The Empire State Building
The Empire State building was built during the
depression between 1930-1931. it was officially opened May 1, 1931,
when President Hoover turned the building's lights on.
The ESB took the title of world's tallest building
(at a little more than 1,453 feet, including the rod tower) from the
Chrysler Building, and held it for 41 years until 1972, when the
World Trade Center, also in New York, became the world's largest.
There is an gated outdoor observatory on the 86th
floor, and an indoor one on the 102nd. We went to both observation
levels, but I preferred the lower outdoor one. Wear heavy clothes
though, as it gets quite cold up there! also, be prepared for lots of
cramped standing, as alot of people are going to be in line for
everything before you.
People joke about pennies falling from the top of
the ESB, but any coin that would be thrown/dropped from the top would
never make it to the sidewalk due to the wedding cake design of the
building, a large base with a tower that gets smaller in width as it
get higher.
The tower is located on 350 Fifth Avenue, although at
102 stories, you can probably just look up. I preferred the overall
view of the city, along with the outside observation are of the World
Trade Center, but the Empire State Building provides a spectacular
nighttime close-up view of the city.
An observatory ticket (both included) cost $11.00 for adults, $9.00
for seniors, $6.00 for children 5-11, and free for kids under 5. You
can buy the tickets at the building, or as part of a bundle like Citypass
which we used. You can also order them online at The
official ESB web page. The observatories are open from 9AM to
Midnight everyday. |
