Legendary Empire State Building going public Investors will soon be able to own a piece of one of New York's greatest views, as the owners of the Empire State Building filed Monday to list it on the New York Stock Exchange. Manhattan's most famous landmark, which reigned as the world's tallest for more than four decades, is included among New York properties included in a new real estate investment trust being floated to investors. The Malkin family that owns the tower filed documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission saying they hoped to raise as much as $1 billion in an initial public offering for the company, Empire State Realty Trust. BofA Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs were named as the underwriters of the offering. At 381 meters (1,250 feet) and 102 floors, the art deco-style building is one of New York City's most popular tourist destinations, enjoying its second stint as the city's tallest building since the higher World Trade Center twin towers were destroyed in the September 11, 2001 terror attacks. It was the world's tallest building from its opening in 1931 until 1974, when the 442-meter Sears Tower was completed in Chicago. In recent years it has been dwarfed by new skyscrapers in Asia and the Middle East, with the current global champion Dubai's 828-meter, 160-story Burj Khalifa, which opened last year.