Academic Decathlon 5 th Period

 This building not only became an icon of New York City, it became a symbol of twentieth century man's attempts to achieve the impossible.

 When the Eiffel Tower (984 feet) was built in 1889 in Paris it, in a way, taunted American architects to build something taller. By the early twentieth century, a skyscraper race was on.  “We thought we would be the tallest at 80 stories. Then the Chrysler went higher, so we lifted the Empire State to 85 stories, but only four feet taller than the Chrysler. Raskob was worried that Walter Chrysler would pull a trick - like hiding a rod in the spire and then sticking it up at the last minute.” - Hamilton Weber

 The Empire State Building was one of the last skyscrapers completed in New York before the Great Depression hit the real estate market.  But the Great Depression also caused a collapse in the demand for office space. The owners had such a difficult time leasing office space that the building became known as the 'Empty State Building'. It would take until the end of the 1940s before the real estate market was fully recovered and in the early 1950s the Empire State Building even became the most profitable building in New York City.

 The Empire State Building is an architectural marvel, and one of the most striking attractions in New York City. It was the result of the race to the sky.  The building itself was constructed during the Great Depression and is a living monument to that era and the city it so proudly illuminates.