Jaunted

Another bonus for the Top of the Rock trip is that it seems so much more civilized. Precisely because it's new, not the tallest and didn't have a giant ape climb to its top, the Rockefeller Center roof decks are far less crowded than the perch on the Empire State Building. There are three outdoor levels, all prettily adorned in the original art deco fittings. The gift shops carry several historic photographs of the deck's original clientele--including ladies in white gloves and smart hats, surrounded by suited gentlemen and Adirondack chairs. It's not quite that posh these day, but the timed-ticketing entry, the speed to the top and the sense of space on the decks  can lull you back into that fantasy you have thinking this is surely your own private roof deck and what, praytell, could be keeping Godfrey with the martinis and finger sandwiches?

The promotional materials for Top of the Rock advertise a 360-degree view of the city, but that really needs an asterisk on it. You can't stand in one spot, turn around ad get unobstructed views all around. There's roof stuff up there--the top of an elevator shaft, and some sort of huge communications equipment, but you can piece together a nice 360 that covers all of Central Park, the Statue of Liberty, the top of Times Square, a smidgen of the Chrysler Building (partly obscured by the Met Life building,) New Jersey and the outer boroughs, and of course the Empire State Building.

And while the Empire State Building makes you feel like you're floating above the city, the lower Rockefeller Center decks still feels part of the city--you can read the old advertising signs painted on the buildings below, discern the sunbathers at Sheep's Meadow and see repair guys walking on roofs blocks away.

But my new favorite thing is that I realized on Monday that if you head to the easternmost edges and look straight down as much as possible, you'll get an eyeful of the Rockefeller Center's private roof gardens several stories below. They were originally open to the public--for a fee--when Rockefeller Center opened, but have long been closed. They're well-manicured and at least two of the three we could see have little pools of some sort. I promise you that not many people even know these exist. My husband and I did the Rock Center tour several years ago and we asked our guide--who was otherwise strong on the building's architecture--and he thought we were completely confused on the topic of roof gardens. So now you know that if you go, head over and look down to wear the Atlas Statue stands across from St. Patrick's and you'll see where they are. ("Godfrey, what have you done with my key??")

A few more New York headlines from the past week:

Brooklyn Botanic's rose garden to reopen June 1
Le Cirque opens; EU, Bistro du Vent, Happy closed
Ellis Island database expanding but remaining free
Subway SmartCard readers scheduled for July start