The Empire State Building’s stepped Art Deco crown rises from a limestone-and-granite facade above Fifth Avenue. Built at extraordinary speed during the Depression, it turned a speculative office tower into one of the city’s defining silhouettes.
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The tower narrows in a series of setbacks as it climbs, giving the Empire State Building its unmistakable upward rhythm. Those steps belong to its Art Deco design, but they also helped daylight reach the streets under the zoning rules of the era.
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UpgradeQuick facts
- The building opened on May 1, 1931.
- Shreve, Lamb & Harmon designed the 102-story tower.
- Construction took one year and 45 days.
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