76 years later it's still the King Kong of NYC skyscrapers...
The Empire State Building turns 76 today. It was May 1st, 1931 when President Herbert Hoover pressed a button in Washington, D.C. officially opening the tallest building in New York City. To this day, the building towers over the city and stands as a beacon bathed in ever changing lights to fit the occasion. It's color tonight will be white, the official ESB color in commemoration of birthday #76. Some interesting facts about the building:
- The land was acquired for $20,500 by one of John Jacob Astor's sons...
- Construction of the building took only 14 months to complete...
- ESB has 6,500 windows...
- There are 1,860 steps from the lobby to the 102nd floor...
- Number of elevators: 73...
- Number of suicides: more than 30...
- The 200-ft. television antenna was added in 1953. Several radio stations have antennas there...
- On a clear day you can see for 15 to 20 miles although some have sighted buildings or mountains (Pocono's) as far as 40 to 80 miles away...
- If a coin were dropped from the top of the building, most likely the currents and updrafts would blow it back toward the building, traveling to the 81st floor. They would not reach the ground but a light object could travel as far as the Hudson River, a half mile away...
- The most famous movies filmed here include: "An Affair To Remember", "Superman", "Sleepless in Seattle", "When Harry Met Sally" and of course, "King Kong"...
- ESB was the tallest building in New York until the World Trade Center buildings were completed in 1972. On September 11th, 2001 it was once again the tallest structure in NYC...
Today's video links can be found in the "The caped crusader" and "Released on this date" timelines...
Timeline Memories...
United we stand: 1707] England, Wales and Scotland are united to form Great Britain. A BYOB party celebrating the union lasted until the wee hours of the morning...
Boston's Papa John: 1822] John Phillips becomes Boston's 1st mayor...
Long overdue: 1867] Reconstruction of the south begins with black voter registration...
'Buffalo' wings it: 1883] William F. Cody a.k.a. "Buffalo Bill" holds his 1st Wild West Show...
Oh no: 1922] Charlie Robertson of the Chicago White Sox pitches a perfect, no-hit, no-run game against Detroit. Next perfecto? In 34 years (Don Larsen in the World Series in 1956)...1991] 44-year old Nolan Ryan (Texas) pitches his 7th no-hitter (vs. Toronto). No other pitcher in baseball history is even close to that mark. No one ever will either...
The caped crusader: 1939] Batman Comics hit the streets and will eventually work its way to TV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQBobrCBTNI ...
Tiny little O's: 1941] General Mills introduces Cheerios (the Honey Nut Cheerios are the best)...
Raising Kane: 1941] The Orson Welles film "Citizen Kane" premieres at the RKO Palace on Broadway...
Debuting on this date: 1951] Mickey Mantle hits his 1st home run in an 8-3 Yankee loss in Chicago. Randy Gumpert was the victim...1952] Mr. Potato Head is born to Mama Potato Head who had 47 eyes and a head as big as a cantaloupe. Her head was so big, she couldn't get out of bed...1957] Larry King broadcasts his 1st radio show...1961] The 1st U.S. airplane is hijacked...
Released on this date: 1965] "Back In My Arms Again" - Supremes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMb_GoJSGiU ...1971] "Brown Sugar" - Rolling Stones http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUmYuTLrFJM ...
Wedding Bells: 1967] Elvis Presley and Priscilla Beaulieu tie the knot. They will be married until 1973...
Live from the White House: 1974] The Carpenters sing for President Richard Nixon and West German Chancellor Willy Brandt at the White House...
The price is right: 1989] Police in California are called to what they think is a robbery at a jewelry store, only to find Michael Jackson shopping in a disguise...
All aboard: 1971] Amtrak combines 18 intercity passenger railroads and goes into service...
U-2 without Bono: 1960] The Soviet Union shoots down an American U-2 spy plane and captures pilot Francis Gary Powers...
The Rickey record: 1991] Rickey Henderson (Oakland) passes Lou Brock with his 939th stolen base (against the Yankees) setting a new career record for stolen bases...
No respect: 1992] On the 3rd day of the Los Angeles riots, Rodney King pleads for peace saying: "People, I just want to say, you know, can we all get along?"...
Look what we found: 1999] The Mercury space capsule, Liberty Bell 7 is found in the Atlantic Ocean 300 miles from Cape Canaveral. Gus Grissom was in this capsule on a successful mission in 1961...
Vote for me: 2000] The "Barbie for President" doll goes on sale...
Top Gun: 2003] George W. Bush lands in a jet on the aircraft carrier USS Lincoln off the California coast and in a speech to the nation declared that major combat in Iraq is over. Ooooooohkay...
Smarty pants: 2004] Smarty Jones wins the Kentucky Derby, the 1st unbeaten Derby winner since Seattle Slew in 1977...
Happy Trails: 2006] Johnny Paris, sax player of Johnny and the Hurricanes dies from pneumonia at 65...
No dinero: 2006] The Puerto Rican government runs out of money forcing the closing of schools and all government agencies...
[To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in each timeline]...
Commentary...
Phil Spector lead defense attorney Bruce Cutler got sick yesterday (of defending Spector?) causing a two-day delay of the resumption of the trial. When the trial resumes tomorrow another character witness for the prosecution will be sworn in...The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside metro area had the worst air according to the American Lung Association's bad air list (2003-2005 figures) just released. The rest of the top 10: 2) Pittsburgh 3) Bakersfield 4) Birmingham 5) Detroit 6) Cleveland 7) Visalia (CA) 8) Cincinnati 9) Indianapolis and 10) St. Louis. In the New York Metro area, Staten Island had the worst air quality..."Happy Trails" to the former backup bandleader (for Doc Severinsen) of "The Tonight Show" and the guy that Johnny Carson called "Mr. Excitement", Tommy Newsom, who died from cancer at 78...
"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":
Tim McGraw (40), Triple Crown winning jockey Steve Cauthen (47), Rita Coolidge (62), Judy Collins (68), Sonny James (78) and former astronaut Scott Carpenter (82)...
Timeline Countdown: 4 days until the Kentucky Derby and 27 days until Memorial Day...
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