Empire State Building history

After enduring a brief but grueling stint as a Bunny in Manhattan's Playboy Club, feminist writer Gloria Steinem published the first half of her landmark account, "A Bunny's Tale," in SHOW magazine on May 1, 1963.

Crown served as a director of that company until he was forced out in 1966, when the chief executive redeemed Crown’s controlling stock.

By 1967, the skyscraper could no longer claim the distinction of being the world’s tallest building.

It was the tallest building in the world for 41 years until the World Trade Center’s North Tower was completed in 1970.

On May 1, 1972, Mexican-American labor organizer and civil rights activist Cesar Chavez begins a hunger strike.

The building received its own zip code in 1980. Its 50th anniversary was celebrated in May 1981.

A few years later, when the company experienced financial difficulties, Crown returned and served as honorary chairman until 1986.

Over $50 million was invested in renovations to the Empire State Building in the mid-1990’s.

1991 Prudential sells the building’s title for $42 million to Oliver Grace Jr., who was secretly acting on behalf of Hideki Yokoi, a Japanese hotelier then serving a prison sentence in connection with a deadly fire at one of his hotels.

After the United States Department of Justice and several disability rights groups filed a lawsuit in 1992, the skyscraper’s observation deck was remodeled so that it was more accessible for people with disabilities.

The hit romantic comedy Sleepless in Seattle (1993) makes direct reference to An Affair to Remember and has Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks’s characters finally meet atop the Empire State Building observatory deck.

The observatories receive millions of visitors each year, and, beginning in 1994, an annual contest offered couples an opportunity to win an exclusive wedding ceremony on Valentine’s Day at the 86th-floor observatory.

In 1995, as part of a $300 million advertising campaign, the Empire State Building was lit up in blue, red, green, and yellow to celebrate the release of Microsoft's Windows 95 operating system.

When the North Tower fell on September 11, 2001, the Empire State Building once again became the tallest building in New York City.

On May 1, 2002, former NBA All-Star Jayson Williams was indicted on a series of charges, including aggravated manslaughter, in connection with the shooting death of limousine driver Costas Christofi at Williams’ estate on February 14.

Security issues became a growing concern after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, but the Empire State Building still brought in over 3 million visitors in 2004.

2006 The Malkins wrest control of the property from Helmsley-Spear.

The American Institute of Architects’ List of America’s Favorite Architecture ranked it #1 in its 2007 volume.

2008 The owners embark on a $550 million upgrade of the tower and begin replacing hundreds of small tenants with higher-paying corporate tenants like Skanska, Lufthansa and LinkedIn.

Another $500 million was spent on remodeling and renovations in the 2010’s.

In 2012 a new LED lighting system was installed that allowed the building to exhibit millions of colours.

The new business, headed by Anthony Malkin, assumed ownership in 2014.

Amid the spread of COVID-19, many of the building’s tenants, like those of other office buildings around the city and world, have closed their offices: The New York Times reports that 14% of offices in midtown Manhattan were vacant as of December 2020.