Lighting Of Empire State Building On March 17th To Honor Parade

The 249-year-old Parade is one of New York City's greatest traditions and is the largest celebration of Irish Faith, Heritage and Culture in the world.

It is expected that Parade will inject over $500 million into the stressed economy of New York City this year with many of the expected 250,000 marchers and 1-2 million spectators staying in the city for the week long celebrations that are held around the Parade.

This injection of capital  is estimated to be indirectly responsible for the employment of thousands of people in New York City and the Tri-State area.

The famous Irish Infantry "The Fighting 69th Regiment" will lead the Parade up Fifth Avenue, and they will followed by the various Irish societies of the city, the thirty two Irish County Societies, and various Schools, Collages, Emerald societies, Irish-language, and nationalist societies.

The lighting of the tower green on March 17th also marks a special day for the Empire State Building. Construction on the building began on March 17, 1930 and the corner stone was later laid by the then former governor of New York and the first Irish American to run for the office of President of the United States Alfred E. Smith.

The Empire State Building is located at 350 Fifth Avenue, between 33rd and 34th streets in Midtown Manhattan The lighting of the building itself is scheduled to take place from dusk until approximately 4am.