Can you please tell me the purpose of the empire state building and why it is important to new york
Thank you very much

• ID# 116.2 (reply to #116.1) - 12 Apr 1999
  I guess that the purpose was the same as in skyscraper design and construction in general: to create revenue for the owners from the large bulk and volume of the world's largest office building (before the completion of the Pentagon in Washington DC ten years later). Of course, secondary purposes like the ill-fated airship mooring mast and, after the mast was discarded, the observatory were also added.
  Another important factor is the prestige value of the building for the general Motors, as opposed to the namesake building for the rival Chrysler car company, both world's tallest at the time of their completion.
  Its importance can be reviewed as an architectural icon ("the eighth wonder of the world"), an Art Deco example with its external form and decor and, of course, as one of the most famous (or the most famous) skyscrapers in the world and, consequently, a definite tourist attraction. A namesake building for NY, the Empire State. ED

• ID# 116.3 (reply to #116.1)
  From: Frank Gerlak ([email protected]) - 19 Apr 1998

  The main purpose of the Empire State Building was to make money for its developers. A secondary purpose was to save Al Smith's ego after his "sacrificial lamb" run for the presidency in 1928.
  The dirgible mooring mast on the top was an after thought and was used only to raise the height of the building - it took approximately 130 sailors to man the mooring lines for a dirigible, the reason for the choice of Lakehurst NJ instead of the top of Empire State. However, if each sailor was charged $.50 for the elevator ride to the top of Empire State each time Graf or Hindenburg came to New York, the revenues of the Empire State would have been substantially increased in the mid 1930's.

  • ID# 116.4 (reply to #116.3) - 19 Apr 1999
    The idea of a Zeppelin mooring mast in the midst of the city, at the height of almost quarter a mile was also, bluntly said, stupid. Keeping the huge airship from swinging around the mast and being affected by the high winds seems difficult enough, even without the hazard of its flammable contents. ED