Building the Empire State - Carol Willis

The
construction of the Empire State Building was
orchestrated by general contractors Starrett
Brothers and Eken, premier "skyline
builders" of the 1920s. They scheduled the
delivery of materials and the construction and
recorded daily the number of workers by trade.
Compiled from these records, an in-house
notebook documented the construction process.
Meticulously typed on graph paper and
illustrated with construction photographs, this
unique document combines a professional
specificity of detail with a charming rhapsody
to the firm's crowning
achievement.Constructed in eleven months, the
1250-foot Empire State Building, the world's
tallest skyscraper from 1931 to 1971, was a
marvel of modern engineering. The frame rose
more than a story a day; no comparable building
since has matched that rate of ascent.