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NameDateIntellectual Devotional American History Reading: Empire State Building. Please use this reading on New York City landmark the Empire State Building to answer the reading comprehension questions on the worksheet that accompanies it.Erected in just over a year, the 103-story Empire State Building was the tallest skyscraper in the world when it opened in 1931, a distinction it would hold for four decades. Located in midtown Manhattan, the giant edifice is one of the best-known buildings in the world and one of the most distinctive features of New York City’s iconic skyline.A milestone of efficient construction, the building was finished in record time. Its frame—58,000 tons of steel rising 1,250 feet into the sky—took only twenty-three weeks to complete. On average, about four and half stories per week were added to the structure, which cost a total of $24.7 ing during the Great Depression, the project was a welcome source of employment for the city’s workforce and an uplifting accomplishment for the nation as a whole. As the author E.B. White (1899-1985) wrote, the Empire State Building “managed to reach the highest point in the sky during the lowest moment of the depression.” On May 1, 1931, President Herbert Hoover (1874-1964) officially opened the building by turning on its lights for the first time.The art deco-style skyscraper immediately became an international icon. It made one of its first and most famous movie appearances two years later in the blockbuster film King Kong. It has been featured in countless movies since—including a King Kong remake in 2005—often as the target of disgruntled or misunderstood aliens.Despite its immense popularity, the building was never a great commercial success. At the time of its construction, a docking station for zeppelins was built atop the structure, but it was never used. With the destruction of the World Trade Center towers in 2001, the Empire State Building regained its status as the city’s tallest building, and about four million tourists visit its observation deck every year.Additional Facts Counting its spire, the building is 1,454 feet tall.The building did not have air-conditioning until 1950.More than three tons of garbage are generated by the Empire State Building’s occupants every day.Adapted from: Kidder, David S., and Noah Oppenheim. The Intellectual Devotional: American History: Revive Your Mind, Complete Your Education, and Converse Confidently about Our Nation's Past. New York: Modern Times, 2007. ................
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