ICONS
Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Brooklyn Bridge. Your little-town blues will melt away when you see these awesome icons of The Big Apple. Some of these buildings are lucky to still be here. For years New Yorkers thought city land was too valuable for buildings to be “marked.” That attitude changed after Pennsylvania Station was demolished in 1965, and the Landmarks Preservations Commission was formed as a result.
Extending southeast from City Hall Park (see Historic Sites), the bridge connects downtown Manhattan with Brooklyn. 4, 5 or 6 train to Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall.
With its great Gothic towers and its spider’s web of cables, the Brooklyn Bridge is one of New York’s best-known landmarks. Building it wasn’t easy. German-born John Augustus Roebling got the commission to design it in 1869, but shortly after the plans were approved, one of his feet was crushed while he was taking measurements for the piers. Despite an amputation, gangrene set in and he died three weeks later. His son Washington Roebling took over the project, but he was injured too, getting the bends in an underwater expedition to build the foundations. Washington oversaw construction from his sickbed from that point on. Finally, in 1883 after 14 years of work, the link between Brooklyn and Manhattan was complete: and with what style – New York at last had a world-class monument. The Brooklyn Bridge ranked as the world’s largest until 1903.
Brooklyn Bridge
Y. Saito/Michelin
How the Brooklyn Bridge Measures Up
Ο Height – Its towers rise 276 feet; the maximum clearance above the water is 133 feet.
Ο Length – The bridge stretches 5,989 feet, with a center span of 1,595 feet between the two
towers.
Ο Strength – Four huge cables, interlaced with a vast network of wire, support the steel span.
Each 16-inch-thick cable is 3,515 feet long.
Hoofing It
A stroll across the Brooklyn Bridge is one of the most dramatic walks in the city, offering terrific views, especially at sunset. The pedestrian walkway begins near the Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall subway station in Manhattan, and near the High Street-Brooklyn Bridge station in Brooklyn. Allow about 30 minutes to cross the expanse.
Fifth Ave. & 34th St. 212-736-3100. www.esbnyc.com. Open year-round daily 8am– 2am (last elevator up at 1.15am). $21 adults. Any train to 34th St. – Herald Square.
As robust as it is in reality, this 102-story Art Deco skyscraper looked like a mere toy in the 1933 film King Kong. Indeed, the image of the giant gorilla scaling the building with a doll-like, hysterical Fay Wray in his hand is burned into the minds of many. Since then, the Empire State Building has become the quintessential New York landmark. Because of its massive footprint and tapered upper stories, the building seems to play hide-and-seek. You can be standing right next to the Empire State Building and not know it’s there, but 20 blocks, or even several miles away, it totally dominates the skyline – especially at night, when its crown is lit.
Although construction started just weeks before the stockmarket crash of 1929, it wasn’t slowed by the Depression; in fact, the building sometimes rose more than a story each day. In 1945, a B-25 bomber crashed into the 79th floor, killing the plane’s crew and 14 people inside, but the robust structure was undamaged.
Empire State Building
Peter Wrenn/Michelin
Today the Empire State Building, including its three-story-high European marble lobby decked out with sleek Art Deco detailing and 73 elevator cars, appears much as it did when it was built.
View From The Top
To get to the 86th-floor observatoryaaa, enter the Empire State Building from Fifth Avenue. Check the sign inside the entrance indicating the wait time and the visibility level. The highest visibility level posted is 25 miles; on overcast days the view can be a mile or less. If you decide to proceed, take the escalator to the second floor and get in line. The lines tend to be shortest first thing in the morning.
Tickets can be purchased in advance through the building's website (www.esbnyc.com); note that even if you have a pre-purchased ticket or a CityPass (you still have to wait in line twice: first for the security checkpoint and then for an elevator. Bags larger than an airline carry-on are not allowed, and there is no coat check, so pack lightly. Enjoy the view!
To take a self-guided tour of the station, pick up a map at the I LOVE NEW YORK information window or print out a two-page guide from the website. Guided tours are offered Wednesdays and Fridays. The Wednesday tour is led by the Municipal Art Society (212-935-3960); meet at the information booth in the center of the main concourse at 12.30pm. The Friday tour is offered free of charge by the Grand Central Partnership (212-883-2420): meet at the sculpture court of 120 Park Avenue at the corner of 42nd Street at 12.30pm.
Park Ave. at E. 42nd St. www.grandcentralterminal.com. 4, 5, 6 or 7 train to Grand Central.
There’s a reason why Grand Central Terminal is held up as the epitome of hustle and bustle (i.e. “It’s like Grand Central Station around here!”). This magical public space is crisscrossed by 150,000 commuters each workday. Railroad baron “Commodore” Cornelius Vanderbilt financed its $80 million construction by, quite literally, covering his tracks. In 1903 the city had banned steam locomotives to reduce air and noise pollution, and Vanderbilt had to either go electric or leave the city. He not only electrified his trains but, with the help of engineer William J. Wingus, routed them underground, freeing up a vast stretch of Park Avenue between East 42nd & East 59th Streets for real estate development. When it opened in 1913, Grand Central Terminal was called “the gateway to the nation,” but like many landmarks in New York, it was threatened with demolition in the 1960s.
