Empire State Building In a separate transaction, the land underneath the building was sold to Prudential Insurance for $29 million. Helmsley, Wein, and Malkin quickly started a program of minor improvement projects, including the first-ever full-building facade refurbishment and window-washing in 1962, the installation of new flood lights on the 72nd floor in 1964, and replacement of the manually operated elevators with automatic units in 1966. The little-used western end of the second floor was used as a storage space until 1964, at which point it received escalators to the first floor as part of its conversion into a highly-sought retail area. In
New York State Education Department Building the entrance are two sculptures of seated children; these sculptures serve as lampposts. Important interior features of the building include the 94-foot-high rotunda, with its glass-and steel-dome, and the 50-foot-high reading room, with its large arched windows. The rotunda also contains barrel-vaulted glass skylights and a mural depicting "man's quest for education." New York State Education Department Building The New York State Education Department Building (commonly known as the State Education Building) is a state office building in Albany, New York. It houses offices of the New York State Education Department (NYSED) and was formerly home to the New York