Desperate and destitute, Adams jumped from the 86th floor of the Empire State Building but survived when a strong gust of wind blew her body back toward the building’s facade and onto a setback on the 85th floor. One of the first incidents occurred while the building was still under construction: A worker who was fired from the job took his own life by jumping down an open elevator shaft.ĭecades later, the first unsuccessful suicide attempt earned 29-year-old Bronx resident Elvita Adams the nickname “Lucky One.” After losing her job sometime before the attempt, Adams was living off of $100 welfare checks and facing potential eviction from her home. In addition to the workers who died tragically during construction, the Empire State Building has been the site of numerous suicides and suicide attempts for almost a century. Considering the 3,400 workers who were on-site at the peak of construction, some of which were immortalized in Lewis Hine’s exquisite photography, the death toll was relatively low, although it was rumored that fatalities were likely in the hundreds. During the 13 months it took to build, five workers died via accidental slips and falls from the structure, or they were struck by heavy construction materials. A Tower of TragedyĪs it turned out, the Empire State Building’s construction was fraught with danger. It was the tallest building in the world for 41 years until the World Trade Center’s North Tower was completed in 1970. When it opened in 1931, the Empire State Building soared 1,250 feet in the sky, surpassing the Chrysler Building by 204 feet. This was an unprecedented speed for a building of that size and caliber. With a construction cost of $41 million – an amount equal to $664 million when adjusted for inflation in 2021 – it took only 410 days to complete. It wouldn’t take long for the Empire State Building to rise from the ground like a moving mountain. According to one story, Raskob was so determined to win the Great Skyscraper Race sweeping the nation at the time that he took a jumbo pencil, stood it on end, and asked Lamb in one of their meetings, “Bill, how high can you make it so that it won’t fall down?” Lamb of the firm Shreve, Lamb, and Harmon, whose prior designs for the Reynold’s Building in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and the Carew Tower in Cincinnati, Ohio, served as prototypes for the Empire State Building. To make manifest his vision, Raskob teamed up with architect William F. Not to be outdone by Walter Chrysler of the Chrysler Corporation, whose namesake building was the tallest in the world when it was completed in 1930, Raskob envisioned a giant steel monolith that would dominate 34th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues in Manhattan’s Midtown neighborhood and dwarf the Chrysler Building in both height and glory. The Empire State Building was the brainchild of finance executive and real estate developer John Jakob Raskob, who had served as vice president of finance for both Dupont and General Motors in 1918. A Brief History of the Empire State Building From suicides to shootings, the iconic building has seen more than its fair share of violence and death. Over the past 90 years, the Empire State Building has been the site of tragic events that are not easily forgotten. But glory often comes with gore and this cultural landmark is no exception. The Empire State Building is a towering achievement in architecture and remains one of the most visited attractions in the world. The following article may contain graphic imagery related to suicide and/or other forms of death.
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