Visiting the Empire State Building, New York

New York, New York – so good they named it twice goes the song, though this was my first visit to New York. The main attraction as far as I was concerned was the Empire State Building – a cultural icon and one of the most recognizable and celebrated attractions in New York.

With a city that is synonymous with skyscrapers, the Empire State Building may not be the tallest in the city, however it remains the most famous one. As a tourist there are other skyscrapers with observation decks vying for your attention, however none are in the middle of this bustling metropolis that give you a full view all round of the city as we discovered on a recent visit.

The Empire State

Construction of the building took only one year and forty-five days, opening on 1st May 1931, erected on the site of the original Waldorf-Astoria Hotel with over seven million manhours helping to construct the art deco building.

The building has 102 floors with 1,860 steps from street level to the 102nd floor with the top observation deck at a height of 1,250 feet (381 metres). Thankfully there are a succession of lifts that glide the visitor up to the deck and as you might expect, there are various opportunities to relieve you of your hard earned cash; including having your photo taken in the grip of King Kong’s arms and to recreate yourself the famous scenes from the hit film. It is worth going up to the very top observation deck and as you might expect, incurs an extra charge for experiencing the climate controlled, enclosed observatory with floor to ceiling windows.

The view from the 86th observation deck is still impressive, offering 360-degree views at a height of 1,050 feet (320 metres) with a view that includes all the famous landmarks including Brooklyn Bridge, the Statue of Liberty, across to New Jersey and north to Central Park. We were lucky that our visit coincided with a bright day where we could see 40 miles into the distance, which only happens during favourable weather conditions. The glass enclosed area which is surrounded by an outdoor open-air terrace is equipped with free high-power binoculars and heaters for when the weather gets colder.

In the evening from dusk to 2am,the tower lights up – making somewhere like our own Blackpool Tower seem miniscule! On holidays, events, and special causes the tower is illuminated even further. In 2012 the building upgraded its tower lighting system from floodlights to LED tower lights which allows customized light capabilities from a palette of over 16 million colours!

This is not the place for anyone who dislikes heights, but for those who do not mind a birds eye view of one of the most famous skylines in the world, they will have an experience that will be memorable and fun too; there is a museum that gives the visitor the history of the building.

If you have a bucket list of places to visit, make sure that the Empire State Building is at the top of your list for an experience that will make you feel on top of the world.