story
A nice montage of some movie appearances is at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsedxIoWFZo
In some, they were just a part of the distinctive background place-setting New York skyline, or a ground-level signifier of "downtown financial district'; in others, they were part of the action. Especially memorable was the 1976 'King Kong', which updated the 1933 version to have Kong climb the twin towers instead of the Empire State Building. Other films featured the observation deck, a popular tourist attraction.
1. Statue of Liberty, without question.
2. Twin Towers - showed up in just about shot of NYC put into mainstream media from the date of inception until destruction.
3. Empire State Building - Yes it is really recognizable but never got the media exposure of the WTC.
After that things get a little muddier. If I'm doing a top-5 I probably do something Times Square and Rockefeller Center to round out the big-5 pre-9/11.
The Empire State Building had been the tallest building in the world for almost 40 years, from 1931-1970.
It was arrival of the taller WTC twin towers in 1970, & to a lesser extent the proliferation of other midtown skyscrapers, that gradually chipped away at the Empire State Building's literal & figurative prominence.
https://movies.stackexchange.com/questions/110820/how-was-th...
