"We interrupt this program" (Iceland vacation stories) to bring you views from the Empire State Building August 2, 2023


I hope all my zillions of raving fans (I can dream, can't I?) will enjoy these views from the Empire State Building, where I recently went up to the 80th and 86th floor observation decks. Some of the views I'm about to post are of NYCs most iconic places, like the Crysler Building and the Freedom Tower, while others are simply of buildings I like for their architectural features. Most of the NYC skyline is very much contemporary steel and glass, but look just a little bit below the tallest skyscrapers, and you can find late 19th and early 20th century style buildings in a variety of styles.  Maybe you can help me identify some of the places I haven't already captioned.


Manhattan skyline(s)

Let's start with a portrait of the Empire State building itself and then a view from the 80th floor looking south toward Freedom Tower. NYC really has two tall areas of skyline, with the Empire State Building and rest of Midtown making up one tall area, and Freedom Tower and the rest of the Downtown making the other - although it's pretty hard for me to think of such a huge city as having a specific "downtown" when you can find conveniences and destination spots all over Manhattan.  But "Downtown", of course, contains the financial district so it makes sense in a proportionate way.









Statue of Liberty

Okay, I admit I enlarged the photo below to show a better view of the Statue of Liberty.  It was possible, but difficult to see Lady Liberty with my naked eye.  But if you ever visit the Empire State Building you can pay extra to go up to the 102nd floor observation deck, where you might get a clearer view of it.



Architectural styles in Manhattan

The view below includes two buildings whose architectural styles I liked - one contemporary and sleek, and the other with a conical metallic dome that must be something other than copper, since it looks more gold than turquoise - Anyone want to offer any insights about this metal in the comments section of this blog post?






The building below is typical of NYC's turn-of-the-last-century stepped buildings.  In 1916 the city passed an ordinance requiring all new construction to become narrower after reaching a certain height in order to allow sunlight into the streets and building space below. The Skyscraper Museum, located in the tip (aka "Battery") area of Manhattan has the article "A 3D CBD How the 1916 Zoning Law Changed Manhattan's Central Business District" about this ordinance and other developments in the NYC skyline.  This article (retrieved August 12, 2023, at https://old.skyscraper.org/zoning/) includes old-time photos, and maps dating to the early 19th Century. In 1961 the 1916 ordinance was changed again so that buildings from then on no longer had to be "stepped".  I'm not sure the reasoning behind the 1961 change (perhaps the demand for space won out over the desire for natural sunlight as artificial lighting became more available?), but one day I'd like to visit the Skyscraper Museum to learn more about the city's history and ever-changing skyline. Personally, I am overwhelmed by the multitude of New York City skyscrapers and wouldn't want to live beyond 3 to 5 floors high, but I also believe in facing my fears - gradually - so I occasionally like to visit NYC in person, while learning more about its history and future trends.

The building you're seeing in the photo below has a rooftop garden - a nice innovation in my opinion.  I'm not sure if the building in my photo is residential or commercial, although I imagine it could be either.  There's a new office skyscraper "The Spiral", in Hudson Yards which incorporates trees and terraced gardens on its exterior!  Check out B1M's May 25, 2022 YouTube clip "New York's Tallest New Skyscraper Explained" (retrieved August 14, 2023, at www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxROuGXAo5s).

Of course, pretty much any residence in Manhattan costs well over a million dollars. Meanwhile office real estate has had a high vacancy rate since the pandemic, according to reports I hear on WNYC, but it remains to be seen whether demand for office space will resume, or whether any of this space can be converted into residential or other use. I would like to see more affordable housing reachable within an hour-radius of the city by public transportation, but I'm probably overly idealistic.  I'm glad that my husband and I were able to afford a condo within a two-hour commute by public transit - and equally glad we only need to go into the city for sightseeing instead of as a daily commute!




Stephen Wiltshire

Artist Stephen Wiltshire re-creates complex skylines of world-class cities including New York, London, and Tokyo, from photographic memory.  His drawings of the New York City skyline are displayed on the 80th floor of the Empire State Building.  Window glare makes it hard to get a good photo without having sophisticated photography equipment, but there are plenty of Stephen Wiltshire reproductions for sale at the 2nd floor gift shop (The tour exits through this gift shop).  Alternatively, you can view several YouTube documentaries about this amazing artist and his work, or read his website, Stephen Wiltshire | Contemporary Artist & Architectural Illustrator (retrieved August 14, 2023) which mentions several of his books and includes a "movies" link with video clips and documentaries of Stephen in the process of sketching cityscapes around the world.  







More cool views from the ESB observation decks...


This twisty-spired building (below) is "One Vanderbilt Place", which contains
"The Summit", another NYC observation deck that attracts many tourists. You can read about The Summit's opening to the public in late 2021 at Views From (and of) Summit at One Vanderbilt - The Atlantic (retrieved August 12, 2023). No way am I going to visit "The Summit", however - the inside views shimmer, and their photos inspire wonder, but the actual experience probably would inspire vertigo given the glass floors and mirrors which reflect passers-by above and below The Summit observation deck. Take a look at photo #6 in the above article to see what I mean. This deck is a thrill-seeker's delight, and one of several in the city.

I could, however, visualize a few evergreen trees sprouting from the rooflines of One Vanderbilt, since I think the rooflines resemble a (foreboding) snow-covered mountaintop!  (I'm not sure if this actually would be feasible. It's just my imagination running wild.  On the other hand, The Spiral building which I've already described, has managed to plant trees and vines on its exterior, and I hope it will set a trend among new construction skyscrapers because we really need all the greenspace we can get in this world)




The green (coloring, not vegetation) of the Sales Force building (immediately below) is pretty eye-popping amid a sea of neutral-colored buildings.  In the next photo the building with the bronzy dome, is the Bryant Park Hotel, and opens directly onto the park of the same name. 




Of course, when people think of New York City parks they usually think of Central Park.  Surprisingly, Bryant Park is easier to photograph from the 86th floor observation deck despite the huge size of Central Park.  This is due to the mega-tall "Billionaire's Row" residences which offer the ultra-wealthy excellent views of the park, but which block a clear photo-shoot from the ESB observation 80th and 86th floor observation decks.  

Below, one of the "Billionaire's Row" residential skyscrapers centers itself in front of my view of Central Park, much as this text insists on center-aligning itself in this blog-entry for some reason I can't fathom at the moment (LOL).





Below, another example of older-style architecture that I liked, especially for the arched window and triangular copper roof-top...






Art Deco inside the Empire State Building


The above ceiling is an example of useful Art Deco
 in the ESB. (Notice the signs pointing to views of different NYC landmarks).  I could see most of these landmarks, but not Grand Central Station (which, so far, I've not had to use anyway).



I hope you enjoyed these pictures and suggestions for further reading and viewing about big-city architecture.  If you're heading to the NYC area maybe we can meet up.

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