Scared of Heights? Try this for size! (Empire State Building)

Member Name: MrChilliWillie

Product:	Empire State Building
Date:	16/10/04 (2256 review reads)
Rating:

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~ The Empire State Building ~

In the summer of 2002, I and some family took a well earned holiday to the city that never sleeps. As all British tourists do, we departed on a sight seeing spree throughout Manhattan and covered everything including Ground Zero, Broadway, The statue of Liberty, The Chrysler Building and much more. But one virtue remained, it happened to be the tallest, finest, grandest building in the city. It just so happened to be The Empire State Building.

The Empire state building dominates the beautiful New York skyline and is a giant silhouette in the backdrop of the city, a truly remarkable sight to see. When flying into New York for the first time, I was dazed by the vast view of the city, from each miniscule little car to every giant, leering skyscraper. The world’s finest architecture all contained within this one magnificent city and all of it open for the eye to marvel.

~ Whereabouts and entrances ~

You’ll find the Empire State Building (ESB) located in one of New York’s favourite shopping territories, home to some of the cities most popular shops. This includes Macy’s, a short walk away on herald square and owning the space between the 38th and 39th street are the elegant headquarters of Lord and Taylor. The ESB is on 5th avenue and the entrances are found on the 33rd and 34th street. 34th street being a handicap entrance, very wheelchair friendly and accessible and open throughout the day.

~ How to get there ~

There are many ways of reaching the empire state building. The nearest subway station is in 34th Herald Square (wheelchair accessible) and is accessible from lines N, R (Yellow), B, D, F and Q (Orange). Routes are available also by bus or any other public transport systems or, if you dare take on the congested roads, by a famous yellow taxi.

~ History ~

The ESB has always occupied what has been known of as a “prime” site. Before the empire state building was constructed, the “Waldorf Astoria Hotel” was what took the location, a hotel focused at the rich in an era where uptown New York was populated by the rich and wealthy (1893). However, this initial premises didn’t suit very long and in 1929, the Waldorf moved uptown to its current home on Park Avenue. What took its place was not disputable as “less elegant”. The Construction of the empire state building began in 1930. No one would ever miss William Waldorf and his upmarket hotel.


~ Construction ~

The ESB started construction in the early months of 1930, only to be finished 1 year and 45 days later at a staggering rate of 4.5 storeys per week. The ground breaking event occurred only three weeks before the stock market crash of 1929, despite the depression, the project ploughed on ahead, way under the estimate budget of $60million, the grand total coming in at $40m.

At the time, a competition had been set by Walter Chrysler and John Raskob as to who could build the tallest building first. Inevitably, Walter Chrysler constructed the Chrysler building and John Raskob, the Empire State Building. On the date of completion, the two towering skyscrapers soared above Manhattan, the Chrysler building slightly taller. As you can imagine, Walter was overjoyed at his success, little did he know that John Raskob was soon to complete his structure with an added mooring mast to add an extra hundred feet. Walter Chrysler was furious as the Empire State Building was crowned the world’s tallest building.

The ESB enjoyed 40 years of being worlds tallest and nobody challenged it since 8 years ago when it handed the title over Shun Hing Square in China.

Only a couple years after its completion, King Kong was hanging from the skyscraper, attempting to catch passing planes, years later it’s still found being featured heavily in many films, including Sleepless in Seattle and Independence Day, among others (about 90).

The steel carcass of the building was manufactured in Pittsburgh and then immediately transported to New York where the beams were constructed on the site. At best the building would rise at 14 floors in 10 days, an amazing feat.

The official opening of the building was by President Herbert Hoover when he turned the lights on for the first time by pushing a button from inside the White House.

~ Architecture ~

Manhattan is separated by two types of skyscrapers. There are the aging buildings e.g. The Woolworth building and the ever famous Flatiron Building. And there are the “Giants” all found cluttered in mid Manhattan. This included the World Trade Centre and the buildings found nowadays such as the Chrysler building, the ESB, people who have studied Manhattans fine architecture will have heard of the Lipstick (given the name due to its appearance), the trump building and many more. It’s these structures that give New York its fine skyline and in the years to come I’m sure that there will be many more mega structures to influence New York’s society.

