The Empire State is an innocuous presence in the middle of Manhattan. It’s the city’s tallest building and I pass it all the time but hardly give it a second thought.
I love the way it looks, it’s not that I don’t think it’s a beautiful building because it is, I just seem to take it for granted. It’s this thing which has always been there and I can’t think of life without it. I haven’t been up to the top in a long, long time. Not that I haven’t wanted to go but, when I have been in the building the line looks so incredibly long, I don’t see the use in waiting on, I keep thinking I’ll go the one day or time when the rest of the world is asleep or off doing other things and I’ll be able to really enjoy the experience.
Many years ago, a friend used the observation deck as the place to propose to his wife - it struck me as so very romantic and I’m sure there are a lot of stories similar to that one.
It just reminded me of the World Trade Center in a way and how everytime I’m outside of Manhattan looking at the skyline, it seems so unbalanced now. Whether I’m out in the Meadowlands, driving along the BQE, coming down from the Bronx, or just riding the Hudson line there is this big gaping absence, it’s like looking at one of those cartoons where your supposed to compare the differences between two pictures that look the same. In this instance, the image is the one I grew up with, the mental picture that is jarred when I look at the skyline now.
Anyway, I do find myself looking up at the ESB when I’m walking up Fifth Avenue sometimes and looking up seeing the telltale flashes of photo takers on the observation deck thinking how I have to get up there one of these days soon.
2 comments:
I'm old enough to remember the NYC skyline without the WTC, and even though it does look weird now it's not really unnatural to me - the ugly WTC towers themselves were what I always considered to be ugly. My favorite building in NYC is still the Chrysler Building - try to step inside it sometime and check out the murals on the lobby ceiling.
Oh, I have to agree with you on that. I had the good fortune to work right next door to the Chrysler building for about a year awhile back and never could help but be fascinated by all the beautiful detail on every surface.
The Chrysler building has one of a few obscure entrances to Grand Central that only New Yorkers can be aware of. The passage goes from the north side of 42nd Street and into the south corridor but of course involves many stairs. Worth it though on a very cold day or a very rainy one.
As ugly as the WTC may have been - and there is an argument there to be sure - I think the buildings were more emblematic of a design trend in our country at the time. The design trend carries over to other structures and the thing that immediately comes to mind are the several “cookie cutter” ballparks built around the same time (which are all currently being demolished). Those parks being Veterans Stadium (Philly), Riverfront Stadium (Cincy), Three Rivers Stadium (Pittsburgh) and finally Busch Stadium in St. Louis.
I still miss the WTC though, even if it was ugly, even if I hadn’t been in the complex in a very long time. I just remember always seeing the buildings just past the Washington Square Arch walking down lower 5th Avenue - I’m looking forward to another tall building being put in the spot so at the very least the ESB doesn’t look so alone.
Speaking of the Chrysler building, I am making my way through an ARC (Advance Reader’s Copy) of a book called Higher by Neil Bascomb which I would be glad to pass along when I’m through with it. I have a feeling you would enjoy it quite a bit.
Post a Comment