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How 381-Metre Empire State Building Was Built in 410 Days

3,500 workers built the Empire State Building in just 410 days.

Updated on

July 13, 2025

The Empire State Building, New York City. (Photo: Courtesy)

In the late 1920s, New York’s skyline was a battleground. The Woolworth Building held the height record at 792 feet until a fierce contest began. 40 Wall Street and the Chrysler Building raced for the top—until the Empire State Building changed everything.

The Chrysler briefly led in 1929, reaching 1,046 feet. But even as it soared above its rivals, another plan was in motion.

Empire State Inc., led by former New York Governor Alfred E. Smith, unveiled an audacious design for a new skyscraper: 1,050 feet tall, plus a 200-foot crown and a 222-foot mooring mast for airships. At a planned 1,250 feet, it would dwarf all others.

Vision to Build the Empire State Building

The company brought in architect William F. Lamb of Shreve, Lamb and Harmon, structural engineer Homer G. Balcom, and general contractor Starrett Brothers and Eken.

Lamb’s design included a five-storey base that filled the entire 423-by-200-foot site, with a soaring 81-storey tower set back sharply to meet city zoning laws.

William A. Starrett, head of the construction firm, was no stranger to massive projects. He once described skyscraper construction as “the nearest peace-time equivalent of war.” The Empire State Building would prove his point.

The team faced immense pressure, with a firm deadline requiring the building to be completed by 1 May 1931—only a year and a half after construction began.

The team began work while design drawings were still being finalised. Demolition of the old Waldorf–Astoria Hotel began on 1 October 1929, with excavation starting in January 1930.

Speed, Steel, and Precision

To meet the deadline and build Empire State Building within that time frame, the site ran two 12-hour shifts with 300 workers each, digging a 55-foot-deep foundation.

Materials were ordered in precise batches—just two floors at a time—and delivered with military precision. Steel fabrication was handled by two Pennsylvania companies and transported via rail, barge, and truck to the crowded Manhattan site.

Erecting the steel frame required ingenuity. Hoisting derricks, mounted on platforms that extended from the building’s face, allowed workers to haul materials high above the street.

Nine derricks, some capable of lifting 30 tons, were used as the frame climbed skyward. Behind them, 38 riveting gangs fastened the steel together, floor by floor.

3,500 Workers

The pace was relentless. By June 1930, the steel had reached the 26th floor. By 19 September, it had topped out at 1,048 feet—just 23 weeks after the first column was set.

The mooring mast was completed in November. The entire structure, from excavation to finishing touches, was done by April 1931—410 days in total.

Each day, thousands of bags of cement, sand, lime and tile were hauled to the site. A miniature railway system moved materials across floors.

Plumbing, plastering, glazing and electrics followed the steel frame closely. Otis supplied 66 elevators capable of reaching speeds of 1,200 feet per minute.

The workforce peaked at 3,500 men—many of them Irish, Italian, and Mohawk ironworkers from Canada’s Kahnawake reserve. Five men died during construction.

Starrett kept the operation on track using daily progress reports, which allowed him and superintendent John W. Bowser to monitor labour costs and identify problems in real time. This method became key to the project’s record-setting speed.

Built to Last

The Empire State Building’s solid engineering was never more evident than in 1945, when a B-25 bomber crashed into it. Fourteen lives were lost, yet the tower reopened within two days—a feat few buildings could match.

Today, the Empire State Building is more than a New York landmark — it’s a lasting sign of determination, teamwork and brilliant planning.

The race to build the Empire State Building in just 410 days—at the height of the Great Depression—remains one of the boldest construction achievements in modern history.