Empire State.
Empire State Building - From BritannicaThe Empire State building is among the most iconic and recognizable buildings in the entire world and for a good reason. For almost a century it has dominated the skyline of the largest city in N. America and become a cultural icon of New York, standing as the centerpiece of the New York City area. Since its completion and opening in May of 1931 it has been the quintessential Art Deco building in the world, while it may no longer be the tallest building on the planet it still holds onto its awe inspiring size, while there are towers much taller in NYC, few have the aura and aesthetic that encapsulates the Empire State.The statue came about from a rivalry between Walter Chrysler of the Chrysler Corporation and John Raskob of General Motors, both giants in the automotive industry, who constantly wished to out-do the other in every field possible. Chrysler would complete the titular Chrysler building, another art deco inspired monolith, in 1929 which held the title of the tallest building until the Empire State building was finished in 31 after brief revision to surpass the Chrysler-made rival. This urge to beat Chrysler is what led to the skyscraper getting its iconic spire on top, the building had already surpassed its rival in height however the spire was added to rub salt in the proverbial would to firmly let GM's rivals know they had been beat at their own game. Even at the peak of the Great Depression in the early 30s raged on, construction continued at a rapid pace being completed in only 20 months (record time relative to how massive it was) and became one of the few solid jobs in the entire city ravaged by financial decay. Even today it remains a cultural hub, a centerpiece in a massive city, who greatly influenced the art deco world that had itself been inspired by.
Yousuf, Imaan. "Empire State Building". Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Empire-State-Building.
OOOooo! I like the art of the structure of the Empire State Building!! I wanted to do the Art Analysis of a architectural structure of a famous building, although I did a painting of a structure and the architect/architects. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Erikson,
ReplyDeleteI also did a post on architecture, mine was on the brutalism style of building. The Empire state building is such an interesting and world-renowned architecture. Tall is the first word that comes to my mind, blocking my ability to see outside of the building when looking up at it. Just like the ceilings on the inside of the building. What a great post detailing the history of such an amazing truly living and ever-changing building and the time it was built in.
Hi Erickson,
ReplyDeleteI agree, the Empire State building is indeed one of the most iconic structures built. I’m glad you chose to do a blog post about architecture. And that you chose the Empire State building! I probably would have never thought to use this building in a blog post.
As you mentioned the Great Depression; it is amazing they continued to build such a gigantic structure. Thank you for this post! I honestly never knew this information about the Empire State building until tonight.
Wow, there sure is some interesting history to that building. I didn't realize it was quite that old, or even built that quickly! Honestly, I find one thing we could learn from this building is that competition drives innovation. This is an absolutely massive building built in under two years in the 1930's. Incredible.
ReplyDelete