“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.”
–Henry David Thoreau
Written by Daniella Litvak
The stock market crashed, and with it came high unemployment rates and uncertain futures for people all over the world. Despite how depressing (yes, dreadful pun intended) this all was, people refused to give up on themselves. They were going to make their dreams come true. For many New Yorkers at the time, that meant having to construct the world’s tallest building.

Caleb Shaw and Katharine McDonough are featured in the musical “EMPIRE” – directed and choreographed by Marcia Milgrom Photo Courtesy : MICHAEL LAMONT
While the people building the Chrysler Building and 40 Wall Street are also competing in “the race to the sky,” Empire The Musical (“Empire”) is rooting for the all-star team former New York Governor Al Smith and John Raskob have assembled to raise the one hundred story Al Smith Building. First, there is Frankie Petersen. She is Smith’s right hand man, so she solves all the problems. Mike Shaw is the project’s brilliant, young architect. Rounding out the team is the ensemble of construction workers who are going to build the skyscraper. Included among them are crew leader Ethan O’Dowd and newbies Bill Johnson and Bucky. Continue Reading