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 World Building glass window by Otto Heinigke (1850-1915), combining the Statue of Liberty and the "New York World" banner, which had been installed over the William Street entrance to the building in 1908 (The "World" had helped raise funds from the public for the statue's pedestal), was bought by a group headed by a Columbia journalism professor when the building was condemned in 1953. The window is now in Room 305 of the Columbia University School of Journalism, where it serves as the backdrop for many events, including the annual presentation of the Pulitzer Prizes. New York World Building "The New York