Expedition Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller, Scott Golden, Tim Clark
Date: November 1, 1986, November 1990
Rosie and I first visited this National Historic Landmark two days before we ran the 1986 New York Marathon. The Empire State Building is also listed as one of “The Seven Wonders of the Modern World”. The 1,452 foot tall, 102 story building was completed in 1931 and is featured in over 250 films and TV series since the movie King Kong in 1933. The ESB was the world’s tallest building until the first tower of the World Trade Center was completed in 1970. The ESB is so big it has its own zip code.
We entered the lobby and immediately were impressed with the Art Deco architecture. Since I was in 7th grade, I have read 210 Doc Savage pulp adventures novels and this 1930s and 1940’s fictitious globetrotting crime fighter allegedly had his headquarters and laboratory in the top floor of this building. So, it was cool imagining a gunfight against gangsters here in the lobby, outside on the street and a dirigible attached to the top of the building. We rode one of the 73 elevators up to the 80th floor. Then got on another elevator to go up to the 86th floor outside observation deck. We had incredible views of Manhattan, the East River & Hudson River, all the boroughs of New York City and west into New Jersey.
The second photo is my ticket receipt to the observation deck. Photo’s 3 & 4 came from my VHS movie camera and are a little blue in color. The third photo shows the curved bars to keep skydivers from parachuting off the deck. In 1990, Tim, Scott and I visited the ESB since we were in town for an Old-Time Radio Convention.