In its day, the Empire State Building was a modern resemblance of what the futures skyscrapers were to become. The ESB remains the most evocative image of America and is thankful to the architects Shreve, Lamb and Harmon Associates. They designed a building so unique and individual that professional architects today admire and respect this building as a stepping stone in the history of architecture.

The building is clad with Indiana limestone and granite, with some surfaces having an aluminium touch. The faces of the building are sandblasted to match the design and colour of the windows.

The 1472 feet of the ESB rise with panache, 1472 feet making it one of the tallest buildings in the world and therefore one of the most commercialised, everyone who visits NY flocks to this tourist attraction. From top to bottom, it seems that the building gets a little bulkier as it descends further down, with parts of the building developing the thickness of the structure and giving it a rather stately design as it thins out discreetly towards the top end.

Coming from the Art Deco period, its design doesn’t seem as potent or obvious as some of the other buildings of the time which suits it very well. There aren’t many jagged zig zags or twists of the time that would give it an un-tasteful (is un-tasteful a word?) appearance and it seems a bit more subtle than some of the jazzier buildings of the day. I happen to like this building very much on the architectural side of things and I’m sure few others will disagree.

Wanting to be a future architect myself, I know that this building will help me pursue my career and I shall look up to it as an aim of what can be done. Fingers crossed that in 30 years time I might have achieved something of the same standard. (Remember the words "fingers crossed")

~ Tragedies and Mishaps ~

The ESB hasn’t had the easiest life as a skyscraper. It has undergone many disasters and mishaps, including two unfortunate Englishmen, parachuting from the buildings summit only to be given a short punishment for disturbing the peace.

One of its more famous stories is of its miraculous sustaining of a B-25 Bomber crashing into 79th floor in 1945. Lieutenant Colonel Franklin Smith Jr. was impatient to get landing clearance at Newark and declared reason to fly to La Guardia Airport where he would receive an immediate landing slot. Unfortunately, the morning fog was imminent over New York and he was told that the Empire State Building was not visible in the fog. He could not see it either and crashed into the 79th floor killing himself and co-pilots. The 12 tonne bomber smashed into the building with incredible force, the engine ripped through the buildings interior and exited out the other side, falling onto a penthouse. The ruptured fluid tank set alight and ravaged two floors with fierce fire, the devastation killing 10 others.

One of the deeper moments of its history was when a man opened gunfire on the observation deck in 1997, killing 1 and injuring 7 others. An outcome of this was stronger security which we’ll go into later.

As well as this, there have been the occasional suicides. It’s also said that if you drop a frozen pea from a higher deck, it could smash through a brick wall or a human skull. It’s understandable that when icicles formed on a cold winter’s day the police had to close off part of 5th avenue. Pretty dangerous, I know I wouldn’t like an icicle shattering my skull from 1000 feet.

~ Inside the Empire State Building ~

The basement of the ESB acts as a shopping mall, while the upper floors act as rentable office spaces. The mall is made of solid marble shipped from Europe and is equipped with Post offices, Hairdressers, Public newsagents, café’s and much more. The art deco finishing and red carpets give the impression it’s a Ritz rather than a public Tourist Attraction visited by more than a million tourists a year. It really is impressive with granite touches and stainless steel brushings, well worth a visit along with the journey to the top of the building.

~ Getting to the Top ~

There are various ways of getting to the top. You could go for the 1860 steps (good for you) which would take you approx. 30 to 60 minutes or you could choose the alternative option, the elevators. There are 73 Elevators (including 6 freight) that can zoom up at 600 to 1400 feet. This means you could get from the lobby to the 86th floor in 45 seconds, a bit quicker than the stairs option. Getting to the top in elevator will take about 10 mins due to an elevator switch half way up. You then have to queue another 5 minutes or so till you can shuttle up in the next elevator. When you finally reach your destination, there’ll probably be a little queue to actually get outside onto the observatory deck but this doesn’t take long, the view’s well worth the wait.

