Nothing gives a good overview like a view over. I have always gravitated towards tall structures – some readers are familiar with my obsession over the Washington Monument, the Chrysler Building, the Arc de Triomphe, et. al. These aerial overviews give a good sense of the lay of the land. So many people have little sense of direction or scale – in New York City, it is particularly easy to get lost in the forest or jungle. I am frequently asked which direction is north in Manhattan, when anyone who has glanced at a map of the city would immediately see that the long axis of Manhattan and its major avenues are oriented north-south. And, of course, a glance at the sun’s position will often easily provide that answer, but this approach to orienting oneself is virtually nonexistent in the urban world.

My first act as a child before coming to New York City was to acquaint myself with the city by looking at street maps. I was fascinated with locating (and hopefully later seeing in person) places I had heard of or depicted on TV. I was particularly intrigued with the opening sequence of The Man From U.N.C.L.E., which showed a nondescript laundromat that was secret headquarters for an international spy organization. Sadly, I was to learn that even the exterior shots were all done in a backlot in Hollywood.

In my travels through the myriad of businesses I have visited over the decades in Manhattan, I am sometimes privy for some moments to a spectacular view from an office or industrial space on a high floor. I was recently shopping for a sofa in the Starrett-Lehigh Building in Chelsea at 601 West 26th Street. The property is enormous, spanning an entire city block between Eleventh and Twelfth Avenues and between 26th and 27th Streets. The full-block freight terminal, warehouse, and office building was built in 1930-31.

It was a Sunday afternoon, June 3rd. The neighborhood and building were essentially deserted. The showroom was small and spare. The whole experience was rather depressing until I moved towards the windows, which had unobstructed views North, East, and West. Helicopters were taking off and landing from the heliport, affording me the kinds of views I had hoped for when I originally visited. Looking northeast were the Chrysler and Empire State Buildings, as well as many lesser-known players in the game of one-upmanship by New York City’s tall buildings.

With a view of midtown like this, I am often reminded of one of my favorite scenes in the film The Producers and the words of Zero Mostel as he tries to lure Gene Wilder into a moneymaking scheme and whispers over his shoulder, “All of these pleasures can be yours.” Like a small boy or girl looking down from atop the Empire State Building, where cars look like toys that can be picked up, when one has a sweeping vista of Manhattan’s cityscape like those in today’s photos, the industry, ambitions, drive, and achievements of generations of New Yorkers seems so tangible, Just There for the Taking 🙂