Thanks to civic boosters, it was saved, and a $200 million restoration in the mid-1990s brought it back to its original splendor. To really soak up the vibe, grab a drink at the lavish Campbell Apartment (see Nightlife) or a meal at Grand Central Oyster Bar (see For Fun).
Facade – The recently spiffed-up 42nd Street facade, of Stony Creek granite and Bedford limestone, has three grand arches flanked by Doric columns. On top is a 13-foot clock and Jules-Felix Coutain’s 1914 sculpture depicting Mercury, supported by Minerva and Hercules.
Main Concourse – The vaulted turquoise ceiling, decorated with the constellations of the Zodiac, soars to a wondrous height of
12 stories.
Dining Concourse – This lower-level food court showcases locally owned restaurants. Here you’ll find the best quick bites in the area, especially on weekends, when lunch spots for the office crowd are closed.
New York Transit Museum Gallery and Store – 212-878-0106;
This annex of the main museum in Brooklyn Heights (see Best of the Boroughs) mounts changing exhibits on transportation history and sells transit-related merchandise, such as wallet-size subway maps.
476 Fifth Ave., between W. 40th & W. 42nd Sts. 917-275-6975. www.nypl.org. Open Mon–Sat 10am–6pm (Tue & Wed until 8pm), Sun 1pm–5pm. Closed major holidays. 7 train to Fifth Ave.; B, D, F or M train to 42nd St.-Bryant Pk.
To escape the hubbub of Midtown on a warm day, there’s nothing like sipping an iced coffee on the New York Public Library’s well-worn steps. However, you have to go inside to really appreciate what the library has to offer – museum- quality exhibits and lavish interiors that you can explore for free.
Carrère and Hastings designed this 1911 Beaux-Arts masterpiece. Its imposing Fifth Avenue entrance, made of white Vermont marble, is guarded by two photogenic lions, and its Sixth Avenue backyard is none other than Bryant Park. Eleven thousand visitors from around the globe enter the library daily to admire its architectural treasures and to pore over its 50 million circulation items, which make NYPL one of the greatest research institutions in the world.
Rose Main Reading Room – Nearly two city blocks long, the glorious third-floor reading room has 51ft-high ceilings covered with cerulean murals, rows of long oak tables dotted with brass reading lamps, and intricately carved woodwork.
DeWitt Wallace Periodical Room – Rich wood paneling and 13 murals by 20C artist Richard Haas decorate this cozy space on the first floor.
McGraw Rotunda – At the top of the main staircase you’ll find a soaring rotunda adorned with murals depicting the recorded word.
Astor Hall – In this white-marble foyer, just inside the Fifth Avenue entrance, you’ll find information booths staffed by a friendly team of volunteers.
In Midtown, between Fifth & Sixth Aves., and W. 48th & W. 51st Sts. B, D, F or M train to 47th-50th Sts.-Rockefeller Center.
A “city within a city,” the coordinated urban complex of limestone buildings and gardens goes together like a sweater set from Saks Fifth Avenue, with all the proper accessories. Rockefeller Center didn’t come into the world so cool and collected; in fact it was born of John D. Rockefeller’s desperation to make good on an investment that looked for years like a sinkhole for the family oil fortune. In 1928 Rockefeller signed a 24-year lease with Columbia University for the core 12 acres. He had grand plans for a colossal new venue to house the Metropolitan Opera, but after the October 1929 stockmarket crash, the Met pulled out and the university wouldn’t budge on the terms of the rent. Rockefeller would pay that bill and shell out even more in the next 10 years to demolish 228 smaller buildings and put the initial cluster of 14 Art Deco structures in their place. An elegant ensemble of buildings – there are now 19 on 22 acres, linked by underground concourses – Rock Center combines high and low structures with open space, art, shops and restaurants.
A Piece of the Rock
If you visit Rockefeller Center between 7am and 11am weekdays, you can join the mob of placard-holding tourists who form the human backdrop of The Today Show, filmed at NBC’s street-level studios (Rockefeller Plaza & 49th St.). Better yet, you can enjoy a coffee across the plaza at Dean & Deluca and ponder American zeal to be on TV, no matter how silly you look.
GE Buildingaaa – 30 Rockefeller Plaza. See Skyscrapers.
Radio City Music Hallaa – 1260 Ave. of the Americas.
See Performing Arts.
Channel Gardensaa – Fifth Ave., between E. 49th & E. 50th Sts.
These seasonal flowerbeds were named in 1936 by a clever journalist, who observed that they separated the Maison Française (1933) and the British Empire Building (1932), just as the English Channel separates France and Great Britain. Benches around the perimeter provide a perfect place to relax.
