The Wonder of it All

Did you ever go to 34th Street and Fifth Avenue and stare straight up in the air. If so, what did you see. Well, like many other people who visited NYC, you no doubt saw a huge building going up and up. This building that strikes awe in everyone who sees it is known as the Empire State Building. The Empire State Building is one of the tallest structures in the world. It stands at 1,454 feet. Other than the Sears Tower in Chicago, the Empire State Buidling is one of the tallest structures in the world.

Thne Empire State Building as a long history that started back in January 22, 1930 when excavation of the site began. It took a year and 45 days, which included Sundays and holidays to complete the structure. There are 103 floors. A tower sits right in the middle of the 102nd floor and goes up 230 feet to the top where the antenna is located. There is a lightening rod built into the antenna since it gets struck by lightening several times during a thunderstorm.

If you are near 34th St and 5th Ave, you need to go inside the Empire State Building and go to the observatory deck. You can take one of the speed elevators located in the lobby. The elevators have been known to travel at speeds of up to 660 to 1000 feet per minute. Once you get to the deck, you can see the entire island of Manhattan. It is breath-taking.