You see it from the plane as you bank over the Hudson. It’s the silver needle that defines the skyline. Most people look at the spire and think of King Kong or maybe that scene in Sleepless in Seattle. But when you ask who built the Empire State Building, the answer isn't just one guy with a blueprint. It's a chaotic, ego-driven, and incredibly fast-paced collision of wealthy politicians, visionary architects, and thousands of immigrants who risked their lives for $1.90 an hour.
It was a race. Pure and simple.
In the late 1920s, New York was obsessed with height. Everyone wanted the trophy. Walter Chrysler was already working on his iconic tower, and the Bank of Manhattan was stretching skyward at 40 Wall Street. Into this mess stepped John J. Raskob and Al Smith. Raskob was a former General Motors executive with deep pockets, and Smith was the former Governor of New York who had just lost a presidential bid. They wanted something bigger. They wanted to humiliate the competition.
The Minds Behind the Blueprint
So, who actually drew the lines? The architectural firm of Shreve, Lamb & Harmon got the call. William F. Lamb is the name you’ll see in the history books because he’s the one who basically sketched the design in a few days. Honestly, the design was dictated more by the deadline than by artistic whim. Raskob asked Lamb, "Bill, how high can you make it so that it won't fall down?"
Lamb’s solution was functional. He used a logic that prioritized the elevators and the speed of construction over everything else. The building is essentially a series of setbacks—those "steps" you see as it gets higher—which were actually required by the 1916 Zoning Resolution to ensure light reached the streets below.
The Builders Who Did the Heavy Lifting
While Lamb drew it, the firm of Starrett Bros. & Eken actually put it together. These guys were the wizards of logistics. You have to understand, they weren't just building a skyscraper; they were running a factory that happened to be 1,454 feet tall.
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Paul and William Starrett were legendary in the construction world. They realized that to win the race against the Chrysler Building, they couldn't waste a single second. They set up a miniature railway system on the construction floors to move materials. They had cafes on various levels so workers didn't have to go all the way to the ground for lunch. It was a masterpiece of industrial efficiency.
The Sky Walkers: 3,400 Men in the Clouds
If you're asking who built the Empire State Building in terms of physical labor, you’re talking about a workforce of roughly 3,400 men at the peak of construction. A huge portion of these workers were European immigrants—Irish and Italian mostly—and Mohawk ironworkers from Canada.
The Mohawk workers are a fascinating part of this history. They were known for having a "lack of fear" regarding heights, though many later said they were just as terrified as anyone else; they just hid it better. They moved across steel beams just inches wide, hundreds of feet above the concrete, often without any safety harnesses.
- The Pace: They were finishing four and a half stories every single week.
- The Risk: Officially, five men died during construction. Given the lack of OSHA in 1930, many people suspect the number might have been higher, but five is the documented figure.
- The Pay: In the middle of the Great Depression, these were some of the most coveted jobs in the city.
Why the Building Happened So Fast
It took just one year and 45 days. Think about that. We can barely get a subway station renovated in that time today. The reason it happened so quickly was the Depression. Since the economy had crashed, there was a massive surplus of hungry, skilled labor and a huge drop in the cost of raw materials.
Raskob and Smith had the cash. Everyone else was broke.
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They started on St. Patrick's Day in 1930 and opened the doors on May 1, 1931. President Herbert Hoover flipped a switch in Washington D.C. to turn on the lights. It was a PR triumph, even if the building stayed mostly empty for years—locals nicknamed it the "Empty State Building" because they couldn't find enough tenants to fill the office space during the economic slump.
The Secret Ingredient: 57,000 Tons of Steel
When we discuss who built the Empire State Building, we have to credit the steel mills of Pittsburgh. The structure is a beast. It used 57,000 tons of steel. To put that in perspective, the Eiffel Tower only used about 7,300 tons.
The limestone came from Indiana. The marble came from France and Italy. It was a global effort concentrated on a single plot of land where the old Waldorf-Astoria Hotel used to sit. The demolition of that hotel was a feat in itself, but the Starrett brothers handled it like a surgical strike.
The Competitive Ego of Raskob and Chrysler
There’s a bit of drama here that most people miss. Walter Chrysler was a sneaky guy. He had a secret spire hidden inside his building that he popped out at the last minute to claim the "tallest" title. Raskob was furious.
To beat Chrysler, Raskob decided the Empire State Building needed a "hat." He claimed the building needed a mooring mast for dirigibles (blimps). He told the press that people would jump off their blimps onto the 86th floor and check into the city. In reality, it was a total myth. High winds made it impossible to dock a blimp there. One guy tried it, nearly flipped his craft, and they gave up. But that "mooring mast" added enough height to ensure Chrysler could never catch up.
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Looking Back at the Legacy
The Empire State Building held the record for the world's tallest building for 40 years, until the North Tower of the World Trade Center surpassed it in 1970. But even today, it remains the "people's skyscraper." It represents a moment in time when New York felt invincible, even while the rest of the country was struggling.
How to See the History Yourself
If you're visiting, don't just look at the view from the 86th floor. Spend time in the lobby. The Art Deco murals there are original and show the building as the center of the universe.
- Look at the rivets: You can still see the handiwork of those 3,400 men in the exposed steel in certain areas.
- Check the museum: The second-floor museum has incredible photos of the Mohawk ironworkers and the Starrett brothers' logistics charts.
- Visit at night: The lighting changes constantly to celebrate different cultures and events, a tradition that started way back in 1976.
Actionable Steps for History Buffs
If you want to truly understand the scale of what these men achieved, you shouldn't just read about it.
First, go to the Skyscraper Museum in Battery Park City. They have the original construction photos that show just how precarious the work was. You'll see men sitting on beams eating sandwiches with nothing but 1,000 feet of air beneath their boots.
Second, read Higher: A Historic Race to the Sky and the Making of a City by Neal Bascomb. It’s the definitive account of the rivalry between Raskob and Chrysler.
Lastly, take a walking tour that focuses on Art Deco architecture in Midtown. Seeing the transition from the base of the building to the spire helps you appreciate the "setback" laws that defined the look of New York. The building isn't just a monument; it's a map of the laws and the egos of 1930.
The men who built the Empire State Building didn't just move stone and steel. They proved that even in the middle of a national collapse, New Yorkers could still build something that touched the clouds. That spirit is why the building still matters. It's not the tallest anymore, but it's still the king.