Empire State Building

It has been called the “Cathedral of the Skies.” Soaring more than a quarter of a mile above the heart of Manhattan, the Empire State Building embodies the feeling and spirit of New York more than any other feature in this landmark filled city. Located on the 86th floor, the Observatory offers panoramic views from its open-air promenade and plays host to over 3.5 million people every year. Here Cary Grant waited in vain for Deborah Kerr in an "Affair to Remember", while Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan had their fateful meeting in the movie "Sleepless in Seattle." King Kong also enjoyed romantic moment atop the building – though his was cruelly abbreviated!
But there is more to the Empire Building than stunning views. It also boasts two restaurants, a sushi bar, three coffee shops, a drug store, a Hallmark card shop, a post office and two banks. For the family, there is the New York Skyride, an independently owned and operated simulated helicopter ride and virtual-reality movie theater. In addition, there are concerts and art exhibits located in the stunning Art Deco lobby year-round, as well as special annual events such as The Valentine's Day Weddings and the Boys and Girls Scout Camp-outs.

Established in 1929 The Museum of Modern Art offers one of the world’s most comprehensive and panoramic insights into modern art. Its rich and varied collection boasts over 100,000 paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, architectural models, photographs and design objects. Its paintings include Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, Van Gogh's Starry Night and Piet Mondrian's Broadway Boogie-Woogie. Claude Monet's Water Lilies rates a whole gallery to itself. MoMA is now in the midst of an ambitious building project that aims to nearly double the space for its exhibitions and programs. To make way for its renovation and rebuilding, MoMA closed on Fifty-third Street in Manhattan in May 2002, and opened MoMA QNS in Long Island City, Queens, in June 2002. MoMA QNS is a new museum housed in the former Swingline staple factory, which has been fully renovated and redesigned. MoMA QNS serves as the base of the Museum's exhibition program and operations through 2005, when the new Museum of Modern Art opens in Manhattan.

Carnegie Hall was established by Scotsman Andrew Carnegie in 1891. Since the opening night, when Tchaikovsky conducted his own work, its three halls have attracted the world's leading orchestras, as well as solo and group performers, from Arturo Toscanini and Leonard Bernstein to Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan, the Beatles, and thousands of others. The largest hall, dedicated the Isaac Stern Auditorium in 1996, has been the premier classical music performance space in the United States since its opening in 1891, showcasing the world's greatest soloists, conductors, and ensembles. Located on the third floor of Carnegie Hall, the Weill Recital Hall is an intimate auditorium ideal for recitals, chamber music concerts, symposia, discussions, master classes, and more. The new Zankel Hall will opened September 2003 as the site of a broad spectrum of performing and educational events.

The first integrated office complex in the world, combining shops, gardens, restaurants and entertainment, the Rockefeller Centre was the brainchild of the businessman and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller. Construction began during the Depression era between 1931 and 1940. Thirty Rockefeller Plaza, with its gilded statue of Prometheus at the entrance, was one of the earliest buildings constructed and remains the largest. The famous Radio City Music Hall was added in 1932 and features the famous Rockettes Chorus line, a highlight during the Christmas and Easter season.
Known as much for its outdoor spaces as it is for its indoor areas, Rockefeller Center features an outdoor café, the sloping Channel Garden, and a skating rink. If you plan to visit New York City during the Christmas season, be sure to see the world’s largest decorated Christmas tree located near the skating rink. Beneath Rockefeller Center lurks a plethora of shops. There are upscale boutiques of all types here, and visitors can purchase anything from Japanese books to Italian leather goods.

Built in 1913, this Beax Arts masterpiece should more correctly be referred to as Grand Central Terminal, since this is where train lines originate and terminate. The facade features a fifty-foot pediment with statues of Hercules, Minerva and Mercury surrounding a thirteen foot clock. The cavernous concourse boasts a vaulted ceiling painted like an evening sky with gilded stars and constellations – the only view of the night sky most Manhattanites ever get! Having recently undergone a four-year refurbishment, this New York landmark combines the romance of train travel, the allure of magnificent architecture from a bygone time, a destination for superb restaurants, and convenience of outstanding retail shops.

Standing at the crossroads of fashion at Fifth Avenue and 58th Street, this New York retailing institution had its start in 1899 when Herman Bergdorf, an immigrant from Alsace, hired Edwin Goodman to work in his tailoring establishment. The two men created beautiful and stylish clothing for distinguished women in a salon inspired by Paris couture houses. Since then Bergdorf Goodman has steadfastly clung to its mission of providing the most chic clothes in the world under one roof. It boasts all the top designers, such as Armani, Chanel and Valentino – as well as Narcisio Rodriguez, Jil Sander and lesser-known labels. Add to that a tasteful home store collection, a vast assortment of cosmetics and perfume, and one of the best selections of jewelry in the city and, as long as you can afford it, you don't really need to shop anywhere else.

In the summer of 1929, a "race for the sky" broke out on the island of Manhattan. Automobile tycoon Walter Chrysler battled Wall Street powerhouse Bank of Manhattan Trust Company for the title of world's tallest building. In the spring of 1930, just when it appeared that the bank might capture the coveted title, a small crew pushed a needle-thin spire hidden in Chrysler's building through the top of the crown to claim the title of world's tallest at 1,046 feet. Chrysler hoped such a distinctive design would make his company a household name. Gargoyles shaped like car-hood ornaments sprout from its upper stories: wings from the 31st floor, eagle heads from the 61st. Today, the Chrysler Building is recognised as New York City's greatest display of Art Deco. Though it has no observation deck, the dark lobby faced with African marble is worth a visit.

