In 1929, Empire State Inc. announced its plans to construct the tallest building in existence—a state-of-the-art, 80-story office building in the heart of New York City. The Empire State Building exceeded even these grand ambitions. Coming in under budget and months ahead of schedule, the skyscraper was the first to rise over 100 stories, reigning as the tallest building in both its own city and the entire world for four decades. 

On July 28, 1945, a B-25 bomber crashed between the 79th and 80th floors of the Empire State Building after its pilot Lieutenant Colonel William F. Smith Jr. became disoriented in a thick fog. The plane wreckage tore through the limestone facade, one engine punching through the building’s south side and landing on another building below. The plane’s crew died instantly, while 11 others inside the building were also killed in the explosion and the fires that followed. 

Despite the day’s turmoil, the building reopened within 48 hours and underwent full repairs in just a few months. The Empire State Building’s rigid steel frame and limestone-granite skin spared it from greater damage and mortalities.

This specimen is a piece of the Empire State Building, which comes in two sizes: the small size is a section of continuous stainless steel mullion that framed the windows of this magnificent structure, while the large is a cross section of a steel support anchor for the mullion.

The material was dislodged during the collision in 1945 and was acquired at auction in 2021.

To commemorate this exclusive item, we created a new 3x4" display card with photos of the building, as well as more information about the 1945 crash. The larger cards also serve as the certificate of authenticity and feature the official Mini Museum Seal of Authenticity. You can see the front and back of this card below.

In addition to the larger card, we have also included our standard photo card, in case you wish to keep a unified look with the other Mini Museum items in your collection, though we think you'll love the look of this card just as much as we do.

The Empire State Building was financed by a group of investors who contracted Shreve, Lamb, & Harmon to design the building. John J. Raskob, a prominent DuPont executive and board member, was determined to outdo Chicago during the early 20th-century “skyscraper race.” The building was planned in the Roaring Twenties, but it was built in the midst of the Great Depression, a titanic undertaking for a time of economic instability. 

Mainly designed by William F. Lamb, the Empire State Building was built in the Modernist style that valued bold lines and symmetrical designs, a utilitarian style stripped of ornamentation. Lamb and his colleagues conceived a building with an inner core housing elevators, pipes, and mail chutes, to be surrounded by office space pyramiding off as the floors grew, providing stability and conformity to local zoning laws.  

Building the skyscraper was perilous work that often saw men without harnesses or ropes, risking falls. After just 18 months of this arduous work, the Empire State Building opened on May 1, 1931, claiming the throne of the tallest building in the world from the Chrysler.

The structure’s height expanded from the initially planned 80 stories as Empire State Inc. aimed to outshine their rival. In the end, the Empire State Building stood 102 stories tall and was the tallest building in the world until it was supplanted in 1971 by the World Trade Center.

On July 28, 1945, a B-25 bomber crashed between the 79th and 80th floors of the Empire State Building. The pilot, Lieutenant Colonel William F. Smith Jr., was a decorated war hero returning from an unofficial visit to his wife.

Smith, along with co-pilot Staff Sergeant Christopher Domitrovich and machinist Albert Perna, departed from a Massachusetts Army Air Force base headed for Newark. Smith was cleared to land at LaGuardia but chose to continue on to Newark, despite the low visibility.

Descending out of the fog, Smith became disoriented, mistaking the East River for the Hudson, and finding himself not over New Jersey but downtown Manhattan. The plane narrowly avoided several skyscrapers before heading directly for the Empire State Building.

Smith tried to pull up but crashed between the 79th and 80th floors on the north side in an enormous fireball. The plane wreckage tore through the limestone facade, one engine punching through the building’s south side and landing on another building below. 

The plane’s crew died instantly, while 11 others inside the building were also killed in the explosion and the fires that followed. Firefighters and ambulances quickly descended on the scene, rescuing the many trapped in the wreckage and smoke.

One injured woman named Betty Lou Oliver was loaded into an elevator by medics when the cable suddenly snapped. She fell 75 stories and survived, pulled from the wreckage in the building’s basement.

Despite the day’s turmoil, the building reopened within 48 hours and underwent full repairs in just a few months. The Empire State Building’s rigid steel frame and limestone-granite skin spared it from greater damage and mortalities, a testament to the ingenuity in the building's design and construction.