<P> The building started undergoing a 10 - year renovation in the 2010s to further improve energy efficiency, public areas, and amenities . In August 2018, in a move to improve the flow of visitor traffic, the main visitor's entrance was shifted to 20 West 34th Street as part of a major renovation of the observatory lobby . The new lobby includes several technological features, including large LED panels, digital ticket kiosks in nine languages, and a two - story architectural model of the building surrounded by two metal staircases . The first phase of the renovation, to be completed by 2019, would feature an updated exterior lighting system and digital hosts . </P> <P> The final stage of the building was the installation of a hollow mast, a 158 - foot (48 m) steel shaft fitted with elevators and utilities, above the 86th floor . At the top would be a conical roof and the 102nd - floor docking station . The elevators would ascend 167 feet (51 m) from the 86th floor ticket offices to a 33 - foot - wide (10 m) 101st - floor waiting room . From there, stairs would lead to the 102nd floor, where passengers would enter the airships . The airships would have been moored to the spire at the equivalent of the building's 106th floor . </P> <P> On the 102nd floor of the Empire State Building (formerly the 101st floor), there is a door with stairs ascending to the 103rd floor (formerly the 102nd). This was built as a disembarkation floor for airships tethered to the building's spire, and has a circular balcony outside . It is now an access point to reach the spire for maintenance . The room now contains electrical equipment, but celebrities and dignitaries may also be given permission to take pictures there . Above the 103rd floor, there is a set of stairs and a ladder to reach the spire for maintenance work . The mast's 480 windows were all replaced in 2015 . </P> <P> Broadcasting began at the Empire State Building on December 22, 1931, when NBC and RCA began transmitting experimental television broadcasts from a small antenna erected atop the spire, with two separate transmitters for the visual and audio data . They leased the 85th floor and built a laboratory there . In 1934, RCA was joined by Edwin Howard Armstrong in a cooperative venture to test his FM system from the building's antenna . This setup, which entailed the installation of the world's first FM transmitter, continued only until October of the next year due to disputes between RCA and Armstrong . Specifically, NBC wanted to install more TV equipment in the room where Armstrong's transmitter was located . </P>

What is on the top floor of the empire state building