In the late 1800s most fashion retailers specialised in just one type of garment. But when Joseph and Lyman Bloomingdale opened their East Side Bazaar in 1872 to sell a wide variety of European fashions they began what would become known as the “department store”. In 1886 they moved uptown to 59th Street and Lexington Avenue – still the site of their flagship store. The store expanded steadily and by the 1920s Bloomingdale’s covered an entire city block. Lyman created innovative ad campaigns to entice custom. In addition to this Bloomingdale’s became the stage for gala events and fashion shows. With music, lighting and sophistication it offered retailing as theatre. By the 1970s everyone was stopping by for a look – including Queen Elizabeth II. People came to seen and be seen. Once there, they were dazzled by the cutting-edge fashion of designers like Ralph Lauren, Perry Ellis, and Norma Kamali, who got their first truly big opportunities at Bloomingdale’s. Today it continues to adapt and evolve, maintaining its position as the world’s most famous department store.

Home to the General Assembly & various other UN councils, the United Nations is the site of some of the most significant events in recent history, from the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 to the unprecedented Millennium Summit in September 2000 that brought together about 150 heads of State and Government. Every year nearly a million visitors from all over the world come through the gates to see the place where world leaders meet and international issues are discussed. Guided tours are conducted seven days a week, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., except during January and February, when tours are offered from Monday to Friday only. The building is closed on some holidays including Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day. The Visitors' Entrance is located on First Avenue at 46th Street. As the United Nations does not offer parking facilities, it is suggested that public transportation be used.

Aptly named ''The World’s Most Famous Arena,'' Madison Square Garden has over five million fans a year passing through its doors. It is the home of three different New York Sports franchises: The NBA’s Knicks, the NHL’s Rangers and the WNBA’s Liberty. The arena is also the site for numerous other events, such as the Barnum & Bailey Circus, World Championship Boxing, numerous concerts, and much more. It is located directly above Penn Station on 34th Street, making it highly accessible by public transportation. This location is actually the fourth Madison Square Garden to be built in New York since 1925. The current one was opened in 1968 with a concert by Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. Since then, the Garden has seen the Knicks win two championships (1970 & 1973), the Rangers win a Stanley Cup (1994) and some huge sporting events like the boxing bout between Muhammad Ali & Joe Frazier in 1971. Many of the Garden’s legends are enshrined in the Garden Walk of Fame, a tribute to 45 stars who helped make this arena great. The memorial can be seen in the Mall as visitors enter the building from 7th Avenue.

As you roam through the neon wonderland that Times Square has become and crane your neck to gawp at the latest 100ft electronic billboard, you might find it hard to believe that this tiny enclave was once littered with adult shops and peep shows and had the highest crime rate in New York City. Times Square officially entered the nation’s consciousness in 1904, named after the New York Times newspaper building that became the cornerstone of the new district. Already by the turn of the century Times Square had a reputation for the flashy, which as the decades went on simply got brighter and gaudier. However in the 1980s businesses and public officials began to band together to change that reputation. Through a combination of new legislation and selective demolition, Times Square reversed its decline. By the late 1990s it was a symbol again for the urban jungle of Manhattan – the only zone in the city where tenants are required to display bright signs. The NASDAQ sign is one of the flashier examples. Costing over $37 million to build, at 37 feet high it is the largest LED sign in the world.
With 27,000 residents and an estimated 26 million annual visitors each year, Times Square has changed a lot since it’s inauguration 100 years ago. Part of the change is what has been labelled, the ‘Disneyfication’ of Times Square. Nowadays walking down Broadway you can stop to shop in a Toy’s R Us while on your way to a matinee of Disney’s The Lion King on 42nd Street.

Now the World's largest department store, Macy's has come a long way since R.H. Macy opened his first store in New York in the 1800's. It is housed in a 20-story building that covers an entire city block. Indeed, the store is so large that it is easy to get lost in it. Fashion sections blur into jewelry, beauty, housewares, luggage and much more. There is even a post office, pet shop and a fish market. Macy’s also sponsors a celebrated Thanksgiving Day Parade every year.

Central Park was the first landscaped public park in the United States. Advocates of creating the park – primarily wealthy merchants and landowners – admired the public grounds of London and Paris and insisted that New York needed a comparable facility to establish its international reputation. A public park, they argued, would offer their own families an attractive setting for carriage rides and provide working-class New Yorkers with a healthy leisure alternative to drinking in saloons. After years of debate over the location, construction finally began in 1857 and in the winter of 1858 the park's first area was opened to the public. It was not until the early 20th century, however, that the park became easily accessible to working class families who lived downtown and many playgrounds were opened for their children to play in.
As the park became less and less an elite oasis and was shaped more and more by the needs of the growing population of New York City, its uses evolved and expanded. By the middle of the century, ball clubs were allowed to play in the park and the "Please Keep of the Grass" signs which had dotted the lush meadows were a thing of the past. In the 1960s and 70s, despite the park’s growing use for concerts and rallies, general maintenance fell by the wayside. During the early 1980s there was a massive attempt to involve New Yorkers in the upkeep of their beloved park, including the "You Gotta Have a Park" campaign. Today, as the major site of most New Yorkers' recreation, the park hosts millions of visitors yearly engaging in such activities as roller blading, fine dining at the Tavern on the Green, watching free performances of Shakespeare in the Park, and relaxing and sunbathing in Sheep's Meadow.