Ok, ok I’ll admit it: I didn’t come here just to hunt dinosaur cans! You may recall that I came last year to go up the last observation tower in the city that I hadn’t visited and was foiled by cloud. I’m back for another try!
A quick trip on the subway and I was back at One World Observatory, the tallest building in the USA. The skies were clear so I knew I’d enjoy some nice views today!
It was insanely hot today and even walking around outside for a few minutes was uncomfortable. The air conditioning in the foyer was sublime and even if the tower (which cost $43) disappointed at least I would be underwhelmed in comfort!
Thankfully the views were wonderful. There are three levels to the observatory and the best one (floor 100) is 380 meters above the ground. Even from this height you could see details on the ground below and a great view for many miles. The above photo shows the view to the southwest: can you see the Statue of Liberty?
That’s looking directly down. The thin tower on the left is residential and appears incredibly tall from the ground, but you tower over it from One World Observatory. Almost all of the other buildings that make up the majority of the city are at least six stories tall, but look tiny from that high.
That’s looking north back toward midtown, with the Hudson River on the left and East River on the top right. If you look very closely you can see the Empire State Building (next to my hotel).
One World was expensive to visit and isn’t in midtown where the other four observation platforms are, but I enjoyed it a lot and would say it’s worth the visit if you’re ever in the city. To be honest I liked the high views so much it makes me want to visit Skytree again…
As I said the heat was extreme today – almost unendurable! The big difference to yesterday was the terrible humidity, and I spent much of the day drenched in sweat. I drunk the entire bottle in one hearty slug, and I needed to do this so many times today I’m surprised I didn’t drown!
In the afternoon I did some more shopping, and then went to see the Times Square lights which seem to multiply every year. Even after dark it’s still uncomfortably warm outside, and the AC of my hotel room when I returned was blissful!
Tomorrow I’ll head home, but not before another activity I like to do every time I visit the city. Can you guess what it is?