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The Empire State Building is a historic place. It's not just a tall building, but it was the tallest building in the world for over forty years. And it's a fairly massive building, not slender like the also-tall Chrysler Building. It's kind of on the southern edge of the tall buildings of midtown Manhattan, so it's very visible from south of there, and we saw it a lot as we were walking up from the Brooklyn Bridge on Friday.
We came within a few blocks, but didn't have the time to visit. That was first on my list for saturday.
click for detail
That's the fence around the observation deck at the top of the stonework. I think there's another observation deck behind the windows on the round part much higher up.
It was cool to stand at the base of it and look up, through the street lights at it.
And then we had to figure out where the entrance was. As were were looking, we got stopped by a salesman. I was aware that the basic admission was $20, and the express line was $35. The salesman told us that it was $20 for the regular line that had a 45 minute wait. Or $45 for the express line with a film. You watch a 15 minute film that shows various sites that you can see from the top, and then you get to go on to the top. I decided I hadn't remembered my prices right, and since we didn't have a lot of time to waste in line, we got the package. Now if there's a fifteen minute movie, and it takes them five minutes to seat everyone, and five minutes to get everyone out of the theater, that's 25 minutes, right? And if you just miss getting in to the movie when you arrive, you might be waiting another 20 minutes, right? That's over a 45 minute wait. And then when you get out of the movie, you get to wait in line for about 15 minutes for the express elevators. So it seemed like a rip off. But who knows how long the regular lines took. The guy on the street isn't allowed to say how long the lines really are.
But the worst part, for me, was the movie. It wasn't just a movie, it was one of those motion rides. The seats are on a platform that moves according to the film, and the film was flying all over Manhattan. And it wasn't just flying over the city, and around and through the buildings, it was trying to be as exciting as possible, like a thrill ride. I love roller coasters, but this wasn't realistic movement, so I got pretty sick. I couldn't look at the screen for most of it, so I missed seeing penspusher's little scene.
Anyway, we waited in line for a while, then rode up to the 80th floor, I think. We had another elevator ride, when someone said we could walk the last six floors if we wanted. A whole bunch of people did.
There were a lot of people up there, so you kinda had to wait your turn for a view, but it wasn't horrible.
The Goldman Sachs Building in Jersey City.
click for detail
You know what's weird? When I was up there, I never looked up. I never tried to see the spire above us. I never looked up from one of the tallest buildings on earth. I intended to. At one point, there were two photographs I was going to take. I got one, and we left. And I'll never have that chance again. I sure as heck ain't going back up there again. Unless you must be part of the history that is the Empire State Building, I recommend going to the Top of the Rock, instead. From what I've seen, it looks like a way better place.
We came within a few blocks, but didn't have the time to visit. That was first on my list for saturday.
click for detailThat's the fence around the observation deck at the top of the stonework. I think there's another observation deck behind the windows on the round part much higher up.
It was cool to stand at the base of it and look up, through the street lights at it.
And then we had to figure out where the entrance was. As were were looking, we got stopped by a salesman. I was aware that the basic admission was $20, and the express line was $35. The salesman told us that it was $20 for the regular line that had a 45 minute wait. Or $45 for the express line with a film. You watch a 15 minute film that shows various sites that you can see from the top, and then you get to go on to the top. I decided I hadn't remembered my prices right, and since we didn't have a lot of time to waste in line, we got the package. Now if there's a fifteen minute movie, and it takes them five minutes to seat everyone, and five minutes to get everyone out of the theater, that's 25 minutes, right? And if you just miss getting in to the movie when you arrive, you might be waiting another 20 minutes, right? That's over a 45 minute wait. And then when you get out of the movie, you get to wait in line for about 15 minutes for the express elevators. So it seemed like a rip off. But who knows how long the regular lines took. The guy on the street isn't allowed to say how long the lines really are.
But the worst part, for me, was the movie. It wasn't just a movie, it was one of those motion rides. The seats are on a platform that moves according to the film, and the film was flying all over Manhattan. And it wasn't just flying over the city, and around and through the buildings, it was trying to be as exciting as possible, like a thrill ride. I love roller coasters, but this wasn't realistic movement, so I got pretty sick. I couldn't look at the screen for most of it, so I missed seeing penspusher's little scene.
Anyway, we waited in line for a while, then rode up to the 80th floor, I think. We had another elevator ride, when someone said we could walk the last six floors if we wanted. A whole bunch of people did.
There were a lot of people up there, so you kinda had to wait your turn for a view, but it wasn't horrible.
The Goldman Sachs Building in Jersey City.
click for detailYou know what's weird? When I was up there, I never looked up. I never tried to see the spire above us. I never looked up from one of the tallest buildings on earth. I intended to. At one point, there were two photographs I was going to take. I got one, and we left. And I'll never have that chance again. I sure as heck ain't going back up there again. Unless you must be part of the history that is the Empire State Building, I recommend going to the Top of the Rock, instead. From what I've seen, it looks like a way better place.
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Date: 2010-06-15 07:26 am (UTC)From:That "spire" on the ESB was said to have been intended to be a mooring mast for dirigibles, if you can believe it! I don't really know if it ever would have worked in that way, and I'm fairly certain that nobody even tried to use it that way, but it does make a good place to put a transmitter... just in case someone actually needs one of those, nowadays.
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Date: 2010-06-16 02:19 am (UTC)From:There are so many transmitters up there, I'm surprised we didn't get cooked!
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Date: 2010-06-15 09:11 am (UTC)From:It kind of reminds me of waiting for a balcony viewing spot at the top of the Giralda.
:P
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Date: 2010-06-16 02:20 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2010-06-15 11:33 am (UTC)From:the pigeon on the ledge makes me get feel like i have a fear of heights!
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Date: 2010-06-16 02:23 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2010-06-15 04:43 pm (UTC)From:Yes, there was a mooring thing for the blimps that were used at the time. However, I think they quickly discovered what a bad idea it was... and of course the blimps started having tragedies...
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Date: 2010-06-15 06:00 pm (UTC)From:Top of the Rock is what they call the observation deck on the roof of the Rockefeller Center. The GE building has quite a history as well, but it revovles around TV, rather than business and world records. At 70 floors, it has a similar view, but not only can you see Central Park, but you can also see the Empire State Building itself.
no subject
Date: 2010-06-15 06:08 pm (UTC)From:We went the $20 route. I don't think it took that long to wait, though there was a line.
Did you notice that you have The Statue of Liberty in one of your photos?
(And my favorite is probably the pigeon/hand photo!)
no subject
Date: 2010-06-16 02:17 am (UTC)From:In these photos? No Statue of Liberty. But you can see the back of Ellis Island, in the one of the Goldman Sachs building.