VIDEO HERE (22:14 minutes)
This film is a compilation of restored, enhanced & colorized film footage involving the construction of the Empire State Building (ESB) in New York nearly a century ago.
It shows how the base of the building is laid, how all parts are produced in nearby steel works, how steel parts are riveted together, the dangers of working at such high construction altitudes and the completion of the ESB.
What many people probably do not know is that the ESB was built on the spot where the famous first version of the Waldorf-Astoria hotel used to be at 5th Avenue (opened in 1897). In 1931 the hotel re-opened in a new location at Park Avenue.
The ESB started with the destruction of the hotel on 22 January 1930, after which the actual construction started on 7 March 1930. It was completed at record speed after only 13.5 months on 11 April 1931 and officially opened on 1 May 1931.
The building was designed in Art-Deco style, is 381 meters high and has 102 floors. Achieving such a height was only possible because of the use of a steel framework.
As an important symbol of New York City, the building has been named as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers.
The various original B&W footage has been motion-stabilized, speed-corrected, restored, enhanced and colorized with contemporary Artificial Intelligence software.
My great grandfather was a steeplejack in NYC back in that day. He PAINTED THE SPIRE on the ESB. Sad irony... He ended up dying, falling off the roof of his garage...
ReplyDeleteRiveting video.
ReplyDeleteVery cool.
ReplyDeleteFrom the observatory I would toss pennies down, they gained so much speed and force that a couple of people died when it hit their head!
ReplyDelete@Luis- IMadeItUp.
Amazing, Men and steel.
ReplyDeleteLittle known fact, the movie "King Kong" was based on a real ape that climbed the ESB. You can still see the crack in the sidewalk where he landed when he fell.
ReplyDelete@Luis-IMadeThisUpAlso.
My great grand father actually walked by the ESB and once even went in!! Honest truth!!!
ReplyDelete@Luis-AnotherLie
Doesn't appear to be any transgenders in that video.
ReplyDeleteWeird.
Magnificent. The end mill they used to square that fabricated piece was awesome. I worked at a naval shipyard in my youth and would deliberately walk through the heavy machine shop on my way to the waterfront to watch them mill prop shaft bearing surfaces and other stuff. Very cool.
ReplyDeletePrecision in enormous scale. I’m always impressed by that.
ReplyDelete