Top Of The Rock

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The Top of the Rock is one of the places I really wanted to visit when in New York, however when I said it to friends and family, only about half of them had even heard of it before. Of course a lot of them had heard of Rockefeller Centre but not Top of the Rock.

This Art Deco building was originally known as RCA until 1988 and is most famous for being the headquarters of the NBC and for it’s amazing observation deck. ...
...the observation deck is called Top of the Rock. I hate to say this, but I only knew this whilst researching for this review that the building that we went in was actually called the GE Building not Top of the Rock, I do blame this to the people of New York, as they called it Top of the Rock as well, not once did I hear GE Building.

==Observation Deck==

The observation is what is called ‘Top of the Rock’ is something ... more

As most of you know, two weeks ago I went to New York City. Thank you to everyone who has read and rated my previous New York reviews, and I would also like to tell you that this will be the penultimate review on attractions in the brilliant city. For those of you, who want to have a little happy dance at this, please do.

The Top of the Rock is one of the places I really wanted to visit when in New York, however when I said it to friends and family, only about half of them had even heard of it before. Of course a lot of them had heard of Rockefeller Centre but not Top of the Rock.

This Art Deco building was originally known as RCA until 1988 and is most famous for being the headquarters of the NBC and for it’s amazing observation deck. It is the 32nd tallest building in the United States.

Brief History

The building was completed in 1933 and remains a part of the Rockefeller Centre. It was originally called the RAC building until 1988, which stands for Radio Corporation of America. It was the first ever building constructed with the elevators grouped in the central core of the building.

It is also home to the NBC Studios headquarters. In 1996 they brought 1,600,000 square feet of the building. The most famous studio is Studio 8H which is where the famous Saturday Night Live is filmed and it was originally the largest radio studio in the world, originally home to the NBC Symphony Orchestra.

If you go to New York you will probably find yourself saying you want to go to ‘Top of the Rock’, but the actual name of the building is the GE Building, and the observation deck is called Top of the Rock. I hate to say this, but I only knew this whilst researching for this review that the building that we went in was actually called the GE Building not Top of the Rock, I do blame this to the people of New York, as they called it Top of the Rock as well, not once did I hear GE Building.

Observation Deck

The observation is what is called ‘Top of the Rock’ is something that is pretty new for tourists to visit within New York. The reason for this, was that it has been closed for 19 years for renovation which cost $75 million. The deck is only on the 67th floor of the skyscraper; however offers just like Empire State Building a bird’s eye view of Manhattan and the rest of New York.

My Experience

On the Wednesday, after a very long day, we decided to hop onto the Grey Line Sightseeing Bus from Battery Park and went up through Little Italy, China Town and many other famous Burrows until we got to Rockefeller Plaza where we were dropped off. This took a very long time as it was in the middle of ‘rush hour’, this goes to show how late we went to see the Plaza.

Finding the GE Building, and the place we had to go into to get to the Top of the Rock took us a while, we were dropped off outside this building and sent around the houses until we found the place to go into. Once in there however we were shocked at how different it was to Empire State Building, I know it was about 5.45pm-6pm but still it has nowhere near the same amount of tourists within there.

The tickets were very easy to get, well they would have been a lot easier to get if the girl behind the desk didn’t spend the time waiting for the tickets to print, looking in the mirror and re doing her lipstick. Once the tickets were brought for $20 (we again had the New York Pass so it was free for us), then you go to the mezzanine area where you get to have your picture taken.

The picture shocked us; it was taken in the form of the brilliant ‘Men on a Girder’ poster that I love. We all sat on a girder with the new York skyline behind us and snap. The reason why the picture shocked us, was the fact that I always assumed the ‘Men on a Girder’ picture was taken when they were building the empire state not this building. Then you go through this little mini theatre section which is quite interesting and it tells you all about the history of the Rockefeller Plaza.

Then you get in an elevator to the Top of the Rock. The ‘lift’ as I should call it, takes you 45 seconds and the person operating the lift tells you to look up. The top of the lift is like glass and you can see the inside of the lift shaft as it goes up. You also get a little movie played on the glass which is interesting as well. Then you get to the first level of The Top of the Rock.

The views as soon as we got out onto the deck were fantastic, a lot more beautiful than on the Empire State Building, not only do you feel a lot safer, the observation deck at the empire state is surrounded by metal wiring but on the Top of the Rock it is surrounded by really thick panes of glass, you really do feel very safe and then you can just concentrate on the amazing views.

The views are beautiful, you don’t have to stand behind other people to wait to get your chance at the wonderful views, here you can really get gorgeous pictures of family/friends in front of the likes of Central Park and Empire State. It is a lot calmer and you get a chance to get some stunning pictures here.

Then you can go to the next floor (69th floor) or even the 70th floor, for no extra price. This is different from the Empire State Building as you have to pay to get more there. The views aren’t any different from the different floors, but you might as well have a look.

Top of The Rock vs Empire State Building

I would recommend going to the Empire State Building first, just to see the difference between Top of the Rock and Empire State Building. The reason why I’m saying go to the ESB first is because the view of Central Park is obstructed from the Empire State Building by the GE Building with is smack bang in the middle of your view, however from the Top of the Rock you have a gorgeous view of Central Park and on the opposite side you have a gorgeous, stunning view of the Empire State Building.

If you wanted to go up to a observation deck, but could only afford to do one of them, then I would say do Top of the Rock. It does deliver the better views for the money you pay and you are getting a lot more for your money. Also the queues are minimal; we didn’t have to queue once.

Location

We had a little trouble finding it because we didn’t look before we went where to go, but if you are planning to go, then you will need to find 50th Street. It’s open from 8am to 12am so you have a long time to choose when you want to go and see it, remember it might be nice to go to the Empire State in the day and the Rockefeller Centre at night, it does have better views, so the pictures from here at night must be amazing.

Price

To get to see all that the Top of the Rock has to offer, you will have to give out $20 each. This can seem like a lot, especially if you have already seen Empire State Building, but it is a lot better than Empire State Building and you really do get a lot more for your money. If you want to go to an observation deck, go to this one, if you want to see both then I would recommend doing that as well, it might even be worth seeing one in the day and one at night.

Final Opinion

This place is so much more modern than the Empire State Building, I know it took 19 years to renovate and it has only been open 4 years or so, but it really had this sort of class about it, as soon as you walked into the doors and saw the huge chandelier you realise how different this place is from the Empire State Building.

The gift shop is reasonably priced, and here you can get your pictures as well. Ours cost us $25, but it really is a lovely little picture and it is actually the only picture we have of the four of us on holiday and it really does look quite effective. I brought some other little things there which were a little expensive, but hey we were on holiday.

It was a lot of fun, and the fact that the observation deck was situated with chairs in the centre part was a lovely little addition as well, we were shattered so it was nice to have a little sit down and actually see out over Manhattan. A nice little touch.

I have talked about all of the things I experienced at the Top of the Rock, sorry if I didn’t talk about things like the Rainbow Room, as I don’t know anything about it.

Well worth our time and money, and it does show you the best views within Manhattan. Just lovely and I will probably go back next time I’m in New York, especially at night next time.

(C) Kirsty 2009

 

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