Empire State Building Lights Up Pink in Tribute to Dolly Parton

New York City’s Empire State Building illuminated its tower lights in a pink sparkle Tuesday night to honor Dolly Parton, the country music icon and philanthropist who died at 80 in Nashville. The tribute ran from 9:25 p.m. to 10:25 p.m., with the specific start time chosen as a nod to Parton’s hit song “9 to 5,” written for the 1980 film of the same name that starred Parton alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin.

In its announcement, the Empire State Building called Parton a global cultural icon whose seven-decade career reached generations of fans. The landmark added that beyond entertainment, she leaves a significant philanthropic legacy through the Dollywood Foundation and her Imagination Library, which has provided hundreds of millions of books to children worldwide. “At nine-two-five tonight, we celebrate her and her legacy,” the Empire State Building Observation Deck wrote in its tribute post.

Parton’s Imagination Library, launched in 1995 in her native East Tennessee, grew from a local literacy initiative into an international program sending more than 3 million free, high-quality books each month to children from birth through age 5. The program now operates across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Ireland, making the pink tribute especially fitting given how central that charitable work became to her broader public identity in later decades.

The lighting is part of the Empire State Building’s longstanding tradition of recognizing cultural milestones, causes, and notable public figures, adding Parton to a growing list of entertainers previously honored on the Manhattan landmark’s tower lights. It was just one of several tributes that poured in across the city and beyond following news of her death, with elected officials among the first to publicly react.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani wrote on social media that the news was “truly heartbreaking,” calling Parton “an extraordinary person and an irreplaceable champion of the working class” and adding that “we are a better country because of her.” New York Governor Kathy Hochul echoed that sentiment, describing Parton as “a once-in-a-generation talent, on and off the stage,” and praising how her philanthropic work “saved countless lives — and changed our world for the better.” Senator Chuck Schumer also posted a tribute, writing simply, “Dolly Parton was loved in every corner of our nation. All of America is mourning this monumental loss. We love you, Dolly.”

Parton’s death caps a remarkable nearly six-decade career that produced some of country music’s most enduring songs, including “Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors,” and “I Will Always Love You,” alongside a Grammy-winning body of work that made her one of the most recognizable entertainers on the planet. Beyond music, she built a sprawling entertainment empire that included the Dollywood theme park in East Tennessee, film roles in “9 to 5” and “Steel Magnolias,” and an unlikely production credit on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” through her Sandollar Productions company.

Her influence stretched well beyond the entertainment industry as well. Parton was a longtime supporter of disaster-relief efforts in her home region of East Tennessee, and her decades of quiet philanthropy have often been credited with reshaping public perception of what a country music star’s legacy could look like once the music stops.

Amid the wave of tributes, Parton’s upcoming Broadway show is also drawing renewed attention. “Dolly: A True Original Musical,” a biomusical chronicling her life, is still set to move forward with previews beginning December 7 at the St. James Theatre, with producers confirming the production would continue “as was Dolly’s wish.” The show’s official opening night remains set for January 19, which would have been Parton’s 81st birthday.

For a performer whose career spanned generations and whose reach extended into music, film, television, and philanthropy alike, Tuesday night’s pink glow over the Manhattan skyline offered a fittingly public moment of remembrance, visible to millions across one of the city’s most iconic landmarks.

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