Empire State Building Museum

Welcome back to National Parks and other public lands with T!

An Iconic Structure

The Empire State Building stands tall in midtown Manhattan and was once the tallest building in the world. The developer completed the tower in a record-breaking 13 months. He used groundbreaking assembly-line techniques and 3400 workmen to accomplish this feat.

NY Governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt presided over the 1931 opening day while President Hoover symbolically lit the tower from the White House.

The Empire State Building opened in 1931 on the site of the original Waldorf-Astoria hotel. The spire was added to the plans after construction began to prevent the competing Chrysler building from eclipsing its height.

The Art-Deco building is one of the best known skyscrapers in New York City. It has appeared in hundreds of movies and TV shows, starting with King Kong in 1933. It achieved National Historic Landmark status in 1986.

A replica of the original elevator

Empire State Museum

In the Spring of 2021, New York City was slowly starting to open back up from Covid19 lockdowns. The morning news program mentioned that the Empire State Building would be holding limited sunrise events on a few Saturdays in April.

With my special ticket in hand, I traveled into the city in the wee hours of the morning. Along with a handful of other excited people, I followed a friendly security guard through the ornate lobby and a series of elevators to the observation deck. After watching the sun rise from the observation deck, I rode the elevator down to the museum in the lobby.

This multi-media museum combines historic images, film recreations, sculptures and other elements. This places the visitor in the middle of the 1930 building construction and other scenes. The engaging exhibits kept me moving through each section. The King Kong room was fun, with planes flying by the ‘windows’ on one side while Kong reached through the window on the other side.

Empire State Posts


Location: 20 W 34th St, New York, NY 10001
Designation: National Historic Landmark
Date designated/established: 1931
Date of my visit: April 10, 2021

13 thoughts on “Empire State Building Museum

  1. Looks like an interesting museum. It’s amazing to think about all it took to build such a building and the courage and stamina it took of the workers. I read a very powerful book about the men who built the subway tunnels and an accident that happened during that.

  2. Very interesting. When I visited the Empire State Building many years ago, I wasn’t aware of the museum, which looks and sounds very interesting. Glad you were able to have a special experience there, including watching the sun rise.

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