Rockefeller Plaza – This pedestrian concourse slices north-south through the middle of the complex. In winter it hosts a 10-story-tall Christmas tree and, in the lower plaza, an ice rink where skaters glide and twirl before a gold-leaf statue of the god Prometheus.
Non-skaters can enjoy hot chocolate or a drink at the cafe overlooking the rink. In summer the rink gives way to an open-air cafe.
Channel Gardens
C. Ochterbeck/Michelin
Atlasaa – Fronting the 41-story International Building, the monumental sculpture of the globe-toting god created by Lee Lawrie was picketed at its unveiling for its resemblance to Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.
Liberty Island. 212-363-3200. www.nps.gov/stli. Grounds open daily 8.30am–5.15pm (extended hours in summer). Closed Dec 25. For information on visiting, see above.
With a torch in her hand and broken shackles at her feet, the Statue of Liberty has been welcoming “huddled masses” to New York for more than a century.
In 1865 a French historian first thought of memorializing the quest for freedom shared by France and the US. In 1874, the Alsatian sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi set to work on his design.
First he sculpted models of “Lady Liberty” in clay and plaster. Then, for the real thing, he applied 300 copper sheets to a 151-ft iron-and-steel skeleton made by French engineer Gustave Eiffel (who later created the Eiffel Tower).
The statue was completed in 1884, then dismantled and packed into 220 shipping crates for her transatlantic voyage. She was unveiled on October 28, 1886, with President Grover Cleveland presiding over the foggy ceremony.
Ferries to the Statue of Liberty ($13 round-trip) leave every 25 minutes from Battery Park in Manhattan between 8.30am and 4.30pm in summer; every 45 minutes between 9.30am and 3.30pm the rest of the year. Ferries leave every 40 minutes in summer from Liberty State Park in New Jersey.
All ferries stop on both Liberty Island and Ellis Island. Buying ferry tickets online (at least two days in advance) allows you to avoid ticket lines and reserve a Crown Ticket or Pedestal/Museum Ticket (the only way to enter the statue). Same-day tickets may be purchased at the ticket office inside Castle Clinton National Monument (see Historic Sites) in Battery Park; advance tickets may be picked up at the Will Call window. Ferries (877-523-9849; www.statuecruises.com) are boarded on a first-come, first-served basis.
Monument – The pedestal and its observation deck are open only to visitors with a Crown Ticket or a Pedestal/Museum Ticket . The original torch is located in the lobby. You can also take in the Statue of Liberty Exhibit, which features videos, oral histories and full-scale replicas of Lady Liberty's face and foot.
Elevators ascend 10 stories to the top of the pedestal, where you can enjoy spectacular views of the tip of Manhattan, New York harbor and the statue itself.
Grounds – Ranger-guided tours of the island’s grounds are offered free of charge at regularly scheduled times throughout the day (staff permitting). Check at the information center for daily program information.
Ellis Island Immigration Museumaa – See Museums.
United Nations Headquartersaaa
First Ave. between E. 42nd & E. 48th Sts. 212-963-8687. visit.un.org. 4, 5, 6 or 7 train to Grand Central. For tours, see Visiting the U.N sidebar opposite. Closed major holidays.
The heady mission of the group that works in this complex of buildings and parks is to “preserve international peace and security, promote self-determination and equal rights, and encourage economic and social well being.”
The term “United Nations” was coined by Franklin D Roosevelt in 1941 to describe the countries allied against the Axis powers in WW II. Afterward, world leaders saw a need for a permanent peacekeeping force. The UN came into being in San Francisco on October 24, 1945, when a majority of its 51 founding members ratified its charter. John D. Rockefeller Jr. lured the group to New York with an $8.5 million gift, which was used to buy 18 acres on the East River. A team of 14 designers from around the world collaborated on the design of the complex, whose concept is credited to the French architect Le Corbusier, a pioneer of the International style.
Today, the UN incorporates 191 countries.
General Assembly Buildingaa
Outside this long, low concrete structure that forms the heart of the UN, member states’ flags are arranged alphabetically from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, just as their delegations are seated in the assembly hall.
In the lobby is a dramatic 15-foot-by-12-foot stained-glass window by French artist Marc Chagall.
Secretariat Buildingaa
Not open to the public.
This tall, narrow, shimmering green-glass slab (1950) houses offices for 7,400 employees.
Conference Building
The impressive five-story Conference Building contains meeting space for the Untied Nations’ three councils.
Visiting the UN
Enter the complex through the visitor entrance on First Ave. between 45th & 46th Sts. The General Assembly Building lobby, shops and post office can be visited year-round daily (except major holidays) 9am–5.30pm free of charge. Other parts of the UN complex may be visited by 45-min guided tour only, Monday through Friday 9.30am–4.45pm and weekends 10am–4.15pm; $16 per person. A limited schedule may be in effect during the general debate (mid-Sept–mid-Oct). Children under 5 years of age are not permitted on tours. For tours in languages other than English, call 212-963-7539 on the day you would like to visit. Lines are usually shortest in the morning.