the empire state building in photography and film: a storied history
TRANSCRIPT
![Page 1: The Empire State Building In Photography And Film: A Storied History](https://reader030.vdocument.in/reader030/viewer/2022021507/587e1bb11a28abbc2e8b6219/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDINGIN PHOTOGRAPHY & FILM:
BCB PROPERTY MANAGEMENT
A STORIED HISTORY
![Page 2: The Empire State Building In Photography And Film: A Storied History](https://reader030.vdocument.in/reader030/viewer/2022021507/587e1bb11a28abbc2e8b6219/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
The Empire State
Building is an iconic
pulse of the New York
City skyline, standing
apart from the cluster
of skyscrapers in the
Financial District.
![Page 3: The Empire State Building In Photography And Film: A Storied History](https://reader030.vdocument.in/reader030/viewer/2022021507/587e1bb11a28abbc2e8b6219/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
For decades the building’s
tower lights have
broadcasted significant
events through color
schemes projected against
a stark, starless sky.
![Page 4: The Empire State Building In Photography And Film: A Storied History](https://reader030.vdocument.in/reader030/viewer/2022021507/587e1bb11a28abbc2e8b6219/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
Photographer Lewis
Wickes Hine was hired
to document the
historic project in 1930.
![Page 5: The Empire State Building In Photography And Film: A Storied History](https://reader030.vdocument.in/reader030/viewer/2022021507/587e1bb11a28abbc2e8b6219/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
He brought the skeletal
building to life on film
through the crew of 3400
construction workers.
![Page 6: The Empire State Building In Photography And Film: A Storied History](https://reader030.vdocument.in/reader030/viewer/2022021507/587e1bb11a28abbc2e8b6219/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
His remarkable,
floating
photographs–now
available online in
the NYPL digital
collection–do not
reveal the lengths
the photographer
went to in order to
capture the laborers’
daring feats.
![Page 7: The Empire State Building In Photography And Film: A Storied History](https://reader030.vdocument.in/reader030/viewer/2022021507/587e1bb11a28abbc2e8b6219/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
Less than two years after it
was opened by President
Hoover in 1931, the Empire
State Building was
immortalized in the 1933
classic movie King Kong.
![Page 8: The Empire State Building In Photography And Film: A Storied History](https://reader030.vdocument.in/reader030/viewer/2022021507/587e1bb11a28abbc2e8b6219/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
Although the original and
remakes use footage shot
on soundstages and rely
heavily on special effects,
King Kong helped to embed
the Empire State Building
in people’s minds as a
permanent fixture in the
New York City skyline.
![Page 9: The Empire State Building In Photography And Film: A Storied History](https://reader030.vdocument.in/reader030/viewer/2022021507/587e1bb11a28abbc2e8b6219/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
Even after the World Trade Centers
surpassed its height in the early 1970s,
the Empire State Building went on to
have a long, storied film career.
![Page 10: The Empire State Building In Photography And Film: A Storied History](https://reader030.vdocument.in/reader030/viewer/2022021507/587e1bb11a28abbc2e8b6219/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
Synonymous with the
Big Apple, the
structure has become
representative of
American prosperity
and ambition.
![Page 11: The Empire State Building In Photography And Film: A Storied History](https://reader030.vdocument.in/reader030/viewer/2022021507/587e1bb11a28abbc2e8b6219/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
It has featured in the destruction
wrought by dystopian films, like
Independence Day (1996) and
Oblivion (2013), as a symbol of
human achievement pitted against
the destructive forces of alien
invaders and Mother Nature.
![Page 12: The Empire State Building In Photography And Film: A Storied History](https://reader030.vdocument.in/reader030/viewer/2022021507/587e1bb11a28abbc2e8b6219/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
It has appeared in superhero films, like
The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and
Superman II (1980), as a hallmark of
New York pride and perseverance.
![Page 13: The Empire State Building In Photography And Film: A Storied History](https://reader030.vdocument.in/reader030/viewer/2022021507/587e1bb11a28abbc2e8b6219/html5/thumbnails/13.jpg)
It has been depicted in movies like Elf
(2003) and Muppets Take Manhattan (1984)
as a signal for New York newcomers.
![Page 14: The Empire State Building In Photography And Film: A Storied History](https://reader030.vdocument.in/reader030/viewer/2022021507/587e1bb11a28abbc2e8b6219/html5/thumbnails/14.jpg)
It has figured into romcoms
like An Affair to Remember
(1957), When Harry Met
Sally (1989), and–perhaps
most famously–Sleepless in
Seattle (1993), as a crucial
rendezvous, a measure of
long-distance relationships,
and a metaphor for larger-
than-life love.
![Page 15: The Empire State Building In Photography And Film: A Storied History](https://reader030.vdocument.in/reader030/viewer/2022021507/587e1bb11a28abbc2e8b6219/html5/thumbnails/15.jpg)
And since 9/11, the Empire State Building has
become even more critical to the New York
cityscape–as a sign of American endurance.
![Page 16: The Empire State Building In Photography And Film: A Storied History](https://reader030.vdocument.in/reader030/viewer/2022021507/587e1bb11a28abbc2e8b6219/html5/thumbnails/16.jpg)
WWW . B C B P R O P E R T Y M A N A G EM E N T . C OM