HISTORY OF THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING: A FINANCIAL FLOP FOR NEARLY 20 YEARS QUICKLIQUIDITY
The architects of a competing building, 40 Wall John J. Raskob of General Motors, a rival of
Street, had devised a plan to prevent the Chrysler Chryslers, also aspired to build the world’s tallest
Building from ever becoming the world’s tallest building. Raskob purchased 350 Fifth Avenue and
building. Seeking the title for themselves, they began construction of the Empire State Building in
planned 40 Wall Street to be 925 feet tall: 85 feet March of 1930, only a few months before the
taller than the Chrysler Building had originally Chrysler Building was completed. Raskob hired
planned to be. When Chrysler found out about 40 architect William F. Lamb, who finished the original
Wall Street’s plans he decided to add a surprise drawings for the Empire State Building in only two
186foot spire to his building. 40 Wall Street finished weeks. In one of their first meetings Raskob had
construction first in April of 1930, and held a
celebration for being the tallest building in the world,
without knowing that they were about to be
surpassed. Less then two months later, the
construction workers at the Chrysler Building
hoisted 4 parts of the secret spire to the top and
riveted them together in 90 minutes. At 1,046 feet
high, the Chrysler Building became the world's
tallest building¹.
taken a jumbo pencil, stood it on its end and asked
Lamb, "Bill, how high can you make it so that it
won't fall down?" Using over 3,400 laborers a day,
the building went up in just over a year, well ahead
of schedule and under budget at $40 million, which
would be nearly $600 million today. During
certain periods of construction, the frame grew
a remarkable fourandahalf stories a week. Not to
be bested by the Chrysler Building, Raskob put the
final cherry at the top of his building a spire,
making the Empire State Building a soaring 102
stories and 1,250 feet high.