visited the observation deck. Heads of state from almost every foreign country have visited the building, as well as film stars, U.S. political figures and other famous figures throughout history. Famous visitors to the observation deck include Queen Elizabeth in 1957 and Fidel Castro in 1959. Speaking of the observation deck, static electricity buildup is so mammoth on top of the building that, under the right conditions, if you stick your hand through the observatory fence, St. Elmo's fire will stream from your fingertips. Lovers who kiss up there may find their lips crackling with electric sparks.

Let us give you a few more bits of fact and trivia about the building and then we'll point you to the building's site on the Net.

• Cost of the building, including land, $40,948,900

• The building took 7,000,000 man hours to complete

• There are 1,060 miles of telephone cables

• The tower on top of the building can withstand wind pressure of 50 pounds per square inch. The television tower is host to 6 different stations and the FM antenna hosts 17 individual stations.

• NBC presented the first experimental broadcast on December 22, 1931 directly from its TV station atop the building.

• On July 28, 1945, an Army Air Force B-25 crashed into the buildings at the 78^th floor level. Fourteen people died. Damage to the building was $1 million but the structural integrity of the building was not effected.

• The building does not sway . . . it gives. With a wind of 110 mph, the building gives 1.48 inches. Movement off center is never greater than one quarter inch, thus measurable movement is only one half inch, one quarter inch on either side.

• The fastest annual runup times covering 1,575 steps from the Lobby to the 86^th floor was accomplished by a male in 1992 in 9 minutes and 33 seconds and by a female in 1991 in 11 minutes and 32 seconds

Terry and I hope you enjoy this Java enhanced site. It is a true bit of Americanana that we all can be proud of. It's time to chuckle a bit. Click on the "Right" arrow below for another dose of net humor.

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