New York City’s Empire State Building was completed in 1931.
Construction began on March 17, 1930, during the Great Depression. The project advanced remarkably quickly, with the steel frame rising at a pace often described as about four and a half stories per week. The building officially opened on May 1, 1931, when President Herbert Hoover switched on its lights from Washington, D.C.
The tower was designed by the architectural firm Shreve, Lamb & Harmon. Its 102 floors made it the world’s tallest building for nearly four decades, until the original World Trade Center’s North Tower surpassed it in 1970. The Empire State Building is sometimes confused with the Chrysler Building, another celebrated Manhattan skyscraper from the same era, but the Empire State Building is taller and opened later.