in central Manhattan, New York City, on Fifth Ave. between 33d St. and 34th St. It was designed by the firm of Shreve, Lamb, and Harmon and built in 1930–31. For many years its 102 stories (1,250 ft/381 m high) made it the tallest building in the world. The construction of the World Trade Center ended its reign as the world's and the city's highest skyscraper, but it regained the latter distinction through misfortune when the Trade Center was destroyed (2001) by a terrorist attack. An office building, the Empire State Building accommodates some 25,000 tenants. On a very clear day the view from its highest observation tower embraces an area with a circumference of nearly 200 mi (320 km).

See study by J. Tauranac (1995); C. Willis, ed., Building the Empire State (1998).

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