Undoubtedly, going up to the observation deck of the Empire State Building (ESB) is a must-to-do when you are in New York City (NYC). There are two decks: one on the 86th floor and the another on 102nd; and I had been to the lower one - still not so low!
Built in 1931 in Midtown-Manhattan, ESB has been the tallest building in NYC for about 40 years before it was superseded by the World Trade Center in the late 1970. Being a weekday, the queue wasn't inordinately long and within half an hour of entering the building, I found myself on the 80th floor which houses a gallery exhibiting panels presenting the story on how this famed sky-scrapper had come up.
Southern tip of Manhattan island may easily be identified if you can point out the tallest building in the city - One World Trade Center - with its glass facade strongly reflecting light from the setting-sun. Density of high-rise structures rises up across the length of Manhattan island as one's eyes travel southward up to the financial district. The urban fabric dotting the landscapes of Brooklyn on the West and Jersey City on the East (across the Hudson river) expanded the view. Everything put together, the panoramic view called for one of the densest human settlement across the globe.
Moving up to the 86th floor, strong wind and a crowded deck welcomed me out in the open. Besides the cityscape seen below, it was also interesting to watch how the onlookers were busy taking some quick selfies with the urban fabric as the background; whereas a few were patient in shooting a time-lapse video to capture the fast changing scene as lights were up on the streets and buildings, and the sky was getting darker. It helped me realize the innate desire of human race to freeze the moment; and its futility as time never stops for anyone. By now, the whole scene was shimmering with thousands specks of light.
Making way for others to witness the splendid scene, I left the building. The entrance foyer has been renovated in 2009 with re-establishing the art-deco styled interior-decor as a tribute to the Machine Age when the building had come up, i.e. in the 1930s.
Tips: Scheduling one's visit to ESB is important. I would recommend the twilight hours when the sun is setting and very soon the street-lights will be switched 'on' putting the city on a fire-grid!
Your post takes me to the ESD with the simple yet curious mind of a traveller. It has locational details with directions, which make one almost navigate the imaginary city landscape (imaginary- for people like me, who haven't visited the NYC). The photographs are splendidly lucid and depict vivid transitions during the twilight; they help the imagination.
ReplyDeleteYour personal reflections look intriguing, but attenuated. Perhaps, you could write more on your observations and emotions around "the innate desire of human race to freeze the moment" or "Making way for others to witness the splendid scene, I left the building" in the next article.
Thanks for your thoughtful comment "Mr/Ms/Mx Unknown". I will keep that in mind. Basically, even before visiting ESB, I could have anticipated how the cityscape would look like from the top - as this imagery is widely publicized whenever one looks for New York City on internet search. What was not imagined was the madness in the visitors there to click a photo of the scene - trying hard to capture the experience of being literally on the top of the world - close to the clouds! Particularly, clicking a selfie with the urban fabric as its backdrop. Such madness was so infectious that it even hit me and I couldn't resist not clicking a selfie myself (only to add to a list of bad selfies!)
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