Big Ben vs Empire State Building

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Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the striking clock in the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London; the name is often extended to refer to both the clock and the clock tower. The official name of this tower in which Big Ben is located was originally the Clock Tower; it was renamed Elizabeth Tower in 2012 to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II, Queen of the uk. The tower was designed by Augustus Pugin at a neo-Gothic style. When completed in 1859, its clock was the largest and most accurate four-faced striking and chiming clock on the planet. The tower stands 315 ft (96 m) tall, and the climb from ground level to the belfry is 334 steps. Its foundation is square, measuring 39 ft (12 m) on each side. Dials of the clock are 23 feet (7.0 m) in diameter. On 31 May 2009, celebrations were held to mark the tower's 150th anniversary.Big Ben is the biggest of the tower's five bells and weighs 13.5 long tons (13.7 tonnes; 15.1 short tons). It was the biggest bell in the United Kingdom for 23 years. The origin of this bell's nickname is open to question; it might be named after Sir Benjamin Hall, who oversaw its own installation, or heavyweight boxing champion Benjamin Caunt.

Four quarter bells chime at 15, 30 and 45 minutes past the hour and just before Big Ben tolls on the hour. The clock uses its first Victorian mechanics, but an electric motor can be applied as a backup. The tower is a British cultural icon recognised all over the world. It is among the most prominent symbols of the uk and parliamentary democracy, and it is often used in the establishing shot of films set in London. The clock tower has been a part of a Grade I listed building since 1970 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987. On 21 August 2017, a four-year schedule of renovation works began on the tower, which are to include the addition of a lift. In addition, there are plans to re-glaze and repaint the clock dials. With a few exceptions, such as New Year's Eve and Remembrance Sunday, the bells should be silent until the work is completed in 2021.

Source: Wikipedia

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The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan in New York .

It was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from 'Empire State', the nickname of the state of New York. The building has a roof height of 1,250 feet (380 m) and stands a total of 1,454 ft (443.2 m) tall, including its antenna. The Empire State Building stood as the world's tallest building until the building of the World Trade Center in 1970; after its collapse at the September 11, 2001 attacks, the Empire State Building was the city's tallest skyscraper until 2012. As of 2020, the building is the seventh-tallest building in nyc, the ninth-tallest finished skyscraper in the United States, the 48th-tallest on earth, and the fifth-tallest freestanding structure in the Americas. The website of the Empire State Building, located in Midtown South on the west side of Fifth Avenue between West 33rd and 34th Streets, was originally part of an early 18th-century farm. It was developed in 1893 as the site of the Waldorf--Astoria Hotel. In 1929, Empire State Inc. acquired the website and devised plans for a skyscraper there. The design for the Empire State Building was changed fifteen times until it was ensured to be the world's tallest building. Construction began on March 17, 1930, and the building opened thirteen and a half months afterward on May 1, 1931. Despite favorable publicity regarding the building's structure, because of the Great Depression and World War II, its owners failed to make a profit until the early 1950s. The building's Art Deco design, height, and observation decks have made it a popular attraction. Around 4 million tourists from around the world annually visit the building's 86th and 102nd floor observatories; an additional indoor observatory on the 80th floor opened in 2019. The Empire State Building is an American cultural icon: it has been featured in more than 250 TV shows and movies since the movie King Kong was released in 1933. A symbol of New York City, the tower has been named as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers. It was ranked first on the American Institute of Architects' List of America's Favorite Architecture in 2007. Additionally, the Empire State Building and its ground-floor inside were designated city landmarks by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1980, and were added to the National Register of Historic Places as a National Historic Landmark in 1986.

Source: Wikipedia