We spend most of our lives in buildings. We make our homes in them. We go to school in them. We work in them. But why and how did people start making buildings? How did they learn to make them stronger, bigger, and more comfortable? Why did they start to decorate them in different ways? From the pyramid erected so that an Egyptian pharaoh would last forever to the dramatic, machine-like Pompidou Center designed by two young architects, Patrick Dillon's...

Introduces the Empire State Building, the third tallest structure in New York City, describing the construction process, the rise of skyscrapers in the United States, and the effect the building continues to have today.