Day 10 - Empire State Building

The day was getting late by the time we got back to Manhattan. I think it was about 3 PM or so and we had the play to go to this night. Bless the subway - we got up to the area of the Empire State building in less than a half hour. The lines at the Empire State Building can be enormous in the summer but bless the fall season. We had very little wait. Also the day before the overcast had been so bad you couldn't see the top of the building from the ground. This day was great weather. We had overcast but that is all. This is the ESB from the ground looking up.You know sometimes you just have to take a picture. This guy was in line just before us and it wasn't a kid but an older guy no less. We were eating breakfast today with a guy that only had one sock since he had packed all his others and the luggage had been taken away. We suggested he just switch it from foot to foot every hour or so to make things even.

This is the very top of the building from the 86th floor lookout. They wanted another $20 to go up to the 101st floor but we opted out of that one. We never saw King Kong either - darn.

We took tons of puctures but this one has significance. The pointed building in the center is the Chrysler Building. It was the second tallest building in the world once upon a time. What is significant is that it tower bisects a dark piece of land that is a peninsula of Long Island. By my reconing that is where Sands Point, Long Island is located. My Sands ancestors owned land on that point back in the late 1600's.

Not the greatest picture as we were looking into the sun. This is looking south on Manhatten. Ground Zero is actually about where the furthest right tall buildings are located. You can see the Statue of Liberty out in the river and the island just to the right is Ellis Island.

And you ask where we were staying. We were on 40th Street just off 8th Avenue. This picture has 3 hotels in one. The black one is the Four Points, The red is the Marriot and the gray colored one is ours - Staybridge Suites at Times Square. Like I showed earlier it was an excellent hotel, even though a couple of doors past the Marriot was the New York Parole Board offices.

Day 9 - Manhattan Part 3

This coiuld have been the tour that would never end. Anyway, this is a building that was just unique and felt needed its picture taken. Interesting, wouldn't you say?

Speaking of buildings, these two make an interesing pair. They are both owned by Met Life. The one on the right is the Met Life building. The second one was planned to be 100+ stories but was never finished as they got this far and the Great Depression hit. The guide said that if they had finished it, the Empire State Building would never have been built.

Speaking of the Empire State Building, here it is in the low overcast. This wouldn't have been a good day to pay over $20 to go up it and get a good view of the city. We learned that it was mostly empty after being built and some obscure movie made it so famous that companies started moving into it. Remember a gorilla and a girl and airplanes shooting at the ape?

If I can sell you this, I could sell you the Brooklyn Bridge. Well this is a tower of the Brooklyn Bridge showing the hundreds of cables that support the roadway on the bridge. This was the largest suspension bridge in the world when it was built. I remember reading a book about the builder in junior high.