How the Empire State Building Was Built in Just 410 Days

A Race for the Tallest Building

During the late 1920s, New York developers competed aggressively for height. The Chrysler Building briefly became the world’s tallest building in 1930, but plans for the Empire State Building were already underway.

The project was developed by a group led by businessman John J. Raskob and former New York governor Al Smith. Architects Shreve, Lamb & Harmon designed the building in the Art Deco style.

Construction Begins

Excavation began in January 1930, and structural construction started in March.

The project was organized almost like an industrial assembly line. Steel, stone, windows and other materials were delivered according to a strict schedule so workers rarely had to wait.

At the busiest point, thousands of workers were involved in the project.

Building at Extraordinary Speed

The steel structure sometimes rose more than four stories in a single week.

Steelworkers worked hundreds of feet above Manhattan with safety equipment that would be considered inadequate by modern standards. Photographs of workers balancing on steel beams became some of the most famous images of the skyscraper era.

Many workers were European immigrants as well as Mohawk ironworkers, who became well known for their role in New York’s skyscraper construction industry.

Finished in 410 Days

From the beginning of construction to completion, the Empire State Building took approximately 410 days to build.

The 102-story skyscraper officially opened on May 1, 1931.

President Herbert Hoover symbolically turned on the building’s lights from Washington, D.C., while former governor Al Smith participated in the opening ceremony in New York.

Opening During the Great Depression

The timing was terrible financially.

The United States had entered the Great Depression, and large portions of the building initially remained empty. New Yorkers sometimes jokingly called it the “Empty State Building.”

Despite its difficult beginning, the skyscraper gradually became one of the most valuable and recognizable properties in the world.

An American Landmark

The Empire State Building remained the world’s tallest building for roughly four decades, until the original World Trade Center surpassed it in the early 1970s.

Today, it remains one of the defining symbols of New York City.

Its construction is especially remarkable because engineers completed a project of enormous scale using 1930s technology in little more than a year.

When construction began on the Empire State Building in 1930, New York City was locked in a race to build the tallest skyscraper in the world. What followed became one of the most remarkable construction achievements of the 20th century.