Empire State Building airship mooring mast myth

The Empire State Building's 1930s design included a mooring mast at its top that was intended to allow dirigibles to dock. Engineers discovered that wind and updrafts around the skyscraper made safe mooring impractical, and no routine passenger airship service ever operated from the building. The mast remained as an architectural feature and the notion that airships regularly tied up there is an exaggerated popular account.