The Magnificent Empire State Building: Hope rises out of despair in 1931

Before the Empire State Building and the Inequality of the Times

In the 1890’s the hotel located at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 34th Street in New York City was a different kind of America. The nights would be filled with laughter, and the pleasant scent of high-end perfume mingled with the rich aroma of expensive cigars. Delicious dinners would be enjoyed on fine china and sterling silverware, and served in the Empire Room. This dining experience was legendary. For the rich, it reflected the opulence of the Gilded Age, with striking Italian Renaissance architecture and rich European-inspired furnishings. 

The wealthy showcased their latest fashion trends, particularly the ladies’ boldly sculpted hourglass silhouettes. During the day, there would be a steady stream of carriages bringing well-dressed businessmen to their destinations. Members of the old money club flaunted their wealth and relished the exclusivity of their social status, while the poor stood just inches away. 

It was not uncommon for homeless and hungry children to sleep on the streets, and Fifth Avenue and 34th Street were no exception. According to some historical accounts, tens of thousands of children slept on the streets, stoops, and cellar doors of Midtown Manhattan. Tragically, some were sometimes crushed by the wheels of carriages. Perhaps some carriages were taking the captains of industry to their next social and business event. In this corner of the country, the stark gap between America’s top and bottom was fully understood. 

The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel- The Astor Family

New York City was ruled by the financial icons of the time, including the Astors, Vanderbilts, and Morgans. Their families defined the city’s Gilded Age, a period characterized by excessive wealth displayed through grand, ornate structures adorned with marble floors, columns, and gold trim.  At this spot, the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel was once believed to be the epicenter of the world. 

The Waldorf Hotel and the Astoria Hotel were built as a result of a dispute within the Astor family. One would think that the spat would naturally be over money, but you would be wrong. When the head of the Astor family passed away, an argument broke out over which Mrs. Astor would be recognized in social circles. Instead of settling the problem over tea, they decided to build competing hotels side by side. In time, the feud was settled, and the two hotels were connected, becoming one. It was then recognized as the largest hotel in the world, and probably the most luxurious. 

The Gilded Age

As a symbol of the excess of the Gilded Age, the  Waldorf-Astoria exuded wealth through its marble columns, gold-leafed surfaces, and chandeliers reminiscent of those at Versailles. Presidents resided there, the affluent dined, and fortunes were made and lost in the clandestine business dealings that unfolded within its walls. 

For several decades, it held the esteemed title of the city’s social palace. However, by the end of the 1920s, the world, particularly America, was undergoing significant changes. The fascination with the wealthy was replaced by social reforms and movements aimed at narrowing the gap between the haves and the have-nots. A new and modern America was coming.

Once Grand Hotel

By 1929, the once-grand hotel had outlived its purpose. The Gilded Age had long passed, and the Astors, Vanderbilts, and their friends had relocated to the city’s uptown areas, pursuing new financial and social endeavors. The affluent had abandoned their opulent mansions for the modern conveniences of Park Avenue apartments. Despite the hotel’s sale to developers, the public remained largely oblivious to its impending demise.

Stock Market Crash and the Great Depression

In October 1929, just days after the stock market crash, demolition crews arrived, and New Yorkers gathered to witness the spectacle. Some individuals came out of a sense of nostalgia, while others were simply curious. And more were jobless, some even homeless, as well, and had nothing better to do. Breadlines were forming, and factories were closing, leaving the city in a state of economic despair.

Amidst the chaos, an older woman, clutching her coat against the biting wind, reportedly remarked, “They’re tearing down the last place in New York where people pretended everything was fine.” Her words resonated with the city’s general feeling, as the hotel symbolized a bygone era of prosperity and hope.

The Transition 

The old families who once controlled the city had no say in the planning of the Empire State Building. The newly affluent were represented by industrial and corporate wealth, and they employed thousands of workers in factories. While the transition took place gradually over time, others felt that the newly rich had modernized America overnight.

John Jakob Raskob

The man who conceived building the tallest skyscraper in the world was a humble bookkeeper from Baltimore,  John Jakob Raskob. As a young man, he caught the eye of his employer, Pierre S. du Pont. While at du Pont, Raskob helped drive the company’s massive expansion at E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company and its heavy investment in General Motors. During his career, he worked as a high-level executive at both du Pont and General Motors. Raskob is credited with encouraging the broader sale of GM stock and starting the credit arm of General Motors referred to as GMAC, or General Motors Acceptance Corporation. 

He spent years battling Henry Ford for dominance in the automobile business, and now he was setting his sights on skyscrapers as well. Walter Chrysler unveiled his gleaming Art Deco tower in 1930, which included a stainless‑steel spire secretly assembled inside the building. Raskob felt the familiar thrill of competition. 

