Big Buildings and Fireworks, for Good Measure.

49 Fulton Street, Roof

2009-04-27T17:25:00.000-07:00

5 Pennsylvania Plaza (Aka 461 8th Avenue), 24th Floor

2008-09-22T17:41:00.000-07:00

Above: Madison Square Garden (partially)
Below: 34th Street
Below: Towards the LES.

Below: towards the harbor.

350 5th Avenue, 54th Floor (aka: Empire State Building)

2008-09-09T18:58:00.001-07:00

65 East 55th, Roof

2008-08-18T19:45:00.000-07:00

First things first: this is David Copperfield's triplex penthouse, allegedly. I went ahead and tried to indicate the extent of it with that faint orange bracket on the left (go ahead, click on it). Take a look at those 25' columns. Odd detail, no? It looks alien. It looks as if it's descended from space and attached itself to a normal apartment house.

Citicorp.
I'm going to start a series on this blog called "Show Me Your Window Washing Rig." This is the first installment. All buildings of this size have them, though you don't see them much and we never talk about them, do we? I find them rather beautiful.

The railing you see there is the track that the window washing rig rides on. The rig itself is stored in a glass and steel pyramid on this level. There's a giant garage door that opens and the rig rides around the perimeter, then back into the garage/pyramid.

Below: if you'll direct your attention to the upper left, those are the reflecting pools of the Segram's Building.

233 Schermerhorn Street, 11th Floor (Brooklyn)

2008-07-24T20:18:00.000-07:00

If you squint, you can see Staten Island.

160 Central Park South (aka Essex House)

2008-07-09T18:10:00.000-07:00

I apologize. The windows were very dirty as it's a construction field office.

Central Park, of course.

That tower on the right is a part of Carnegie Hall--sort of; I believe it's an office tower they developed with air rights transferred from a parking garage they also owne(d). Little white building next to Carnegie Hall, below, is the Russian Tea Room.

183 Madison, Roof (20th floor)

2008-07-06T18:58:00.000-07:00

1633 Broadway, 33rd Floor

2008-07-01T19:09:00.001-07:00

Times Square, of course.

We've got pictures of that sliver tower from the other side here.

1350 6th Avenue, 35th Floor (a couple from the 25th)

2008-06-12T18:17:00.000-07:00

I really like the Moma sculpture garden (top right of the frame) from this angle. It really looks as if it were carved out of the city grid.

I appreciate the patterns on the Moma's roof also. That's literally above and beyond.

1515 Broadway, 43rd Floor

2008-06-02T18:21:00.001-07:00

Sorry for posting so many from this floor. I have a weekly meeting here but still don't tire of the view.

Below is a poor attempt at stitching a photo together.

Fireworks with Happy Faces

2008-05-20T16:01:00.000-07:00

It's been too long since we got some fireworks up in here.

I'm going to start this with the end. It's always neat after the throngs of people around the entire city stop screaming in delight and the boats and yachts stop blowing their horns; there's just that cloud of smoke lingering over the thirties.

HAPPY FACES.

153 East 53rd Street, 31st Floor (The Citicorp Building)

2008-05-16T19:03:00.000-07:00

Call it what you will, Wikipedia, I call it the Citicorp building. That there in the foreground is the Lipstick building.

I'm not sure what building on third ave, below, that is with that strange pattern on the first setback. Looks Lever-Housey.

666 5th Avenue, 26th floor

2008-05-13T18:15:00.000-07:00

I apologize for the delay for a new post. It won't happen again.

30 Rockefeller Plaza, 65th Floor (The Rainbow Room)

2008-04-02T17:40:00.000-07:00

I think if you look hard, you can see Albany. Unfortunately I had to leave before sunset.

Towards the Hudson.

OK, now this is the bathroom. It's actually on the 66th floor. You walk up a small (32"?) stair to get to it. The view from the sink is below. Nice pisser, eh?

Sorry for the interior shots, but this is the main ballroom.

Spires left to right: Empire State, Bank of America, 4 Times Square (Conde Nast)

The Williamsburg Bridge is way off in the distance.

