When I was 15 years old on a class trip to NYC - so June 1989 - we visited the Empire State Building. On the elevator ride back down the doors opened at some random floor and I remember looking down a long corridor that looked straight out of the 1920’s, all Art Deco decor and wooden doorframes, you get the idea. I felt like I was looking back in time. I remember being utterly amazed and then the doors closed and we carried on.
Does the interior of the Empire State Building still look like that, or has it been all modernized since then?
Because Art Deco looks cool. The lobby is still Art Deco. But granted, my opinion of that style is coming from a 2013 perspective. Tenants in the 50’s or 60’s would likely have found it old fashioned looking, not retro cool.
A lot of the interior spaces have been rebuilt in recent years, including a complete elevator and electrical overhaul. But I’m sure a lot of the detail remains in spaces that have been continuously rented since it opened. A surprising number of floors in the ESB are divided into individual office suits rather than being rented in total.