Construction Team

John Raskob lined up an all-star cast to manage the construction, including: William F. Lamb, architect; William A. Starrett, general contractor; and former New York Governor Al Smith as project president. 

Brooklyn-born William F. Lamb was a highly regarded architect in the city, having built the Standard Oil Building on Fifth Avenue, the General Motors Building, and other notable structures. 

Paul Starrett was already well known and respected in the New York construction circles, having built the Flatiron Building, Penn Station, and the Plaza Hotel. By the 1930’s he was considered the preeminent skyscraper contractor in the country, possibly the world. His projects included the Carew Tower, a 49-story tower in Cincinnati, Ramsey Tower, a 40-story tower in Oklahoma City, and a 70-story Manhattan skyscraper, briefly the tallest in the world until the Chrysler Building.

 Al Smith’s national popularity made him the perfect figure to promote the project, handle press relations, and give the building political legitimacy. He acted as a liaison to the contractor and handled public issues related to the transition from the demolition of the old hotel to the construction of the skyscraper. And finally, Smith presided over the official opening of the Empire State Building on May 1, 1931. 

Raskob defined the entire project with this one question to Lamb, “Bill, how high can you make it so that it won’t fall down?” Lamb, a patient and quiet man, considered the question carefully and gave Raskob a number.  Upon hearing the answer Raskob nodded and said “Then let’s go higher.”

A City in Pain Watches a Tower Rise

The Empire State Building was rising during the worst economic crisis in American history. By the end of 1930, half of all factories in the city had closed. New York City’s manufacturing sector collapsed, with major layoffs and factory closures across metalworking, garment production, food processing, container manufacturing, razor production, and hotel service industries. 

Despite the suffering, many New Yorkers watched with pride as the tower began to rise towards the sky. Astonishing and improbable, the tallest building in the world was built in just over a year.

This was an amazing engineering achievement, and the iconic writer of the Jazz Age, F. Scott Fitzgerald commented: “From the ruins, lonely and inexplicable as the sphinx, rose the Empire State Building.”

The Men Who Built the Sky

The workers who built the Empire State Building came from everywhere. They were immigrants—Irish, Italian, Eastern European. Many were Mohawk ironworkers from Kahnawake, famed for their balance and fearlessness. They all had one thing in common; they were desperate for work. 

Their lives were hard. They lived in tiny apartments, often sharing beds in shifts. They sent money home to families who depended on every cent. The crews worked in twelve-hour shifts six days a week and sometimes even seven. The working conditions were often brutal: high winds, freezing temperatures, blazing sun, and no modern safety equipment.

The Risks

It was no secret that working on the Empire State Building was highly dangerous – few regulations existed, including safety regulations. There were no safety nets and no written disclosure for workers; the work agreement was simply a verbal one to show up and work if you wanted to be paid. The risk was constant, intimate, and often invisible. 

Joseph Belleau, a Mohawk ironworker, slipped from a beam and fell forty-seven stories to his death. One misstep could and did mean the difference between life and death.  Some workers were lucky and just barely survived close calls: riveter Angelo “Red” Migliaro slipped on a wet girder and began falling but caught a passing beam with his left elbow. Red dangled above Fifth Avenue until a coworker was able to pull him to safety. 

The welding crews endured terrible burns and sometimes temporarily lost their vision from the arc’s glare. Laborer Patrick O’Connell was nearly crushed when a hoist malfunctioned and dropped a load of steel just inches from where he stood. 

Even the simplest tasks carried danger; one worker fell down an elevator shaft, another was struck by a truck threading through the chaotic ground‑level site. Yet the close calls were just as defining as the tragedies — the shouted warnings, the last‑second grabs, the quiet moments when a man realized he’d lived through something that should have killed him. In the end, five workers officially died, but thousands carried the memory of the near misses that shaped every day on the steel.

More Dangers and Speed

One Mohawk worker, Peter Diabo, later said, “You don’t think about the height. You think about the next beam.” The men worked without harnesses, without nets, without the protections we take for granted today. The wind at 80 stories could knock a man off balance. A dropped tool could kill someone below, and that did occur during the construction. 

Despite the dangers and harsh conditions the workers joked constantly. “Only afraid of heights when I’m on the ground,” one ironworker quipped.

The construction chief, Paul Starrett, felt that the speed of the work would provide safety. “The faster we build,” he said, “the fewer chances for accidents.” The Chrysler Building was finished just months before the start of the Empire State Building. It incurred 14 deaths, and the demolition of the Waldorf- Astoria cost 11 men their lives. Five men died building the Empire State, a number that engineering experts felt was extremely low considering the size and height of the project. Although Starrett’s thinking was not logical, it worked, and the structure rose fast and efficiently, and the quality of work was considered excellent. 

