Empire State Building | Can’t Sleep? Discover 1,250 Feet of History

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

College football is back, so Hilton called on me, the superstition concierge, to make your fan rituals a reality. Need a room to match your lucky number? We got you. Want to make sure our team doesn't wash your lucky jersey?

Benjamin Boster (0:12)

Oh, that smells lucky.

SPEAKER_1 (0:14)

Hilton's unmatched hospitality can keep up with any superstition. Even a marching band wake up call at 555 in 55 seconds. Hit it!

When you need a team that will do whatever it takes on game day, it matters where you stay. Hilton, for the stay.

This episode is brought to you by Nordstrom. For 125 years, Nordstrom has been part of your story. The stylist who found the perfect outfit for your big interview. The first pair of walking shoes for your one-year-old. The tomato soup you shared with your sister at the cafe. These are the moments that make Nordstrom, Nordstrom. Big or small, we're here for all of it. Celebrating 125 years with new moments still ahead. Discover it all in Nordstrom stores and at nordstrom.com.

Benjamin Boster (1:01)

Welcome to the I Can't Sleep podcast, where I help you drift off one fact at a time. I'm your host, Benjamin Boster, and today's episode is about the Empire State Building.

SPEAKER_1 (1:19)

College football is back. So Hilton called on me, the superstition concierge, to make your fan rituals a reality. Need a room to match your lucky number? We got you. Want to make sure our team doesn't wash your lucky jersey?

Benjamin Boster (1:31)

Ooh, that smells lucky.

SPEAKER_1 (1:33)

Hilton's unmatched hospitality can keep up with any superstition. Even a marching band wake up call at 555 and 55 seconds. Hit it!

When you need a team that will do whatever it takes on game day, it matters where you stay. Hilton, for the sake.

This episode is brought to you by Nordstrom. For 125 years, Nordstrom has been part of your story. The stylist who found the perfect outfit for your big interview. The first pair of walking shoes for your one-year-old. The tomato soup you shared with your sister at the cafe. These are the moments that make Nordstrom, Nordstrom, big or small, we're here for all of it. Celebrating 125 years with new moments still ahead. Discover it all in Nordstrom Stores and at nordstrom.com.

Benjamin Boster (2:21)

This sponsored episode is for Ryan, age 5, from Maryland. The Empire State Building is a 102-story, super-tall skyscraper in the Midtown South neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. The building was designed in the Art Deco style by Shreve, Lamb, and Harmon, and constructed between 1930 and 1931 Its name is derived from Empire State, the nickname of New York State. The building has a roof height of 1,250 feet, or 380 meters, and stands a total of 1,454 feet, or 143.2 meters, tall, including its antenna. As of 2025, the building is the eighth-tallest building in New York City. The 10th-tallest completed skyscraper in the United States, and the 59th-tallest completed skyscraper in the world.

The site of the Empire State Building on the west side of Fifth Avenue, between West 33rd and 34th Streets, was developed in 1893, as the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. In 1929, Empire State Inc. acquired the site, and devised plans for a skyscraper there. The design for the Empire State Building was changed 15 times, until it was insured to be the world's tallest building. Construction started on March 17, 1930, and the building opened 13 and a half months afterward on May 1, 1931 Despite favorable publicity related to the building's construction, because of the Great Depression and World War II, its owners did not make a profit until the early 1950s.

The building's Art Deco architecture, height, and observation decks have made it a popular attraction. Around 4 million tourists from around the world annually visit the building's 86th and 102nd floor observatories. An additional indoor observatory on the 80th floor opened in 2019

The Empire State Building is an international cultural icon. It has been featured in more than 250 television series and films since the film King Kong was released in 1933 The building's size has been used as a standard of reference to describe the height and length of other structures. A 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. It was ranked first on the American Institute of Architects list of America's favorite architecture in 2007 Additionally, the Empire State Building and its ground floor interior were designated city landmarks by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1980, and were added to the National Register of Historic Places as a National Historic Landmark in 1986