The 86th foor of the Empire State Building offers a panorama of New York City and the entire metropolitan region that is world famous. There is only one problem with it. Whether you are a native or a visitor, you might not know what you are looking at when you gaze out upon this vast metropolis. If you ask, the odds are pretty good you will be given misleading information by a well-meaning but ill-informed person, or you might simply be met by a chorus of "I don't knows."
John Tauranac was made keenly aware of this situation while researching his critically acclaimed biography of the building, The Empire State Building: The Making of a Landmark. Whenever he visited the 86th floor observatory he would find himself politely interjecting himself in the conversations of total strangers to set the record straight. Finally the lightbulb went on over his head - create a guide to the view. The result: The View From the 86th Floor: The Empire State Building and New York City.
The idea is simple. Show a full-color photograph of a view, and, on the next spread, show the same view in black and white, with the major buildings, landmarks and geography identifed. First you see the view in color, then - in black and white - you are told what you are looking at. Night views of the same scene follow, so people visiting the observatory at night need only flip back a page to identify the sites. Historic photographs then follow to show the changing cityscape.
The views follow eight compass points, and the book is arranged in sequence as if you are walking clockwise around the building, starting with the view north. Close-up views both north and south are included to show some of the details in Midtown and the Financial District. And the last set of photographs shows four views that are looking down rather than out.
What's Inside The View From the 86th Floor:
- Daytime views in color from each of the eight compass points.
- Each daytime view is followed by a black-and-white view pointing out all the major places of interest.
- Each of those views is then followed by nighttime views.
- There are close-up views of Midtown and Lower Manhattan in color that are followed by black-and-white views describing the scene, and four views looking down from the building, likewise with explanatory text.
- As a bonus, historic views help to put the cityscape in perspective.
- On the inside front cover is a map of Metropolitan New York, and facts and figures on the Empire State Building.
- A short history of the building is on pages 2-3.
- A map of Manhattan from the Battery to 42nd Street is on page 80, and a map depcting Manhattan from 32nd to 128th Streets faces it on the inside back cover.