Will the Sun Set on Big Building Projects?
What with the "economic downturn" or "worst financial crisis since the Great Depression"
on the horizon, the impact on architecture and construction could substantial. Projects big and small may stay stuck on drawing boards around the world, and a few may be stopped cold in their steel-framed tracks. The home construction industry has virtually collapsed, so it seems that the big commercial industry won't be far behind. It will mean the usual lay-offs at architectural and engineering firms that occur during every economically distressed period, but the big question is - how bad will it be and for how long; and will building grind to a halt?
These were the same questions that confronted architects, engineers and developers
in the early 1930s. When the stock market tumbled in 1929, there were two major construction projects in the planning stages in New York City that went forward despite the bad economic news. The Empire State Building had been in the planning stages for a few years, and despite the fear on Wall Street the project's consortium of investors and developers decided to break ground. Construction began on January 22, 1930 with a determination to build the world's tallest building fast and cheap. Gregory Johnson and his architectural firm Shreve, Lamb and Harmon, stepped up to the plate and produced the building's drawings in just two weeks. With construction starting just as the Depression was taking hold, a cheap labor force of 3,500 workers showed up for work every day. An amazingly efficient team of construction managers handled the mechanics of the project so well that the 102-story building was completed and ready for occupancy in an astonishing 13 months and $10 million under budget! But, by 1931 the economic crisis worsened and the owner's couldn't find tenants to fill the available office spaces. The Observation Deck on the other hand was an economic success story, pulling in over $2 million in admission fees in the Deck's first year of operation. The building would not be fully leased until the early 1950s.
Just up 5th Avenue from the Empire State location demolition began on a parcel of land
at 50th Street. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. was involved with several other movers and shakers in a plan to relocate the Metropolitan Opera House from 39th Street uptown to the 50s. Things were going well until the 1929 crash when the opera scheme fell apart. Rockefeller was ready to pull out of the project altogether until he was convinced by close associates to not only continue, but expand on the original idea. The development grew to include three city blocks in Midtown Manhattan comprised of 14 buildings. Taking a huge financial gamble, Rockefeller insisted that the project be marketable and that the millions of square feet of commercial and retail space be rentable. Floor plans were laid out so offices could be as little as 500 sq.ft. and would appeal to hundreds of small business owners. The major tenant at the time was the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and the project was called "Radio City." Rockefeller's p.r. agent Ivy Lee, believed that if the name was changed to Rockefeller Center, it would make it easier to rent out the remaining thousands of square feet because of the cache of the Rockefeller name. Junior was loath to have the family name tied to the project because of all the bad publicity his father John Senior had generated over the years. The junior Rockefeller feared that the name would work against his multi-million dollar investment instead of for it, but ultimately he decided to take the the promotion genius' advice. The name change proved to be a smart move; as each building opened there were plenty of tenants waiting to move in. The complex provided Depression era workers with employment from the start of construction in 1930 until John D. drove the last rivet into a steel column in 1938. It was the largest private building project ever undertaken in modern history.
At the time the stock market crashed in 1929, unemployment in the U.S. stood at
3 percent, by 1933 the rate had climbed to 25 percent. These two New York projects kept thousands of people on payrolls which were disappearing across the country. Rockefeller Center and the Empire State Building became iconic architectural statements that came to symbolize an era and a city. As construction cranes start coming down from skylines around the globe, a few projects will survive and some may flourish. Architecture won't save us from the financial crisis we find ourselves in, but perhaps 70 years from now a building or two will come to represent how we survived our economically challenged times.
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