<P> The scale of the project was massive , with trucks carrying `` 16,000 partition tiles , 5,000 bags of cement , 450 cubic yards ( 340 m ) of sand and 300 bags of lime '' arriving at the construction site every day . There were also cafes and concession stands on five of the incomplete floors so workers did not have to descend to the ground level to eat lunch . Temporary water taps were also built so that workers did not waste time buying water bottles from the ground level . Additionally , small railway systems carried materials from the basement storage spaces to elevators that brought the carts to the desired floors , where the carts then delivered the materials across that level directly by using another set of tracks on that floor . The 57,480 short tons ( 51,320 long tons ) of steel ordered for the project was the largest - ever single order of steel at the time , comprising more steel than was ordered for the Chrysler Building and 40 Wall Street combined . According to the historian John Tauranac , the materials for the building came from far and wide , with `` limestone from Indiana , steel girders from Pittsburgh , cement and mortar from upper New York State , marble from Italy , France , and England , wood from northern and Pacific Coast forests , ( and ) hardware from New England . '' Even the facade used a variety of material , most prominently Indiana limestone but also Swedish black granite , terracotta , and brick . </P>
<P> The scale of the project was massive , with trucks carrying `` 16,000 partition tiles , 5,000 bags of cement , 450 cubic yards ( 340 m ) of sand and 300 bags of lime '' arriving at the construction site every day . There were also cafes and concession stands on five of the incomplete floors so workers did not have to descend to the ground level to eat lunch . Temporary water taps were also built so that workers did not waste time buying water bottles from the ground level . Additionally , small railway systems carried materials from the basement storage spaces to elevators that brought the carts to the desired floors , where the carts then delivered the materials across that level directly by using another set of tracks on that floor . The 57,480 short tons ( 51,320 long tons ) of steel ordered for the project was the largest - ever single order of steel at the time , comprising more steel than was ordered for the Chrysler Building and 40 Wall Street combined . According to the historian John Tauranac , the materials for the building came from far and wide , with `` limestone from Indiana , steel girders from Pittsburgh , cement and mortar from upper New York State , marble from Italy , France , and England , wood from northern and Pacific Coast forests , ( and ) hardware from New England . '' Even the facade used a variety of material , most prominently Indiana limestone but also Swedish black granite , terracotta , and brick . </P>
where did the steel for the empire state building come from
where did the steel for the empire state building come from
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh