Investors believed airships would soon be used for cross-Atlantic travel, and the building's top seemed perfect for docking.
The plan was for airships to land at the top, secure quickly, and let passengers walk into the building's top floor. Then, they could take an elevator down to Manhattan, arriving within seven minutes of landing. A docking mast was even built on the building.
However, engineers couldn't figure out how to safely dock an airship on a 1,250-foot building with strong winds. Airship companies considered the idea too risky, and interest waned. Still, a private blimp did dock for three minutes in September 1931, causing traffic jams below, but no unloading occurred.
The era of cross-Atlantic airships ended with the 1937 Hindenburg disaster, when the world's largest airship caught fire while landing in New Jersey.
by ArchiGuru
13 Comments
Wow, that’s fascinating history!
Still looks like something from a fantastic future!!
Put airship on docking station
Why is it docking to the nose? The people are in the compartment under the belly.
*Let me just charge my flying taxi here, coz why not*
Then one burnt down and suddenly everyone started freaking out, we can’t have cool things
Touching tips
Perhaps blimps make little practical sense nowadays. But my god, are they some of the coolest things humanity has ever built. I’ve seen footage of the Graf Zeppelin flying over my city in 1929 (Utrecht). It’s literally a world wonder floating through the sky. People who flock to the rooftops for picnics and wave towards the behemoth flying/floating over them. It’s straight out of a Ghibli movie.
The Boeing 247 introduced in 1933 was the second to last blow in the Airships downfall.
What’s crazy is the images of German zeppelins over NYC in the 30s, rocking that swastika. Yeesh.
https://preview.redd.it/hicducsvpjud1.jpeg?width=1500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=837c622bee5ff7a2e5c5d27c08a9517162dcd294
If you’re interested in a little more of the story (as opposed to absolute geekery/ technical detail) behind this, definitely check out the excellent Cautionary Tales – Steel and Kindness: Clash of the skyscrapers podcast. Tim also does a fascinating podcast on airships alone: The Deadly Airship Race
Yes, read about this in an architecture book, so cool
fringe feelings