LIC represent.

500 5th Avenue, 54th Floor

2008-03-25T18:03:00.001-07:00

From left to right: Bank of America Tower, 1515 Broadway, 1540 Broadway (aka the Bertlesmann building) and 1177 6th Ave.

Left to right: my tie and the statue of Liberty.

810 7th Avenue, 26th Floor

2008-03-23T17:28:00.000-07:00

Northwest

Southwest

South to Times Square

The fishbowl.

Southeastish

1515 Broadway, 43rd Floor

2008-03-15T16:47:00.001-07:00

And then there were two: Bank of America Tower (under construction) and Conde Nast.

Westin Hotel and NYT Building.

The glass cube on the left with the circular floors inside is the top of the Marriott Marquis.

Me, looking anonymous.

Jersey.

Cool window washing rig.

1 [?] Penn Plaza.

1 Wall Street, 49th Floor

2008-03-14T18:56:00.001-07:00

I had to stop myself from uploading more photos; there are more. This is the Bank of New York Mellon building. It's kind of unbelievable that they started building this at the beginning of the depression in '29, to me.

Towards Jersey.

M'kay.

That's 49 stories down.

Quite erotic, if you ask me, and a fine coat rack indeed.

This is the private bank on the first floor. Private meaning you can't enter unless you have a radio flyer full of cash. The red tile walls are pretty nuts. "The artist Hildreth Meière coordinated the installation of the mosaics, which were made by Ravenna Mosaics in Berlin and Long Island City."

The ceilings in this room are about 30' high and are clad, I shit you not, in Indonesian sea shells. This is the seven diamond hooker of board rooms.

Oragami?

I think these could possibly be the original furnishings from '31, less the exit signs. That green marble mantle-thing is more green in person.

Looking less like a hole and I wish I had zoomed in on the Deutsche Bank Tower's roof; looked interesting.

The habah.

1515 Broadway, 43rd floor

2008-03-06T19:22:00.000-08:00

It seems like every time I'm in this building at 8am, it' rainy.

1350 6th?

2008-03-06T19:01:00.001-08:00

I honestly don't remember, but if it's 1350, this is the 35th floor.

500 5th Avenue, 54th Floor

2008-03-04T20:46:00.001-08:00

Crosstown.

Mmmm.

599 Broadway, 12th Floor

2008-03-04T20:35:00.000-08:00

1221 6th Avenue, Plaza

2008-03-04T20:32:00.000-08:00

Karate-chop.

425 Park Avenue, from the fire tower.

2008-03-04T20:27:00.000-08:00

Fireworks

2008-03-04T19:04:00.001-08:00

Oooh.

Nice.

No way.

Blame it on the rain!

1166 6th Avenue, 35th Floor

2008-03-04T18:47:00.000-08:00

That's the Bank of America with the orange safety netting, Bryant park the greenery.

230 Park is the domey thing with the cupola up top.

Ah, the corner office.

415 East 59th Street, 1st Mezz

2008-03-04T18:44:00.000-08:00

This is a pretty nice Food Emporium. Pretty, pretty nice.

787 7th, 33rd[?] floor

2008-03-04T18:41:00.000-08:00

Just can't remember what floor.

825 8th Avenue, 48th Floor

2008-03-04T18:24:00.001-08:00

I have nothing to add to these photos. They have a shoe polishing machine in the men's room on this floor and that's pretty, pretty cool.

Crosstown

1515 hiding the ESB on the left there.

RED!

2008-03-04T18:20:00.001-08:00

Tee it up.

Oooooh.

Interesting.

Out of control!

1285 6th, 29th floor.

2008-03-04T18:11:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty sure that's where this is. That's definitely Black Rock and 31 West 52nd in the background. Looking southeast towards 30 Rock and I guess the other is looking up 6th.

1515 Broadway, 43rd floor

2008-03-04T18:04:00.000-08:00

This building warms the cockles of my heart; it's a fine, fine building. This is probably 8am on a rainy morning looking southeastish. ESB has his head buried in the clouds back there.