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
The Empire Hotel (New York City) The Empire Hotel (New York City) The Empire Hotel is a boutique hotel located along West 63rd Street (at Broadway), in the New York City borough of Manhattan. In 1889, a seven-story building rose from the ground that would later become The Empire Hotel. Herbert DuPuy purchased this building in 1908. In 1922, DuPuy decided to tear the original structure down and build a 15-story building. On December 5, 1923, The Empire Hotel opened with its iconic red neon signage reading "Hotel Empire" erected on the rooftop. Room pricing was vastly in contrast to current numbers. Room rates in 1935: