Empire State Building | Our Adventures

“I am in love with cities I have never been to and people I have never met. Oh darling. Let’s be adventurers.” Author John Green, Paper Towns

The last time we visited New York City was back in 2018 during Spring Break. It was Heidi’s first time to the Big Apple so we visited the big sights; Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, 911 Museum, MOMA, Museum of Natural History, Guggenheim, Time’s Square, Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Fashion District and made it to a Broadway Play. We treated ourselves to New York Pizza and New York Cheesecake and traipsed all over Central Park. And it snowed on us! And rained on us!!!! And chilled us to the bone. And we swore it would be awhile before we returned.

Well this year, and it is Spring Break, and it seemed like it had been awhile, and though all our friends were heading to warm climes…Arizona, Palm Springs, Costa Rica, Mexico, Florida, we thought it would be fun to head back to New York City to see a couple of plays and some sights we missed last time. Yes, that was our plan. So months in advance we booked our hotel and flights, secured tickets to two Broadway plays, made plans to visit the MET, walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, grab a pastrami sandwich at Katz Deli, walk about Central Park, wander about Grand Central Station, and find a few hidden gems…..and we kept our eye on the weather report. Two weeks prior to departure, forecasts called for partly sunny skies and temperatures nearing 60 degrees ….much better than snow. Unfortunately the forecast didn’t hold, instead worsened until it read 95% chance of rain and possible thunderstorms….oh well, what can we do but go forward, bring warm clothes, rain gear and umbrellas. We are from the Northwest so we have practice battling rain.

We arrived late afternoon, grabbed a taxi into Manhattan and The Ace Hotel..a cute, hip spot in Mid Town. In fact, when we walked into our room and opened the shades, we looked right at the Empire State Building. Starved, we went and grabbed a nice dinner and then, believing it might be the only day there without rain, we made our way to the Empire State Building. Up we went, to the 86th floor observation deck just as the sun set and gazed upon all the twinkling lights of this amazing city.

We wake up the next morning to the sound of rain pelting against the windows. That 95% chance of rain was spot on. But after a hearty breakfast, away we go down into the subway to head downtown get off at the City Hall/Brooklyn Bridge station. Now the Brooklyn Bridge is this iconic bridge built in the late 1800’s and opened Sept. 24, 1883 and was at the time the longest suspension bridge in the world. It is a cultural icon, highlighted in books, paintings, photographs and movies. Advertisers have used the bridge to sell everything from vaseline to Absolut Vodka. And we planned to walk across it. The only nice thing about all the rain coming down was it kept the crowds away and we had smooth sailing. The views to the city are amazing as you cross over the East River. Unlike so many other bridges, the walking lanes are totally away from the traffic.

Next back on the subway and wind our way north to visit the MET. Love the MET, and it is huge and holds so many treasures. And today it was crowded for everyone wanted a warm, dry spot to escape the rain. Our favorite section has always been the impressionists section and that was our first stop!!!

This painting by Henri Regnault of Salome…look at how the lace fabric is transparent…amazing talent.

Love Van Gogh

Heidi and a Rodin

This one so realistic it looks like a photograph (William Bouguereau, Breton Brother and Sister)

And some American art….first two by Winslow Homer and the last by George Caleb Bingham

Water Lilies by Monet and the Bridge at his home in Giverny, France. Fun to see this painting as we actually walked across that bridge when we visited his gardens.

Slogged back to the hotel, dried off, grabbed a bite to eat and it is off to our first play, Moulin Rouge, The Musical at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre. Oh what an amazing show…the singing, the dancing, the acting, all superb. And one of the stars of the show was none other than Boy George of Culture Club fame. And at the end of the show, the cast sang a bit of Karma Chameleon and Do You Really Want to Hurt Me…to a thunderous applause!!!! We LOVE Broadway Shows. And we had great seats…about 6 rows up from the stage!!!

Our last full day looks to be the worst weather-wise….hard rain all day long with evening thunderstorm!!! We cannot get a break!!! But into the deluge we went…to Grand Central Station, one of the most beautiful train stations in the world.

Built back in the 1870s by Cornelius Vanderbilt when train travel was the rage, but by the 1950s cars and planes had surpassed trains as the main means of getting from point A to point B, and the station fell into disrepair, it lost its National Landmark status and was scheduled to be torn down, replaced by a new skyscraper. But Jackie Onassis and legendary architect Philip Johnson banded together to form the Committee to Save Grand Central Station and succeeded. The building was cleaned up, layers and layers of soot and grime were removed from the walls and ceiling. The ceiling constellations once again could be seen from below, broken windows replaced, trash removed, and the station was expanded. Today it is such a vibrant area. People scurrying to catch their train, shops and eateries abound and everywhere there is motion and activity.

And we tried to find a few Grand Central Station Secrets.

The Whispering Gallery: In the passageway near the Oyster Bar stands an acoustic marvel known as the Whispering Gallery. Two people standing at opposite corners of the vaulted archway can communicate, their voices reverberating like a game of telephone that no one else can hear. When Heidi spoke into the wall, her voice carried across the arch to my ear at the other side, about 50 feet away…and her voice was clear as day and no one else could hear. To this date, no one knows whether this fascinating acoustic effect was intentional.

The Black Tile: On the ceiling, just above Cancer the Crab’s claw, is a single black tile. A sticky patina of water stains, train soot, dirt and grime had smothered the ceiling, but the key ingredient in the brown sludge was tobacco—decades and decades of cigarette smoke wafting up with no means of escape. If you have ever bought a car that had been used prior by a smoker, you know the residue that covers everything. To clean it all and still preserve the ceiling’s luster was painstaking work, using only mild sudsy water and gentle scrubbing with Q-tips the job was completed. This tile was purposely left uncleaned. Now you can see just how dirty the ceiling was at the time before the cleaning.

The Constellations on the Ceiling: Across the entire ceiling of Grand Central Station are the constellations the winter zodiac viewable from January to June, from Aquarius to Cancer. Also depicted are Pegasus, Triangulum Majus and Minus, Musca Borealis, and Orion. But unknown to most who gaze up at the ceiling, they were painted backwards, a mistake made by the architect. But crafty Mr. Vanderbilt covered up the mistake by telling everyone this was the view that God would see looking down upon them.

Next stop, the New York City Library….a gorgeous building and a chance to let us dry off and get out of the cold on our way back to the hotel. This building opened in 1911 and was the largest marble building ever built in the United States. The lion statues at the entrance are unofficially name Patience and Fortitude. Not sure why, but in the massive collection are locks of hair from the heads of Charlotte Brontë, Walt Whitman, Mary and Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Wild Bill Hickok, among others. Also here are the original Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Tigger and Eeyore, but we couldn’t find them. Ghostbusters was filmed here as well as Breakfast at Tiffany’s. It is truly beautiful inside.

By the time we got back to the hotel, Heidi was soaked through and through, and we were both chilled to the bone…so instead of going out to eat, we ordered a pizza and a bottle of wine and warmed up in our room as the rain continued to lash at our windows.

This evening we Uber to the Lyric Theatre for another Broadway play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, a must for any fan of Harry Potter. On the way to the theatre, the thunderstorm arrived….lightening, thunder, torrential rain….perfect effect for Harry Potter!!!! This play was filled with special effects so professionally done we couldn’t figure out how they did some of them. And the Dementors were pretty scary, thought for sure the kids in the audience had nightmares for nights to come. Very entertaining.