Empire State Building

Last year, I visited the Empire State Building with my friend Molly from the brownstone I live in. Very cool experience!

First thing to know is that the line is a mile long. Wow. We went on a Monday night, and stood in line for probably 40 minutes. It winds and winds and then winds around the corner before winding some more. Then you take the elevator up to the upper floors, and stand in line. Needless to say, this sight is a popular one!

On the way up, we saw these blinds with "Do Not Touch" signs on them. Somehow, I don't think people have been reading the sign!

This was the view as we walked up to the building. Amazing.

A slightly closer view (this is the very topmost spire of the building, taken from the observation deck).

Looking south. In the foreground, lit in beautiful white light, is the Met Life Insurance building. The river of concrete bathed in red light is Fifth Avenue, and near the bottom of the photo is where it meets Broadway. Wedged into the V made by the two avenues is the famous Flatiron Building, one of New York's first skyscrapers and definitely one of our most beloved. In the distance taking up the right half of the photo is the financial district with its many skyscrapers.

Looking east to Brooklyn/Queens.

Looking north, my favorite view. Up close, with the 300 foot tall antenna, is the Conde Nast Building. Needless to say, it houses Conde Nast, the major fashion publishing company where I consulted last year. Far off in the distance is the George Washington bridge, the fourth largest suspension bridge in the U.S., which sees over a quarter million cars go across every day.

And of course, what visit to the Empire State Building visit would be complete without throwing something down onto the unsuspecting masses below? I chose a paper airplane. It made it about 30 feet before beight caught in a giant net.

Apparently I'm not the only person who had that idea.