Mooching in Midtown

The Rockefeller Center, straight out of the A-league of historic skyscrapers, stands on West 49th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenue, sending up its enormous tower high into the clouds.  On our first visit, we're told there's no point ascending, as the view is non-existent, so we return the following day, when the sun is much brighter and the drizzle has ceased.  Top of the Rock - as the viewing platform is called - is the best-organised visit of our entire trip.  A timed ticket ensures we are not standing in a huge queue, and allows us enough time to wander the Art Deco lobby, and eat lunch in the plaza.  The flags are flying all around, and what's even better, there's Lego store, complete with their own take on this historic building.

The Rockefeller Center plaza

The Rockefeller Center lobby

The Center itself is actually comprised of 19 high-rise buildings, with the Top of the Rock sitting on the roof of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, currently called the Comcast Building.  The whole history of the site is something to savour, with development beginning in 1930, just as the Great Depression was starting to hit.  John D Rockefeller Jr originally planned for an opera house for the Metropolitan Opera on the site, but changed his plans following the stock market crash and Metropolitan's subsequent struggles.  As the financier himself said: "It was clear that there were only two courses open to me.  One was to abandon the entire development.  The other to go forward with it in the definite knowledge that I myself would have to build it and finance it alone."  The construction was the largest private building project ever undertaken in modern times, and the complex was completed in 1939.  You can only admire Rockefeller Jr's determination, given how many jobs he must have provided to New Yorkers at that most desperate of times.

30 Rockefeller Plaza

It takes the elevator 43 seconds to ascend the 68 floors to the observation deck, with another two flights of stairs to reach the highest visitor level.  From this vista, the views are - as expected - incredible, spanning out in all directions.  The vast expanse of Central Park lies to the north, the Hudson to the west, Brooklyn to the east, and lower Manhattan - and even the Statue of Liberty out in the misty distance - to the south.  The surrounding high-rise blocks include the famous Empire State and Chrysler Buildings, the latter being arguably the most beautiful skyscraper of them all.  From here we realise, for the first time, the scale of New York, for whilst the population of the city proper is about the same as London (8.5 million,) the urban area population of New York extends to some 23 million (London's is a little under 10 million.)  In this context, there are very few cities - four in fact - that are larger, and what unfolds under our feet and out into the horizon is nothing short of a mega city.

Top of the Rock looking south - The Empire State Building is in the centre, the Hudson River is to the right

Atop the Rock

Just around the corner from the Rock sits Radio City Music Hall, a famous entertainment venue nicknamed The Showpiece of the Nation.  Opened in 1932, the site served as a theatre and cinema, and following financial difficulties in the 1970s, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Nowadays it's a popular venue for concerts and stage shows, notably hosting the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, and holding events such as the Grammy Awards, the Tony Awards, and the NFL Draft.

Lizzie outside Radio City Music Hall

Meanwhile, around the other corner from the Rock is an altogether different building, sitting unchanged and defiant amongst the skyscrapers.  The famous St Patrick's Cathedral, an oasis of peace and calm in this hectic part of town, serves as a sanctuary for the weary traveller, and is a wonderful twenty-minute stop, if only for its comfortable pews.  There's a juxtaposition to the whole experience, but such is the reverence to this old building, it has survived the development on its doorstep, despite having what must be astronomical land value.  The cathedral itself was finished in 1878, at the time dominating the Midtown landscape, and by the time the spires were added in 1888, it was the tallest structure in New York, and the second highest in the country.  Not for long, of course, with the onset of the 20th century, and now the very fact seems unimaginable. 

St Patrick's Cathedral

If you leave the cathedral and walk seven blocks up 5th Avenue, then take a left and walk three blocks along East 57th Street, you will come to the New York institution that is Bloomingdale's.  The city's premier department store was founded by Joseph and Lyman Bloomingdale in 1861, predating the Metropolitan Museum of Art, St Patrick's Cathedral and Central Park, although the opening of these sought to attract Bloomingdale's wealthy clientele to take up residency into Midtown.  There's a certain quality to the feel of the store, as we make our way up to the sixth floor for a browse at the home wear and the pool wear, inflatable lobsters, colourful towels and floating drinks holders included.  It feels as if Bloomingdale's has retained all the charm of an earlier era, and it's very easy to imagine the store in its 1940s heyday, where opulent shoppers perused quality goods in this finest of shops.

Bloomingdale's Department Store

We end one of our Midtown days at Times Square, the bustling centre of New York City, sometimes known as The Crossroads of the World and the Centre of the Universe.  Its image is known globally, blazing neon lights advertising everything from theatre to sneakers, phone networks to food outlets.  We actually crossed Times Square a number of times during our trip - all roads seem to lead here - but none was more dramatic than our night time visit, where the pavements were rammed with tourists, the bars and restaurants packed to the rafters, shops almost shaking with the rumble of cash registers, and excitement building as the curtains went up in the Broadway theatres.  We opted for the Palace Theatre's production of Sunset Boulevard, fronted by a giant of theatre, Glenn Close, playing the role of Norma Desmond, a washed-up film star from the silent era, whose dreams of Hollywood stardom in the new age of the talkies brings her to the brink.  Brilliant music and a wonderful show followed, all well worthy of the standing ovation it received at the end, with Close bringing the house down just like the billboards said she would.  On our exit, the Broadway lights give a false impression of daylight, even at 10pm, and my response is a mixture of both amazement and alarm, for this is Piccadilly Circus times a thousand - it must cost a fortune, use up boundless energy, and add humungous amounts of light pollution, but is also dazzling, breathtaking and mind-blowing in its enormity.  I guess this is why, if New York City was summed up in one single space, it would simply have to be Times Square.

Times Square

The Palace Theatre, home of Sunset Boulevard