~ The View ~

This is what the ESB’s all about, the view. As you walk out of the doors onto the deck, something strikes you about the greatness of this one city; any eye will be dazzled by the intake of features. There are the bright lights, the eye catching yellow taxies and the dynamic skyscrapers including the Chrysler Building, The Trump Building, and The Lipstick along with many more. Ground Zero is visible, as well as staten Island, Central Park and the Statue of Liberty. On a clear day, a panorama view can soar 80 miles away but on usual days, the city’s pollution engulfs more than half of that 80 miles making it, if your lucky 30. On-deck telescopes are positioned at points around the 360o view costing a dollar to use. Yes, you can experience the Big Apple with more detail, but some change gone from your wallet that could be better spent. Don’t be worried about falling off; a high perimeter fence is reassuringly solid, although it does tend to ruin the view, having to fit your head in between the bars to get a clear sight. Even so, the view from the Empire State Building won’t be one to forget quickly!

The view isn’t the only thing that hits you, there’s also the noise. Cabs’ 1000 feet down can be heard blearing away with they’re horns, plane engines roars drone through the air and peoples loud voices can also be heard even that high. It really is incredible.

On the observatory deck is also a Gift Shop, mildly worth mentioning. Of course a wonderful day out at one of the world’s leading attractions has to be spoilt by a gift shop bearing tacky junk. Unfortunately, the shop withdrew $20 or so out of my wallet with my usual purchases, including a mug with “I Love New York” written on it which I still drink from to this day, not all of there items are junk, some good buys can be found.

~ Opening Times ~

The observatory (the main tourist deck), is open from 9.30 am to 12 pm (with some exceptions). The last tickets are sold at 11.30 pm and the ESB is open for 365 days of the year!

~ Ticket Office ~

Tickets are sold from the booths found on concourse levels. As in my case, doormen were also selling tickets at reduced prices but maybe that was just my lucky day, anyhow….. Prices range, as shown in this list:


ESB Audio Tour
$5.00
Adults (18-61)
$12.00
Youth (12-17)
$11.00
Child (6-11)
$7.00
Seniors (62+)
$11.00
Military w/ID
$10.00
Military In Uniform
Free**
Toddlers (5 or younger)
Free*

As you can see, these are reasonably cheap prices compared to other sight seeing attractions in New York, a good day out for a good price!

~ Security ~

The buildings security is similar to that of an airport, just not as rigorous. Generally it’s quick and easy, but since the gunning incident, security has increased dramatically. There are metal detectors and if you happen to look suspicious, frisking could take place. Otherwise, it should not disturb your visit too much taking a matter of seconds. Bags can be checked for explosives, flammable materials, knives, forks, guns, Fireworks, Christmas crackers, frozen peas’ etc.

~ The lighting of the Empire State Building ~

Over the ESBs long life span, it has developed a lighting schedule to honour different occasions such as Halloween or Ronald MacDonald’s 30th anniversary (No, I’m serious !). If you’re lucky enough to visit the building on one of these days, you’ll get the chance to see the building lit up like a Christmas tree, it makes the skyline even better to look at!

~ Conclusion ~

Well, this is the bit where I get tired of thinking and decide to end the review, a short summary of why you should visit the building, what’s good and what’s bad. Let’s get the bad over and done with first. Well, the building can get surprisingly crowded at peak times, which leads to long queues and lack of oxygen, but on the good side it’s a great view at the top, lovely memories and something to occupy the kids for a day! If I could afford it, I would visit New York and the Empire State Building every free holiday, unfortunately, that’s not going to happen, I can always hope.

Talking of hope, I hope this review has inspired you to give the ESB a visit, thanks for reading and feel free to leave any desired comments.

More information can be found at www.esbnyc.com, the official empire state building website.

©MrChilliWillie2004

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