Secrets of the Empire State Building from the very top, underneath and in the lighting control room
As part of the exclusive behind-the scenes look at the Empire State Building renovations, "CBS This Morning" co-hosts Gayle King, Anthony Mason and Tony Dokoupil got a look at some of the wonders of the iconic New York building. Each one visited a special part of the building that most visitors never see from dozens of feet underground to the 104th and a half floor.
Here's what they learned about the building:
The very top
Dokoupil went to the highest floor, "where no visitor goes," said Tom Durels, the executive vice president of real estate for the Empire State Realty Trust.
"You may think the Empire State Building has a 102 stories, but there's another secret floor, the 103rd," Dokoupil said.
"That's where VIP visitors go," Durels said, but he and Dokoupil went higher than that. "We're going to step outside where no logical person would go."
Dokoupil and Durels took the last elevator to the 102nd floor. Then, they climbed some ladders to what's considered 104.5 stories up and stepped outside through a hatch, where they were harnessed to the building.
"Wow. I'm at the same level as that helicopter right there," Dokoupil said.
"On a clear day you can see five states, 80 miles in all directions," Durels said.
"I'm getting a fluttery feeling just being up here. This is unbelievable. Wow," Dokoupil said.
"We're at the base of ... the structure that supports 25 TV and radio stations … and the pinnacle of the antenna is at 1,453 feet elevation," Durels said. "This … was originally built as a mooring mast … and the concept was … they were going to dock dirigibles here … but the hidden truth was that they built the mooring mast so that they could claim to be the tallest … building in the world at the time … and outdo the Chrysler Building that was being built."
"This was all an effort to beat the guys building that building over there?" Dokoupil asked.
"Absolutely," Durels said.
"And you know what? We're looking down on that building. This is definitely a win for the Empire State Building," Dokoupil said.
Underground
Mason went below the Empire State Building with Dana Schneider, senior vice president and director of energy and sustainability at Empire State Realty Trust, to see where a river once ran underneath.
"Dana and I have made it all the way down here to the river level of the Empire State Building, but it doesn't really look much like a river, Dana," Mason said.
"Nope, there's not a running river in the Empire State Building, but the Empire State Building is built above … ancient underground waterways, which run throughout Manhattan … On a very rainy or very snowy day, the river might seep up a little farther … When we drain down our system, sometimes we actually get a foot or two of water in here still, but it used to be far more than it is now. As you can see, sometimes the water's been as much as five or six feet," Schneider said.
"You call this the wind tunnel," Mason said. "Why?"
"It was engineered to bring in fresh air, outside air and cold air through the wind tunnel, and to supply the lower levels of the building … before we had any kind of air conditioning," Schneider said. "The Empire State Building, it's built in 1931, it's a historically preserved building, and yet, now, today, it's one of the most efficient buildings in the country."
The control room
King got a look at the lighting control room with CEO of the Empire State Realty Trust Tony Malkin to see how the lights on the tower shine every night.
"When did you first start lighting the building?" King asked.
"There have been all sorts of different lights on the building … but the bottom line is that serious lightening didn't take place with colors until the bicentennial," Malkin said.
"Who gets to decide the color?" King asked.
"So, we get far more requests for lightings than we have days in the year," Malkin said. "And there's a committee … applications come in. People can apply on our website."
"But I always thought because you were CEO of the building that you're sitting there going, 'I'll decide who gets the lighting.' But it doesn't work like that," King said.
"No. I have a lot of other things I gotta do," Malkin said.
"Now, don't take this the wrong way, Tony, but when I walked in the room, I was surprised at the simplicity of the room. … I don't know why I expected something that was going to be lights, camera, action," King said.
"Well, you know, even the Wizard of Oz just had a bunch of levers in the end, right?" Malkin said.
