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Empire State Building, America's Favorite Building, Turns 80
By
Jaya Saxena
Published May 1, 2011
Modified May 1, 2011
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By
Jaya Saxena
Published May 1, 2011
Modified May 1, 2011
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Today is the 80th anniversary of the opening of the Empire State Building, and management is making a lot of changes to make sure it lasts the next 80 years. The building is currently undergoing a $550 million renovation to restore the building and make it more energy efficient. Building manager Anthony Malkin said they're also trying to make the experience more enjoyable for tourists, though today tourists seemed to be having a good time. One told the Daily News, "I was listening to the story downstairs, and how they were going through the Great Depression. And even with that going on, they still managed to go ahead and build it in 14 months. It's pretty incredible, especially for back then."
The Empire State Building opened on May 1st, 1931, towering 1,454 feet, 8 9/166 inches above the city. On clear days visibility is 80 miles from the Observatory, with views of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, and it was listed by the American Institute of Architecture as America's favorite structure. It also recently became New York City’s largest commercial purchaser of 100% renewable energy. And thought many New Yorkers will bypass the landmark, one former New Yorker says the view (and the line) is worth it: "It's great to come back to the city in general, but certainly to places like this, and see it through his eyes. When you're living here, you kind of leave that to the tourists. The past few days, we're the tourists." We'll head over once they build us a place to park our zeppelin.
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