Empire State Building joins landlords with retail space to fill

New York

ONE of the world's most famous skyscrapers is about to have a massive amount of retail space to fill.

The owners of the Empire State Building are relying on its standing as a New York icon to find tenants for about 50,000 square feet at a time when Manhattan is swamped with empty stores.

Along with the marketing effort, the tower's observatory entrance will be moved to 34th Street from Fifth Avenue.

The skyscraper, which opened in 1931 and attracts more than 4 million visitors a year, has probably never had this much retail space available, …