Interesting Architecture Facts That Might Surprise You (Part Two)
Uncovering mysteries and interesting facts about our industry has been an exciting journey. We are so excited to share a few more interesting tidbits that we've uncovered in our latest research!
Hello, everyone! Welcome to part two of our 'Interesting Architecture Facts That Might Surprise You' blog series. As we have all been trying to figure out the next steps in our industry, the news around us continues to grow heavy. Scrolling through the internet has become almost dangerous. You might start out wanting to check in on your friends or family or check your email, but you just don't make it. Along the way, you might run into a post, article, or news update that sends you spiraling into a frustrating rabbit hole of reading more and more into what you stumbled upon. There goes your afternoon and all the reasons you got online or checked your phone in the first place! This condition has been named "doomscrolling" by popular culture, and we couldn't think of a more appropriate name. We wanted to break up our own doomscrolling, and stumbled upon some very unique and interesting facts connected to the architecture industry. Out of that deep dive came this two-part blog! So, sit back and enjoy the read. We hope you learn a few new things today or get surprised along the way.
Fact One: The subway has caught on and stuck in places like New York and other smaller offshoots, but did you know there is an unfinished and abandoned subway system under the city of Cincinnati, Ohio that was never used? According to OnlyInYourState, it is the longest abandoned subway system that never transported a single rider. It was officially left and closed in 1928 after a series of infrastructural and financial issues surfaced. It is still there to this day, and those who have been brave enough to venture into the tunnels have reported sightings of ghosts and other strange things. This subway system was originally planned to be a 16-mile loop that was going to circle the entire city. WWI was also a big deterrent in construction and production. After facing so many issues, it was just left behind.
Fact Two: The observation deck on the Empire State Building generates more money than the rest of its floors! One single floor makes more money than the 85 floors of office space! Its been home to some of the most iconic and unique businesses since its opening, but still remains incredibly popular to the millions of tourists that visit every year. According to ArchDaily, the observation decks that live within the 102 story building generates over 110 million dollars, while the office spaces generate just over 100 million dollars. With that knowledge, we wanted to look into the famous building and see if we could find any more interesting facts.
According to CNN, you can see 80 miles away when on the observation deck. Visitors can see into New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and New Jersey on a clear day.
One of our favorite facts is that it is the tallest LEED-certified building in the United States. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.
Many movies have featured the Empire State Building. One of the most popular being "Sleepless in Seattle" starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. According to CNN, couples who get married on the 80th floor on Valentine's Day become members of the Empire State Building Wedding Club. Membership gives these couples free admission on the 14th for the rest of their lives.
According to HISTORY (A&E), the Empire State Building was built and finished in record time. It was built on the original plot of land that was once home to the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Once the hotel was demolished, it took only 20 months to finish the building. Over 3000 workers a day built 4.5 floors a week. It was finished way ahead of schedule and cost much less to build than the original plans called for.
According to HISTORY, its 200th floor was originally designed as a dock for blimps and other lightweight forms of transportation. At the time, blimps and dirigibles were thought of being the next best thing in travel. Sadly, high winds made this plan impossible, and no passengers ever disembarked off a blimp and onto the Empire State Building.
Fact Three: It took longer to finish construction on The Great Wall Of China than the start of Christianity to today! The Great Wall Of China started its construction between the 3rd and 8th centuries under the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang. The construction started as building different fortifications, and over the centuries, they were connected. Construction on this project continued through 1878, giving the wall a construction time of over 2600 years! Christianity started just over 2000 years ago. Keep that in mind when you think your building deadline is taking too long! With that fact in the back of our minds, we wanted to look deeper into The Great Wall and see what other secrets it might be hiding!
Very normal materials were used to build the wall, most aren't worth writing home about. Still, there is one building material that stood out for us in uniqueness and ingenuity. According to MentalFloss, glutinous rice, also known as "sticky rice", was used to help create the mortar that helped build The Wall. The properties of the rice that makes it sticky is one of the many reasons why the wall has stood strong for so long.
According to MentalFloss over 400,000 individuals died during the construction of The Wall. Many of these workers weren't your run of the mill construction workers, though. Many of them were convicts who were serving out punishment. Construction, care, and guard duty were three forms of punishment for these convicts. Those who were serving time on the wall would have all of their hair shaved off, their faces painted black, and had to wear chains around their limbs to distinguish them from regular workers.
According to HistoryToday, over 13000 miles of The Wall still stands. Which, for its age, is very impressive. It is estimated that over 1200 miles of the original wall is no longer standing and has disappeared.
For many years, it has been speculated that because of its height, grandeur, and location, The Wall can be seen from miles away. It has even been claimed, thanks to American astronaut Neil Armstrong and Ripley's Believe It Or Not, that it can be seen from the moon. We are sorry to burst your bubble, but this claim is not true. According to HistoryExtra, Chinese Astronaut Yang Liwei reported from his 2003 space mission that he couldn't see anything at all.
Digging into the past is always so interesting. You usually uncover the truth behind one or two wives' tales that over the years have solidified into truth. This fact can be disappointing, but learning how these falsehoods became realities is almost as unique as the lie themselves. Did you learn anything new in this two-part blog series? We'd love to hear your thoughts and feedback! Comment below and let us know. Until next time, we hope you enjoyed this small break in your normal scrolling and news searching!