The camaraderie amongst the workers was legendary. They worked together, ate together, drank together, fought together, and mourned together. When a worker fell—and three did—the crew would pause silently, bow their heads, and then return to the beams. It was a solemn moment, but the work had to continue.

The Fastest Skyscraper Ever Built

In just 410 days, the Empire State Building, standing tall at 102 stories, was completed in 1931 and became the world’s tallest building. The speed of its construction is a record that still stands today for skyscrapers of its height. New Yorkers joked that they could see the building grow between breakfast and lunch. 

The architect, Bill Lamb, took great pride in how quickly the skyscraper began to rise and said,  “It’s like watching a child grow too fast,” he said. “You worry it might outgrow its shoes.”

Lamb also understood the deeper significance. “This building,” he said to a journalist, “is proof that America still believes in tomorrow.”

Even the old monied families of New York, who had initially viewed the project with skepticism, began to admire it. The Vanderbilts called it “a marvel.” The Morgans called it “a monument to American ingenuity.” The Astors, whose hotel had been sacrificed for the tower, reportedly visited the site privately and at night. One Astor cousin was overheard saying, “Well, if they had to replace us, at least they replaced us with something magnificent.”

A City’s Conflicted Heart

As the project neared completion, New Yorkers embraced conflicted feelings about the structure. It was sleek, modern, and many called it beautiful. But, for some, it was a bitter reminder that despite the widespread financial sufferings of the time, the rich continued to prosper. The Empire State Building rose as a symbol of hope and as a reminder of inequality.

Opening Day, May 1, 1931

A few minutes after President Hoover sent the telegraphed signal from Washington, the Empire State Building electric lights glowed against the pale spring sky. On Fifth Avenue, Paul Starrett, the normally unflappable construction chief, stood with his hands tucked behind his back. He was studying the crowd, trying to determine the onlookers’ mood. 

High Numbers of Unemployed

Over 30% of the city was without jobs. Harlem’s numbers exceeded 50%, and those lucky enough to still be working were receiving drastically reduced paychecks. The Depression’s harshness heightened nearly everyone’s anxieties, yet people still drifted toward the new tower with a sense of excitement and wonder. 

The personable mayor of the city, Jimmy Walker, moved through the crowds of bodies with a grin and confidence. Clerks on their lunch break murmured about layoffs even as they craned their necks upward; a young elevator operator named Eddie Malone said that he’d already ridden to the top before breakfast. Eddie told bystanders that it felt like he was stepping into the future. 

The Mood

The mood was unmistakably mixed. The tallest skyscraper in the world was built in only 410 days. And it was built during the Great Depression. Many felt a great sense of pride that it was New Yorkers who worked round the clock, risked their lives, and faced the challenges of weather and hard winds. They got the job done, and it was something to be proud of.

That moment of pride, however, was tempered by the knowledge that most of the building’s offices would sit empty for months. Soon New Yorkers would refer to it as The Empty State Building. But for that brief afternoon, as sunlight slid along the steel ribs of the new tower, the city allowed itself a moment of wonder and hope. 

Paul Starrett spoke confidently about the criticism. “We built for the future,” he said. “The future will come.”  And eventually, it did.

A New Skyline and A New Identity

At the turn of the twentieth century, American cities were generally identified by the grand homes of the wealthy. As the nation modernized, so did the cities.  By the 1930s, in one of the hardest chapters of our history, that change began to present itself with the rise of skyscrapers.  In New York City, the construction of the Empire State Building made city skylines symbols of national identity. 

In 1933, Hollywood immortalized the Empire State Building when King Kong scaled its walls, cementing its place in the cultural imagination. In 1966, Ford placed a new 1966 Mustang on display on the 86th-floor observation deck. Countless other large and small companies have used the site for advertising purposes. Tourists flocked to the observation deck. Couples proposed there. Photographers immortalized it. Writers used it as a metaphor for ambition, loneliness, triumph, and everything in between. The old families of New York, who with their wealth had once defined the city’s skyline with their mansions, now found themselves overshadowed—literally—by a skyscraper built by industrialists and their exceptional workers. 

The Building That Endured

Nearly a century has passed since its construction, but the Empire State Building remains one of the most recognized images in the world. Considering all the ups and downs of history that have occurred- the wars, recessions, pandemics, cultural revolutions, and more. The Empire State Building stands tall and has never been forgotten. Many other buildings have surpassed its height, but never its symbolism. 

Its endurance reflects something deeper about America. The country has always been defined by its contradictions—optimism in the face of hardship and a belief in progress even when progress seems impossible.

The Empire State Building stands as a testament to the contradictions of human nature. It was constructed during a time of tremendous economic hardship, yet it emerged as a symbol of hope amidst despair. The workers who built it were ordinary Americans, performing extraordinary feats against all odds. Despite their modest means, they yearned for what every American wanted—a brighter future.

About the Author

View All Posts