The Empire State Building

The Empire State Building. 350 5th Avenue, New York, New York. Built 1930.

The Empire State Building stood as the world’s tallest building for nearly 40 years from 1931 until 1970. It was the first building to have over 100 floors.

The building opened during the great depression, resulting in much of its office space remaining empty. This earned the tower the nickname of the “Empty State Building,” and it remained unprofitable until 1950.