When I visited New York in October I wanted to dig down a bit and find out what the city is really like, not just follow the thousands of other tourists around checking boxes off a ‘must do in New York’ list. I think I did that pretty well and you can read more about it here. However, that didn’t mean I didn’t want to do any of the big touristy stuff – it’s popular for a reason right? – and topping my list was one of the biggest (literally and figuratively) things of all. I wanted – really wanted – to go to the top of the Empire State Building.
At 443m (that’s 1,454 feet in American) it’s pretty big. When it was completed in 1931 it was the tallest building in the world, a record it kept for 40 years. It almost wasn’t though. Tall buildings had been a part of the New York cityscape for more than 20 years already. The Metropolitan Life Tower had come first in 1909 and this was followed by ever taller buildings. By 1929 it was the Bank of Manhattan Building standing at 283m that was dominating the skyline.
The Governor of New York, John Jackob Raskob, along with a former Governor, Al Smith, decided they wanted to build something even taller. However, they weren’t the only ones with this idea and a few blocks away Walter Chrysler was in the process of getting his own penis extension skyscraper erected.
Competition was fierce as the men added more and more floors to their buildings in their attempts to outdo each other. Chrysler topped his building off with a steel spire making it, at 319m, the world’s tallest.
Unfortunately for Mr Chrysler, his building held the record for less than 6 months. On 1st May 1931, the Empire State Building was declared open and with a roof height of 380m and a total height, which included an antenna, of 443m, Chrysler’s record was well and truly smashed.
This record wasn’t beaten again until the World Trade Center was completed in 1970. Following the collapse of the World Trade Center towers in 2001, the Empire State Building once again became the city’s tallest building. These days it’s only the 7th tallest in New York and 48th in the world. It’s still the tallest building I’ve been to the top of however and I was very excited.
Although I knew it was supposed to be quietest early in the day, I really wanted to watch the sun go down over the city and get to see the views in daylight and after dark, so I timed my visit for late afternoon / early evening.
I had bought a card which gave access to lots of New York attractions including this one. Because I had effectively paid in advance it meant I could jump some of the queues to get into attractions. The card I had was a new style one and the machine at the Empire State Building didn’t recognise it which meant I had to queue up elsewhere to get it validated. This took quite a bit of time and I lost any advantage I might have had.
Once through the initial gates there were queues for the lifts that everyone has to join. These lifts only go as far as the 80th floor, then everyone has to get out and join another long queue to wait for another lift. As the building narrows nearer the top there are fewer lifts for all the people coming out of the first lot of lifts to get into so it can be a pretty long wait. As well as all the queuing for lifts there are also queues to get through security before you even get into the building. Basically, just know you will spend an awful long time queuing. Bring a book.
The second lift takes you to the 86th floor which is where the main viewing platform is. This is the platform that you will have seen in films (over 250 of them apparently!) It’s possible to go in a 3rd lift to the 102nd floor which is at the top of the tower that sits on top of the Empire State Building, but as this costs extra, means more queuing, isn’t the bit that’s in all the films and you still get an amazing view from the 86th floor, I didn’t do this.
Did you know?
The 200-foot tower of the Empire State Building was originally designed as a docking point for airships – a terrifying prospect by today’s standards. The building owners, convinced that transatlantic airship travel was the transport of the future, wanted to use the mast as a docking port where it would “swing in the breeze” in wind speeds as high as 40 miles an hour. Passengers would exit and walk an open-air gangplank, check-in at a customs office and make their way to street level. Needless to say, this scheme never took off. The original docking level is now located one floor above the 102nd-floor observatory, up some steep steps behind an unmarked door.
taken from the New York Pass website
The viewing platform wraps round all four sides of the building and was packed with people. I wasn’t the only one who’d had the idea to come up here for sunset. I did manage to keep squeezing myself in at different points and went round the whole thing several times to keep taking the same photos only with different light.
NB: I’ve put the time underneath each photo. This was on 18th October.
I love cityscapes from high above and so I loved the views from the top of the Empire State Building. What I most liked, wasn’t so much how far I could see, but what I could see when I looked straight down. I was looking on to the tops of lots of buildings that in themselves are tall. From up here they look tiny. As the lights started to come on in the buildings the scene reminded me of a Michael Andrews painting. (If you’ve never heard of Michael Andrews I seriously recommend you look him up. The painting the photo below reminds me of is called Lights II: The Ship Engulfed.)
Once I’d had my fill it was back to queuing for lifts again to make my way down. They didn’t seem to take quite so long this time though.
Have you been to the top of the Empire State Building? What buildings do you think are best for sunset photos? Share your thoughts and recommendations in the comments below.
Like this? Read these next:
- Montparnasse Tower
- 9 Things You Need to Know Before Using the New York Subway
- How to Spend a Day in Corona, Queens
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