Quintessential New York View

• October 29, 2009
• Rated 5 of 5 by airynfaerie from St. Augustine, Florida

What do you think of when the iconic New York skyline comes to mind? Of course the tallest building in the city, the Empire State Building, is what most people picture. This famous Art Deco style skyscraper is one of the tallest buildings in the world and offers one (if not the) best views over the Big Apple.

Standing at an impressive 102 floors and taking just over 400 days to build between 1930-31, the Empire State Building is an engineering spectacle and one that people from around the world come to see. On clear days they say you can see up to 80 miles and around at 5 states. This unparalleled 360º view is one not to be missed. Located in lower midtown at 5th Avenue and 34th Street, this building can be seen from all around Manhattan.

Since 1964 colored lights have graced the top of the building at night, each signifying a different seasonal event. There's a list of the color schedule on the website, and it's interesting to see what they represent. One time I was in NYC and saw the colors of the Italian flag illuminated, then found out there was a festival in Little Italy, so I headed down there to join in the fun.

I highly recommend a trip to the observatory, as it's a quintessential thing to do in New York. Be sure to look for the entrance for visitors and not the business entrance. Then follow the signs throughout the maze of lines you'll have to encounter. From the ticketing line to the elevator line, then the second elevator (or stairs) line, then the line out to the actual observatory platform. The general ticket serves visitors to the first deck at the 86th floor (you can pay a bit more to go to the very top at 102nd floor). We just went to the 86th and enjoyed it plenty. There are quarter-fed view binoculars on the outdoor walkway, or a glass-enclosed hallway which is great for the cold and windy days.

There are many reasons to visit the Empire State Building - from the interior design, art deco architecture, thrilling view, or breathtaking height. But knowing you'll be experiencing a bit of NYC history is the best part about it.

• http://www.esbnyc.com/
• 350 5th Ave (at 34th Street)
• Open daily 8am - 2am
• General admission: $18.45 (discounts available, extra fee for 102nd floor or express pass)

From journal Must-See Visits in New York City

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Unacceptable Employee Behaviour

• September 14, 2009
• Rated 1 of 5 by m0j0sun from Nashville, Tennessee

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It's Time to Get in a State

• September 10, 2009
• Rated 5 of 5 by tartlette from Bath, United Kingdom

This year Mr Tart and myself found ourselves in New York (well, I mean we had planned to be there!). I’d been a couple of times before but Mr Tart had never been so I designated the Empire State Building (ESB) as a must see.

SOME FACTS:

The ESB was built in 1930. At the time it was the world’s tallest building and it is still up there in the tallest buildings list (currently number 15). The ESB is 1472 ft tall (if you include the antenna) and there are 102 floors.

LOCATION:

Ok so you may have guessed that the ESB is in New York City! It is at 350 5th Avenue and the intersection with 34th Street. Trust me you can’t miss it! The nearest subway station is 34th Street/Penn.

PRICES:

The ESB is one of America’s most visited attractions so it’s never going to be that cheap to visit. The visit costs $20 for adults and $14 for children (under 5s go free). If you are over 62 then it costs $18. If you want to do the audio tour as well then it costs an extra $8. There is also an option to buy the express pass which means that you skip the queues but this is a whopping $45! You can also pay an extra $15 to go up to the 102nd floor observation deck (the normal price gets you to the 86th), but you can only buy these once you are at the ESB.

OPENING TIMES:

The ESB is open every day (yes including Christmas Day). It is open from 8am to 2am every day.

THE VISIT:

We had booked our tickets on the ESB website. We (foolishly as it turned out) thought that this would save us lots of queuing time when we got there. Not to be. If you haven’t bought the express pass, be prepared to queue…..a lot…..I mean really a lot!

We got to the ESB about 10am. The queue went all the way round to 33rd Street. Mr Tart made a lot of ‘this better be worth it’ noises. I told him firmly that it was worth it, I promise! After about half an hour we managed to get to the entrance. Yes, you did hear that right! Oh well, the time outside was useful for writing postcards….! Once inside the building you go up an escalator to join queue number two.

Yes, there is a theme developing which you may notice throughout this review. Queue number two is the one for security, which is fair enough. Then you get to join queue number three (you lucky things). However, we managed to avoid queue number three as it is the ticket queue and we’d booked online. We were slightly annoyed though as it looked like the world and his wife had booked online and only a handful were buying their tickets on the day! So, bring on queue number four! This one was to have your picture taken in front of a delightful screen, upon which they would later superimpose you onto the ESB. Oh the joy! OK, so I know I’m sounding like a very moaning Minnie but enough of the queues already! I think it would have been better if they had had a queue for those who wanted the picture and those who didn’t. I would never buy those pictures anyway as they are such a rip off!

Ready for it – queue number six is up! This queue is the one to get into the lift to actually go up the tower. There are a few lifts so this queue wasn’t too long. In all it took us about an hour and a half to get this far. Mr Tart was getting grouchy (luckily I brought food and water so that kept him calm!). In this queue there were at least some information boards to tell you a little bit more about the ESB, which kept us happy.

The lifts are scarily fast. The go up to the 86th floor in about one minute. I really had that feeling of my stomach going! Once you reach the 86th floor you head out onto the observation deck. Once outside, you really do forget all the queues, it is completely breathtaking. You can see all of New York laid out below you.

