You’ve seen it in every movie since 1933. It’s the ultimate icon of the New York skyline, a jagged spear of limestone and steel that defines "skyscraper" for most of the planet. But if you ask a random person on the street who made the Empire State Building, you’ll probably get a blank stare or maybe a guess like "The Rockefellers?" (Wrong tower, actually).
The truth is way more chaotic. It wasn't just one guy with a blueprint and a dream. It was a collision of massive egos, a desperate race to beat a rival architect, and thousands of immigrant workers who basically played a high-stakes game of Tetris with 365,000 tons of material.
The project didn't even start as a tribute to engineering. It started as a business gamble.
The Power Players and the "Big Money" Behind the Steel
Basically, the building exists because two guys were incredibly competitive. One was John J. Raskob, a former GM executive, and the other was Al Smith, the former Governor of New York who had just lost a presidential election. They formed Empire State Inc. in 1929. They wanted to build something so big it would humiliate Walter Chrysler, who was busy finishing his own Art Deco masterpiece just a few blocks away.
The design firm they hired was Shreve, Lamb & Harmon.
Richmond Shreve, William F. Lamb, and Arthur Loomis Harmon were the brains. But Lamb was the lead designer. Legend has it he drew the initial design in a single day. He based it on a pencil standing on its end. He didn't have time for flourishes; the timeline was insane. They had to get this thing up and earning rent because the Great Depression was starting to bite hard.
Raskob allegedly asked Lamb, "Bill, how high can you make it so that it won't fall down?"
That’s a terrifying question for an architect.
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The Starrett Brothers and the Logistics of Chaos
Designing a building is one thing. Building it in 410 days is another. That’s where the Starrett Brothers & Eken come in. They were the general contractors. If Shreve, Lamb & Harmon were the composers, the Starretts were the conductors of a very loud, very dangerous orchestra.
Paul Starrett was a legend in the construction world. He didn't just hire workers; he built a factory that moved upward. Everything was about speed.
Consider this: they were adding about four and a half stories every single week.
At the peak of construction, 3,439 workers were on-site at once. These weren't just guys with hammers. You had the "sky boys"—the structural steel workers, many of whom were Mohawk ironworkers from the Kahnawake reservation near Montreal. They had a reputation for being fearless at heights that would make most people vomit. They moved along the girders with no harnesses, tossing red-hot rivets to each other like they were playing catch in a park.
It was a vertical assembly line.
Materials arrived "just-in-time." There was no storage space in Midtown Manhattan. If a truck arrived with steel beams, those beams were hoisted up within minutes. A miniature railway system was built on the floors to move materials from the hoists to the workers. They even had "cafes" on various floors so workers didn't have to waste an hour going down to the ground for lunch.
Efficiency was the only way they finished under budget and ahead of schedule.
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The "Race to the Sky" and the 103rd Floor
The building was originally supposed to be shorter. But then the Chrysler Building pulled a fast one. Walter Chrysler had a secret spire hidden inside his building’s frame, which he popped out at the last minute to claim the title of "World's Tallest."
Raskob and Smith weren't having it.
They decided to add a "mooring mast" for dirigibles (blimps) on top of the 86th floor. They claimed it was a functional docking station for transatlantic air travel. In reality, it was a clever way to add another 200 feet to the height. They never actually used it for blimps because, turns out, the updrafts at 1,200 feet make docking a giant balloon nearly impossible.
It was a PR stunt that changed the silhouette of New York forever.
The Human Cost of 350 Fifth Avenue
When we talk about who made the Empire State Building, we have to talk about the 5 people who died during construction. Honestly, for the era and the speed, that number is surprisingly low—though still tragic. Official records say five, but some historians argue the number might be slightly higher due to off-site accidents or delayed complications.
The labor force was a melting pot. Irish and Italian immigrants worked alongside the Mohawk ironworkers. They were earning roughly $15 a day for the most dangerous jobs, which was actually decent money during the Depression.
They weren't just building a skyscraper. They were building a symbol of hope during a time when the economy was in the trash. When the building opened on May 1, 1931, President Herbert Hoover turned on the lights from Washington D.C. by pushing a button.
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It was the tallest building in the world for 40 years. That’s a massive run.
Why it Succeeded (And Why it Almost Failed)
For years, the building was nicknamed the "Empty State Building."
Because it opened during the Depression, no one could afford to rent the office space. It only survived because of the observation deck. People were so desperate for a thrill that they paid $1 to go to the top. That revenue kept the building afloat while the offices sat vacant.
The building's success wasn't just in its height. It was in its durability. In 1945, a B-25 bomber crashed into the 79th floor during a heavy fog. The building didn't collapse. It didn't even catch fire in a way that threatened the structure. It was back open for business on some floors by the following Monday.
That’s how you know it was built well.
Moving Beyond the Myth
If you're looking for a single name to answer who made the Empire State Building, you won't find one. It was a massive collaborative effort between:
- William F. Lamb: The lead architect who dreamed up the shape.
- John J. Raskob: The financier with the ego to fund it.
- The Starrett Brothers: The logistics geniuses who organized the chaos.
- The 3,400+ Workers: The "sky boys" who actually bolted the steel together.
Actionable Insights for History Buffs and Travelers
If you’re planning to visit or just want to appreciate the engineering more, keep these things in mind:
- Check the 80th Floor: Most people rush to the 86th floor deck. Don't skip the "Dare to Dream" exhibit on the 80th. It has the original photos and notes from the Starrett Brothers that show exactly how the logistics worked.
- Look for the Rivets: When you’re at the top, look at the exposed steel. You can see the hand-pounded rivets. Each one was heated to 2,000 degrees and hammered in by a four-man team.
- Visit at Night: The LED lighting system they use now can display 16 million colors. It’s a modern tech layer over a 1930s skeleton.
- Compare the Limestone: The exterior is Indiana limestone. It was cut specifically to fit the "fast-track" construction method, which is why the building has that distinct, tiered wedding-cake look. It was easier to build that way than a straight vertical wall.
The Empire State Building is a masterclass in what happens when human ambition outpaces economic reality. It shouldn't have been built that fast, and it probably shouldn't have been that tall, but because a few guys wanted to beat their rivals, we have a landmark that will likely stand for another century.
Next time you see that spire, remember it wasn't just an architect's pen that put it there. It was a fleet of trucks, a miniature railway, and a lot of brave guys eating sandwiches on steel beams a thousand feet in the air.