The 86th-floor open-air deck that has drawn millions of visitors since 1931—and where accounts describe a young woman in 1940s dress who paces the railing, then is not there.
350 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10118
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$$
Tickets required; advance online purchase recommended. General admission prices vary; see esbnyc.com.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Elevator access to 86th floor; outdoor deck has barriers and safety enclosure
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1931 · Opened May 1, 1931; world's tallest building for nearly 40 years · 86th floor observation deck opened same day; one of NYC's top attractions · Evelyn McHale (1923-1947) fell from the 86th-floor deck on May 1, 1947 · Robert Wiles photograph published in Life magazine, May 12, 1947
The Empire State Building, designed by Shreve, Lamb and Harmon and built in just 410 days, opened on May 1, 1931. At 1,454 feet to the antenna tip, it held the title of world's tallest building for nearly 40 years. The 86th floor observation deck—an open-air terrace wrapping the building's setback—opened the same day as the building and became an immediate tourist destination.
The deck also became a site associated with falling deaths. The building's management has installed successive generations of safety enclosures, and the current deck is fully surrounded by barriers. The deaths that occurred before the enclosures were complete—primarily in the building's early decades—are documented in news archives and have contributed to the site's reputation in dark-tourism circles.
Among those who died at the observation deck, Evelyn McHale, a 23-year-old bookkeeper and Army veteran, fell on May 1, 1947—exactly sixteen years after the building's opening. Photography student Robert Wiles photographed her body on a parked car below shortly afterward. The image was published in Life magazine's May 12, 1947 issue; Time later called it 'the most beautiful suicide.' The photograph became one of the most reproduced images of the 20th century and introduced McHale's name permanently into discussions of the building's history.
McHale had served in the Women's Army Corps and was employed as a bookkeeper at the Kitab Engraving Company when she died. She left a note. The tabloid framing of her death as 'beautiful' has been widely criticized in the decades since.
Sources
The ghost legend associated with the Empire State Building's observation deck centers on a woman described as appearing to be in her early twenties, wearing 1940s-style clothing, who is seen near the railing on the 86th floor. Visitor accounts—collected by paranormal aggregators including NY Ghosts and documented in dark-tourism roundups by Untapped Cities—describe her as looking tearful and distressed; when witnesses look away or approach, she is gone.
A related account, reported by female visitors, describes the same woman appearing in the women's restroom on the observation level, touching up her makeup at the mirror before vanishing. The repetitive, cyclical nature of both accounts is characteristic of what paranormal literature categorizes as residual hauntings—the site replaying an emotionally charged moment rather than an intelligent presence responding to visitors.
Paranormal sources identify this figure as Evelyn McHale, a 23-year-old bookkeeper who fell from the 86th-floor deck on May 1, 1947. Robert Wiles's photograph of McHale's body, published in Life magazine that month, became one of the 20th century's most reproduced images. The degree to which the ghost legend was shaped by the fame of the photograph—rather than independently reported sightings—is difficult to disentangle. The accounts that circulate online are not traceable to named witnesses or formal investigations.
Notable Entities
A ticketed visit to the open-air 86th-floor observation deck with 360-degree views of Manhattan. The observation deck opened in 1931 and draws several million visitors per year.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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