The Empire State Building. Arguably New York's most iconic landmark it was built at a time of intense skyscraper building frenzy. It beat the elegant Chrysler building and 40 Wall Street building, which were completed a couple of months before in 1931, and stands at 102 storeys as the tallest building in New York.
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This was my first sight of the building. I didn't recognise it at first as I couldn't see the top!
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A view of the top from the 86th floor observatory. The 102nd floor is at the base of the mast.
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The Great Depression followed its completion and the floors weren't fully occupied for many years, so it was initially known as The Empty State Building! The irony is that following the destruction of the World Trade Centre in 2001, there are plans for even taller structures in Chicago and New York but the current economic recession may stall these projects. Much as tall buildings are awesome, some people see them as a waste of money.h
View of Lower Manhattan. The old binoculars are not of much use as tourists have digicams with superior zoom.
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View of middle Manhattan, looking towards Central Park. The building with the jagged, stepped edge is part of the Rockerfeller Centre, which was built to help steer the New Deal during the Great Depression and stimulate jobs and commerce. To the lower left is Times Square and and the wide building on the right is the former Pan-Am building.
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The East River and across is Brooklyn and Queens. You can see the Chrysler Building's distinctive spire.
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The Chrysler Building. Built in 1931 and still in good condition. As for the UN Headquarters, further down the East River, it was completed in 1952 and is crumbling. In fact UN HQ might have to move to Brooklyn whilst they renovate the building.
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View of Mid Manhattan, looking North towards the Hudson river, the crash landing site of a plane in distress, after ducks messed up its engines, earlier this year.
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Looking down into mid Manhattan. The 5th Avenue shopping district is shadowed by the building under construction.
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Lower Manhattan. This is the older part of New York, which also has Chinatown. The tallest buildings cluster around Wall Street. You can see the East River meeting the Hudson River.
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The lower end of the Lower East Side. A bit grim, but looks like lovely brown chocolate bars (mmmm....) in the sunset.
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Whereas the upper end of the Lower East Side is more upmarket. Walking through there, you see the wealthy side of the city.
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Rooftop garden terrace. Some penthouse condominiums have lush gardens miles above the reality of the concrete grind.
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Ending with that reinforced concrete and glass wedge, the Flatiron...
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