The Empire State Building despite its Art Deco styling is significantly more austere in appearance than the more ostentatious Chrysler Building. Devoid of the sunburst windows and Moderne gargoyles that adorn the older tower the Empire State Building is strikingly subdued. It is not entirely without ornament however: a pair of sculpted concrete eagles flank the entrance and shining aluminum extensions reminiscent of wings taper up toward the pinnacle of the tower. The exuberance of the Chrysler Building’s metal crown when contrasted with the quiet dignity of the Empire State Building can be seen as the changing attitudes of a country before and after the onset of the Great Depression – and it falls to the observer to decide which if either is the more appealing.

Despite the optimism with which Smith and Raskob had originally proposed the project and despite the rapture with which New York had watched its newest landmark grow toward the sky the Empire State Building could not escape the realities of the deepening Depression. Initially the building’s owners could not find more than a few tenants to occupy their tower which soon received an unflattering nickname: the “Empty State Building.”