Empire State Building lit up in red to honor coronavirus first responders, New Yorkers say it looks like Gotham
The Empire State Building has been symbolic of America's pride and success ever since it was constructed in 1931. The 102-Art Deco skyscraper is located in Manhattan, New York City, and for its time it was the biggest building in the world and was constructed in the record time of just one year. Over the years, it has gained the reputation for being representative of America as a nation emerging from the Great Depression that crippled the country between 1929 and 1933.
Fondly known as the old lady of 24th Street, the skyscraper still stands as an icon and is often the center of attraction at major events where the public tends to take to the city streets for celebrations. So on March 30, when the Empire State Building was lit up bright red and sent out flashes of red light like Batman's infamous bat signal, all the New Yorkers stood still and witnessed the spectacle. The light display was to honor emergency workers fighting coronavirus.
As of March 29, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the US is 164,620, with 3,170 fatalities. The country is under lockdown and President Donald Trump previously declared a state of national emergency as the numbers started to grow by leaps and bounds. New York has been the worst affected state. Meanwhile, health service providers and first responders have been hard at work to fight the virus and to help the infected recover from the disease.
The Empire State Building was lit up like an ambulance to honor all first responders, medical professionals and other service providers who have been working to fight the city's coronavirus outbreak. The Building authorities took to Twitter to make the announcement: "We’ll never stop shining for you. Starting tonight through the COVID-19 battle, our signature white lights will be replaced by the heartbeat of America with a white and red siren in the mast for heroic emergency workers on the front line of the fight."
The building lit up at 9 pm on Monday, March 28, accompanied by NYC's theme song, 'Empire State of Mind' by Alicia Keys in a music-to-light show.
New Yorkers had differing opinions about the display that was a sight to behold. Some looked on in wonder while others in horror, as these tweets suggest.
To most, the view of the red emblazoned skyscraper was nothing short of horrifying. They described it as unsettling, panic-inducing and anxiety-triggering.
"Maybe people need this Red Scary-A** Empire State Building, to really understand the Emergency of the Corona Virus, & deaths that will be coming. Smh," a twitter user said drawing attention to how the virus has devastated the state of New York and the US.
"I am 58 years old. Never have I seen the Empire State building send and set an alarm like this," another user tweeted, reflecting on the seriousness of the situation. A third said, "I had no idea the Empire State Building could be 'animated' like this but I guess it's one way to find out..."
This user pointed out similarities between the NYC and DC's fictional city: "Jeez, this is starting to feel like a not particularly good Dark Knight movie... welcome to Gotham."
"I usually love the Empire State building lit up, but man this is kinda scary right? #Panic," another quipped.