The Empire State Building [designed by William F. Lamb] is a 102-story skyscraper “located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. It has a roof height of [1,224 feet (373.1 meters)], and with its antenna spire included, it stands a total of 1,454 feet (443.2 m) high. Its name is derived from the nickname for New York, the Empire State. It stood as the world’s tallest building for nearly 40 years, from its completion in early 1931 until the topping out of the World Trade Center’s North Tower in late 1970. ” (Sandberg, 2014). 

I visited the Empire State building on my first trip to New York in the summer of last year. Our decision to visit this museum and observatory was just happenstance. We had traveled to that part of town with no final plans and ended up on 5th Ave. after some aimless walking. Despite this, that detour was a great idea! The beautiful Art Deco building draws the visitor up its immense height, through a labyrinth of photos, construction facts, and pop culture references. One of my favorite elements of the building was the elevator ride up to the observation deck; as you ascend, they play a brilliantly made, historical video which adds to the spectacle of the visit. We spent a long time on the observatory deck, trying to take in the view. Thinking back on it, being up that high produced a kind of sensory overload. It was hard to see all the smaller buildings and orient myself to geographically, though admittedly I get lost very easily. After a long day of exploring, the Empire State Building was our final stop and a great way to end my second day in New York. I loved everything about this trip! To experience architecture this intimately and in such detail, was truly unforgettable.  

Sandberg, M. (2014, February, 11). Architecture: The empire state building. https://datavizblog.com/2014/02/11/architecture-the-empire-state-building/