Empire State Building
On 1st May 1931, the Empire State Building was opened in a dramatic official ceremony by US President Herbert Hoover, after he pressed a button in Washington DC to switch on the New York skyscraper's lights. The 102-storey building, which stands at a height of 1,453 feet, 8 9/16th inches or 443.2 meters, was the world's tallest building for more than 40 years, until the North Tower of the World Trade Center was built in 1972.

The building took 7 million man hours to construct and was finished ahead of schedule, partly because of an intense competition to beat two other towers to the title of world's tallest building (40 Wall Street and the Chrysler Building). As well as being an icon for New York (and America), the building has featured in more than 100 films, including An Affair To Remember, When Harry Met Sally and King Kong.