NewYorkFirst.com: Empire State Building

Nearest Thing To Heaven.

Human societies have always built great monuments to celebrate their values. The Egyptians had their pyramids. Medieval Europeans had their great cathedrals. For 20th century Americans, it was the skyscraper that best embodied the power and progress that defined their era. In the middle of Manhattan stands a monument of technological achievement, the Empire State Building, the nearest thing to heaven in New York City.

It has attained mythical status. Legends of many kinds have been told of it -- how Henry Ford, learning of the immense excavations required to build it, thought it might have a disastrous effect upon the rotation of the earth (he was wrong), or how a delivery man climbed thirty-one floors with sandwiches for businessmen during the elevator strike (he was tipped $75).

Everybody has gone up the Empire State Building, every visiting film star, everybody's aunt, every serviceman on leave, every child on a school outing. The ride on the vibratory elevators, as they shoot upwards in the longest Uninterrupted Elevator Ride Above The Earth's Surface, offers one of the best-loved of all the city's activities -- taking a photo at the top to send home to Mom and Dad.

Plane Hits Building.
On the foggy morning of Saturday, July 28, 1945, a ten-ton, U.S. Army B-25 bomber accidently crashed into the 79th floor of the Empire State Building, killing 14 people (11 office workers and the three crewmen) plus injuring 26 others. Constantin Boym's eccentric sculpture commemorates the disaster which created a hole in the building eighteen feet wide and twenty feet high. Individually-cast in heavy bonded nickel adds the weight and feel of solid metal. The artist has consecutively numbered the limited production to 500 pieces. (Measures 2-inches x 2-inches x 6.5-inches)

Eighth Wonder of the World.
This meticulously detailed, hand-painted sculpture is over 14-inches tall with base, an individually-numbered, limited edition, cold-cast in porcelain. A nostalgic collector's item, inspired by the pre-production art for the classic film is authorized by the Merian C. Cooper Estate (Cooper wrote and directed "King Kong"). It captures the thrilling climax scene at very tip of the Empire State Building dome, the sharp end of modernism overcoming the beast. (4 pounds)

Escape to New York.
The Monkey Benders are stackable magnetic primates that climb up they're own metal pop-up building. You can stack Monkey Benders, hang them from the antenna, and bend them into every imaginable shape for hours of stress-free enjoyment. Contains full-color storybook with illustrative poses, 4 Monkey Benders and a tin Empire State Building that "pops-up" from 4.5-inches to a final height of 12.5-inches. Stack them on your file cabinet to show your support of monkey business in the office. Use your Pop-Up building to remind you of your goal to not only climb the corporate ladder.

Above the Fray.
Reproduced from the original molds, this quadri-faced brass-and-glass lamp celebrates the Empire State Building in all its glamour and grandeur. At 102 floors, it was the tallest building in the world when it was completed, and presided as the tallest building in the world for 40 years. The flamboyant lamp stands 20-inches high and weighs 6 pounds (8-ft cord included).

The Buildings That Came for Dinner.
Exquisite reproductions of New York City's grand dames serve as practical Salt & Pepper Shakers. The 4-inch tall, silver-plated, meticulously-accurate architectural pieces are great gifts for the distinctive tabletop.

Lost Souvenir.
When people come from around the world to visit the tourist attractions in New York City, they want to go home with some evidence. Souvenirs are symbols of a special place, in the same way that the Empire State Building is a symbol of some larger, greater thing. There is something wonderous about the reduction of a grand, majestic monument into a tacky, portable knick-knack. Offering an authentic, original 1930s-era Picture Changing Viewer housed in a 5-inch-tall Empire State Building, providing the infinite pleasure of 8 spectacular scenic views of New York City. Re-discover a lost souvenir.

Zeppelin Port in the Sky.
A visitor from Philadelphia sent this 1938 penny postcard with an image of the Empire State Building and its nearly forgotten dirigible mooring. The skyscraper's stainless-steel mast was originally intended to serve as a dock for airships where passengers would have unloaded, nearly a quarter-mile above the city streets. The idea was that travelers would board an airship in Europe and be delivered to midtown Manhattan. Only one such craft landing was ever attempted at the Empire State Building. This rare memento has been reproduced front and back, then framed under a white mat, capturing a personal moment in history. Free-standing or hanging wooden frame measures 9 x 11 inches.