Featured Image Credit: Alan Schein / Getty
The Empire State Building stands at 1,454 feet and is one of the most iconic landmarks in New York City.
Rising 102 stories, the steel-framed skyscraper receives over four million visitors yearly. For 40 years, the towering structure was the tallest building in the world, until 1971 when the World Trade Center surpassed it.
But did you know that the landmark's foundations were made using unique bricks from a small town in Lancashire, England?
Known for being some of the toughest bricks in the world, 'nori' bricks were constructed by the Accrington Brick and Tile Company in Altham.
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Thousands of these ‘nori’ bricks were used in the Empire State Building's foundations as well as other major structures including Blackpool Tower and the Sellafield nuclear site in Cumbria.
Accrington’s bricks weren’t just strong though, they were almost indestructible. That's why they were also commonly used in power stations at Battersea, Barry and Fiddlers Ferry in Cheshire.
The high-quality clay found beneath Lancashire helped create bricks that could handle just about anything - from acid exposure to intense pressure - making them perfect for everything from chimneys to skyscraper foundations.
Even places like Manchester’s Hacienda nightclub and the Brick Train sculpture in Darlington used nori bricks.
Their deep red colour is also said to have inspired the term 'red brick universities,' which was first applied to the University of Birmingham’s Chancellor’s Court building.
As for the name 'Nori,' no one really knows for sure where it came from.
Some say it's because 'Iron' was written backwards on the chimney of the brickworks, with the I at the bottom. The most popular theory is that the letters 'IRON' were placed backwards in the brick moulds spelling 'NORI'.
Others believe it was done to purposefully set them apart from the REDAC bricks (standing for 'Accrington Red') produced in nearby Huncoat.
For over a century, these bricks were shipped across the globe via the East Lancashire Line railway and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.
Production ceased in 2008 with the loss of 83 jobs, but in 2014, the brickworks were brought back to life thanks to a £1.4 million investment to support the housing boom.
That same year, then-Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne even paid a visit to the factory to celebrate its reopening.
From humble beginnings in a small British town, these famous bricks have earned their fame for withstanding some of the world’s most legendary landmarks.
