The Top 10 Secrets of the Empire State Building NYC

The Empire State Building is one of the most iconic skyscrapers in New York City, a tourist stop for 3 to 4+ million visitors a year. But as we’ve shown here at Untapped Cities, even tourist destinations like Grand Central Terminal and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, have their secrets. Here, we recount 10 secrets (and fun facts) of the Empire State Building.

1. There’s a Decommissioned 103rd Floor Observation Deck

Moses Gates, author of Hidden Cities, made it part of his urban exploration mission to access and raise awareness on public observation decks that have been closed to the public or turned into private spaces. The 86th floor and 102nd floor observation decks are accessible–albeit with increasing ticket prices, but one could only be accessed through the building management or by breaking in, as Gates describes in his book until it was turned into a VIP lounge. A 2012 Huffington Post article, shows that there is a door from the 102nd, a level that reopened in 2005, that leads upstairs.

What’s fun though is that Gates expected to be most impressed by the views but didn’t expect “a history lesson on the Revolution War.” As he describes, there were 16 signs (one already missing on his visit a bunch of years back) pinpointing geographically major moments in the Revolutionary War, like the Battle of Brooklyn. The signs were put up to commemorate the bicentennial of the war in 1976 “and that in 1977 the building was landmarked with the signs still up.”

2. The Docking of a Zeppelin at the Top of the Empire State Building Wasn’t Real

It’s common misconception that there was a docking station at the top of the Empire State for zeppelins. But in 2010, the New York Times reported that the although the plan for a docking station was real, the docking of an airship, including these famous photographs of the docking didn’t fully occur and that the famous photo above is a “composite, a fake.” But a Navy airship to hover around the tower amidst treacherous winds at the request of a newsreel company. Read more about it here.

3. There Were Once Nap Pods in the Empire State for the Tired

Photo courtesy Metropod

There used to be an entire floor of “nap pods” in theEmpire State Building. At MetroNaps on the 24th floor, tired New Yorkers could kick back in a space-ship-like chair to catch some much-needed zzz’s in twenty minute intervals. The location closed in 2008 before the franchise could expand (due to a change in visitor policies at the Empire State Building), but MetroNaps still rents out its “EnergyPods” to businesses like Google, and spas. Read more here.

4. The First Light to Shine Atop the Empire State was for FDR

The first light to shine atop the Empire State Building was a beacon that told those within a 50-mile radius that Franklin Delano Roosevelt had been elected President of the United States in November 1932. The website What Color Is The Empire State Building where you can check out what color combination the Empire State Building will be and what it honors. Read more about how the light combinations, with 16 million palette choices, are determined here.

5. The Lights are Turned Off During Migration Season So Birds Won’t Get Confused

View from 102nd floor observatory of Empire State Building

New York City Audubon sponsors the dimming of at least half a dozen skyscrapers during migration season. The lights are turned off at midnight to prevent birds from crashing into the building. Said Audubon executive director, “The birds are drawn in by the glow of the city and are unable to see the miles of concrete and glass stretching into the sky.” As The New York Times reports, “In two migratory seasons, Audubon counted 90,000 birds who were killed in collisions with buildings in New York City.”

6. The Empire State Building Was Site of “Most Beautiful Suicide”

On May 1, 1947, 23-year-old Evelyn McHale lept from the observation deck and plummeted 86 floors to her death. Her body crushed the hood of a parked United Nations Assembly Cadillac as onlookers gathered round. Despite the violent fall, she looked peacefully asleep. Photographer Robert C. Wiles captured this photo of her just minutes after her death, which inspired a series of prints by Andy Warhol titled “Suicide (Fallen Body).” McHale was engaged to be married, but she left behind a note saying she “wouldn’t make a good wife for anybody.” Read more about NYC’s notorious crime scenes.

7. A Plane Once Crashed into the Empire State Building

Bomber Crashed into Empire State Building, July 28, 1945. Image via Wikimedia Commons.

On a foggy morning in July 1945, a pilot flying lower than usual to regain visibility dodged most of the New York City skyline but failed to swerve around the 79th floor of the Empire State Building. The pilot didn’t only create a hole 18 feet wide and 20 feet high – because the fuel tank exploded, flames hurdled through the stairs and the hallways down to the 75th floor killing 14 and injuring 26. Luckily, the building was repairable but it did cost $1 million. Read about 5 more architectural accidents in NYC.

8. The Empire State Building Has Its Own Zip Code

More than 40 buildings in New York City have their own zip code, including the Empire State Building at 10118. Skyscrapers get their own zip codes either because of their sheer size or due to the number of people occupying them. See more of them here.

9. The Empire State Building is one of the Fastest Skyscrapers of Its Scale Ever Built

Opened on March 31, 1931, the Empire State Building only took only one year and 45 days to build, rising at 4 1/2 floors per week. According to the Empire State Building fact sheet, “This is the fastest construction to date for a project of its scale.” See more vintage photos of the building’s construction here

10. The Empire State Building is Built Atop the Former Waldorf-Astoria Hotel

Photo from Library of Congress

With the original Waldorf-Astoria hotel becoming dated, the building and site were sold to developers and the Empire State Building rose in its place. Meanwhile the new Waldorf-Astoria was built atop a former cemetery, one of New York City’s potter’s fields. Most of the remains had been moved to Ward’s Island when a hospital was built in 1857.

Read about the Top 10 Secrets of Grand Central, of the Woolworth Building, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This article collectively written by Michelle Young, Benjamin Waldman, Phillipe Martin Chatelain, Sabrina Romano, and Catherine Ku.