[174] Raskob, wishing to have the Empire State Building be the world's tallest, reviewed the plans and had five floors added as well as a spire; however, the new floors would need to be set back because of projected wind pressure on the extension. "[416] George Shepard Chappell, writing in The New Yorker under the pseudonym "T-Square", wrote the same year that the Empire State Building had a "palpably enormous" appeal to the general public, and that "its difference and distinction [lay] in the extreme sensitiveness of its entire design". These storefronts are flanked by tubes of dark rounded marble and topped by a vertical band of grooves set into the marble. They leased the 85th floor and built a laboratory there. [204] Around this time, Lamb held a press conference on the building plans. The owner and manager of the Empire State Building is Tony Malkin. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_State_Building Something went wrong. [415], Early architectural critics also focused on the Empire State Building's exterior ornamentation. [69], In 2012, the building's four hundred metal halide lamps and floodlights were replaced with 1,200 LED fixtures, increasing the available colors from nine to over 16million. [14][408], As the tallest building in the world and the first one to exceed 100 floors, the Empire State Building immediately became an icon of the city and of the nation. [66], The structure was lit in red, white, and blue for several months after the collapse of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. The Empire State Building sparked a furious backlash from New Yorkers. Empire State Reality Trust, a real estate investment company, owns the building. [193][194], By the time the hotel's demolition started, Raskob had secured the required funding for the construction of the building. [129][132] NBC retained exclusive use of the top of the building until 1950 when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ordered the exclusive deal be terminated. The movie, which depicted a large stop motion ape named Kong climbing the Empire State Building, made the still-new building into a cinematic icon. [427], The building has also inspired replicas. [103], The 86th floor observatory contains both an enclosed viewing gallery and an open-air outdoor viewing area, allowing for it to remain open 365 days a year regardless of the weather.