We spent about 30 minutes up the tower. It’s a lot of queuing and quite a lot of money for a relatively short amount of time but it’s still worth it. We really enjoyed spotting places that we’d been to and places that we’d seen on TV. We could see the Statue of Liberty, the Chrysler Building, Central Park and the Flat Iron building. You can spend quite a while looking at all the buildings and just watching the people and taxis going about their business below. The observation deck has a concrete rail which comes to chest height and then there are metal bars stopping anyone trying to climb over (it has happened in the past). The bars are criss-crossed and not too close together so it doesn’t obscure the view at all. It does mean that there is the distinct possibility of dropping something through them so make sure that you use the strap on your camera to stop you losing it (and possibly doing some damage to the people below!).

Also on this level there are telescopes so that you can use to look at the sights, so if you want to use these remember to take some coins with you. There are also signs up telling you what you are looking at.

The observation deck was quite busy but it didn’t take long to get to the edge so that we could do the photograph thing. People will generally move along fairly quickly.

Another thing to note is that it is a good idea to take a jacket if it’s not the absolute height of summer. We were there in April and it was quite warm at the bottom but it was absolutely freezing at the top of the tower where the structure was blocking the sun and the wind can be pretty fierce as well. The observatory deck does have an indoor, glass fronted middle which is great if you’re not so good with heights. This level is wheelchair accessible as well.


There is also a shop in the building, surprise, surprise. The shop sells a lot of ESB and general New York souvenirs. They were generally overpriced and we didn’t stop to buy anything.

I think next time I would try to go up the ESB near to sunset so that I could see New York laid out at night time as all the lights are supposed to be amazing. The Building itself is lit up every night. On the ESB website there is a lighting schedule because they light it different colours on different days (e.g. red, white and blue on US holidays).


CONCLUSION:

I don’t really think you can go to New York City and not go up the Empire State. It really is the most amazing view. Ok so the queues can be unbelievable but it is worth it. Mr Tart was moaning when we were queuing but he was really glad that we’d made the effort to go up in the end. It’s not cheap either, but again I do think it’s worth the cost.

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Amazing Views!

• January 12, 2009
• Rated 5 of 5 by Canadian Penguin Lover from Beaverdam, New Brunswick

The Empire State Building is a must-do activity in NYC. The building is stunning inside, and the views outside are amazing. Everything is really well-organized as far as getting up and back down from the Observation Deck, and the price was great. The elevators go up and down quickly. You take one elevator to floor 80 and then another to floor 86. Everything was well-coordinated to keep the lines moving for both going up and going down.

We paid the $15 extra to go to the 102 floor, just under the spire. It was well worth the extra to go up and look over the entire city. Even though it was snowing, we were able to identify many buildings and sites from the 102 floor and to get awesome pictures from both floors. It was very tranquil on the 102 floor (and is indoors!) as very few people acually pay the extra to go to the top. The tranquility from the busyness and hustle/bustle of the city is a nice reprieve, too.

We loved the Empire State Building. You can't go to NYC without visiting it!

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The Empire State Building

• January 1, 2008
• Rated 3 of 5 by Joy S from Manchester, United Kingdom

The Empire State Building is one of the New York skyline's most famous landmarks. It is a limestone classic, built in 410 days at a cost of $40 million during the Depression. I always think of it as the vertical perch off which King Kong was knocked.

When it was completed in 1931, this was the tallest building in the world. Now it is the tallest in Manhattan. It is 1,450 feet high, used 60,000 tonnes of steel and has 6,500 windows (all of which have to be washed).

It is not the most beautiful skyscraper in the city - the Chrysler Building wins this, but it is definitely the most iconic. At night it looks beautiful, bathed in lighting chosen the reflect the season or holiday.

We bought our tickets in advance on-line - highly recommended as it saved us about 45 minutes queuing to buy them. We paid $19 each, under 5's are free. You still have to queue to go through security and for the lifts, but you skip the long lines waiting for tickets. Be sure to show the staff you have your tickets, otherwise they just let you line up anyway.

The lifts go to the 86th floor observation deck where there is an outdoor viewing area. Be prepared for the crowds - even on a Friday morning it was so crushed and packed up there you could hardly move. The views are good though and it's fun to look down at all the shorter skyscrapers reaching up to you. You get an 80 mile view from the top.

As well as the Empire State Building, there are other sights of interest not too far away. The New York Public Library is a short walk away. It is an impressive building with 2 majestic stone lions out at the front - called Patience and Fortitude, and during our visit they were wearing holly garlands. The library building is 2 blocks long with 2 million books inside.

Grand Central Station is also not far away. Definitely go there as it is so beautiful. Built in 1913, this was the gateway to New York, with trains arriving from all directions. It has been beautifully restored. The Main Concourse has a 4 sided clock in the centre, 2 grand staircases and on the high vaulted ceiling is a blue and gold mural depicting the night sky.

At Christmas time in Grand Central they have a holiday lights laser show on the ceiling every 15 minutes. It is quite pretty and interesting to watch.

There are also lots of lovely little shops in the walkways and a great food market. During December they also have a Christmas Market - the stalls all have lots of lovely trinkets, Christmas ornaments and great ideas for gifts and souvenirs. We loved it there and ended up spending a small fortune.

From journal A Week in New York

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