The day following the official opening, the building was opened to the public. Thousands stood in line for their chance to see the [L3 210 / view] from the 86th floor observation deck. Unfortunately, the weather was [L3 407 / not as clear] that day as it had been for the dedication ceremony.
In the years that followed many [L3 408 / famous visitors] made the trip to the top of the Empire State to be photographed as part of the endless publicity surrounding the building. Perhaps no visitor, however, was as eloquent as one who never actually saw the building: [L3 409 / Helen Keller].
Each year over two million visitors to the building ride an elevator that takes them to the 80th floor in under two minutes. They then take another elevator to the observatory on the 86th floor, 1,050 feet above the ground. This area is open to the elements, allowing people to walk around the perimeter and feel the breeze (or the rain) as they gaze on the landscape below.
As one unflappable British visitor put it: "[V 005 / Gives an impression of height, doesn't it]?"
The original observatory was elegant - the soda fountain was a stunning [G 01 / Art Deco] piece of black Belgian marble; the West Lounge provided plush wicker chairs for viewing the sunset, and the Cafe served five varieties of French champagne. Today there is a counter offering hot dogs, potato chips, soda pop and candy.
A single elevator carries visitors to the [V 003 / observation deck on the 102nd floor]. Not originally intended for such use, it was designed as the mooring mast for [G 06 / dirigibles]. With this deck, the building reached its height of 1,250 feet over Manhattan. Someone once described the mast as an inverted test tube, buttressed by flaring supports and stuck on top of a graceful building, out of keeping with the otherwise harmonious design. Contrasted with the spacious 86th floor observatory, this one feels cramped. It is totally enclosed. Its windows are small, the ceiling low and the walls are covered with graffiti and institutional green paint. At night, however, the dim lighting and the spectacular view obscure such shortcomings.
