Construction began during the Depression on March 17, 1930, providing employment for nearly 3,000 men each day. Upon its completion on this day in 1931, the Empire State Building was the world's tallest building.
On a foggy July morning in 1945, a U.S. Army Air Corps B-25 bomber hit the Empire State Building.
The 10-ton plane slammed into the 79th floor, where the offices of Catholic War Relief were located. Although it was a Saturday, many people were working at their desks since it was wartime and many businesses scheduled six-day work weeks. Eleven office workers and three crewmen were killed.
The accident was blamed on pilot error.
On November 8, 1932, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected president of the United States and, for the first time, a searchlight beacon shone from the top of the Empire State Building to mark the occasion. In 2010, officials refused to light up the building on the occasion of the 100th birthday of Mother Teresa. They said their decision followed a policy to not honor religious figures.
- Little White Book, Diocese of Saginaw