Classic Rant #728 (May 1, 2012): King Kong's Pole

Today, the Empire State Building turns 81 years of age.

Back in 1931, this modern marvel was dedicated today, all 102 stories of it.

I guess in today's world, a collective groan will go up when talking about this, but back in 1931--the year that my parents were born, by the way--this was truly something to behold.

The world had never seen anything like it at that time. It stood, figuratively and literally, for so many things, but first and foremost, it was not just an office building, but a landmark that signified, in the post-World War I world, that anything could be accomplished with a supreme expense of fortitude.

Remember, the world was in the throes of the Depression at that time, but the building still got built.

So many stories go along with the building. Seemingly everyone who has visited it, who has marveled at it, who has gotten married at it, or who has simply dreamed about it, has a story to tell.

King Kong used it as something of a phallic symbol while he clutched Fay Wray. Planes have hurled into it. People have plotted to blow it up. Still more have often wondered, "If I drop a penny from its highest point, what would happen?"

I have been in the Empire State Building numerous times, but I remember the first time. I went with my uncle. I was a very little boy, maybe five or six years old, and he took me up as far as you could go.

Back then, they had no guard rails, or at least no guard rails as they have now.

I peered out over it, and I thought you could see the universe from there.

It was incredible.

And now, with its 81st anniversary, it isn't even the tallest structure in New York anymore.

The newly built World Trade Center building--with its own incredible history--at 1,776 feet, is higher.

But the Empire State Building still towers over it in presence, and in actuality. Although it doesn't add to its height, antennas that are perched on the top of the structure--radio and TV antennas--make it higher than the other building, although the actual height of the structure is what counts in measuring these things.

Whatever the case, at its 81st birthday, the Empire State Building stands as a monument to the American way, which basically says you can rise up from nothing to be something in this country.

Although that has been challenged many times over the past 81 years, it still rings true.

This is the greatest country in the world, and the presence of the Empire State Building solidifies that belief, gives us something to point to when we exclaim that we are proud to be an American.

While it is probably the most famous man-made building in the world, its grandness really can't be measured.

Sure, many point to the Statue of Liberty as the structure that most spells out the world "America," but remember, that was a gift from the French.

If you want to see real America, think of the Empire State Building.

You can't go wrong with that type of thinking.