President Herbert Hoover officially dedicated the iconic Empire State Building in New York on this day in 1931, pressing a button all the way from the White House to activate the building's lights. That was, of course, a bit of political theater; the button didn't do anything. That stunt wasn't necessary to keep the building interesting—it was a real feat in itself; it was the tallest building in the world at the time and had taken only a year to build.
The 102-story building is over 1,200 feet tall (1,454 feet, if you're counting the lightning rod), and its construction employed as many as 3,400 people on a given day. It quickly became a symbol of the city and a strong contrast to the struggles caused by the Great Depression.
The Empire State Building hasn't been the tallest building in the world for a good while now. It was surpassed by the World Trade Center in 1972, and many more since. Now, it's only the eighth-tallest building in New York, and the 59th tallest in the world. Still, of those, it remains one of the most charming.
The Empire State Building has a neat history timeline on its website.
