I went up on the roof again today. Don't worry: it's not a case of shinning up a ladder - there's a lift/elevator that takes you straight there. Hurricane Ivan's rain had gone, but the wind was still with us, and it was great to feel it up on the 20th floor. I say 20th, but this equates to the 18th, given that Ground is One in the US and there is no 13th floor.
The clouds were low, zipping over the Manhattan skyline and it was a great feeling, one completely different from that I experienced last Saturday in the baking sunshine, but powerful nonetheless.
The contrast between midtown and uptown is fascinating, the huge buildings soaring towards the clouds in the 30s and 40s streets, contrast with five storey brownstones in the 70s and 80s randomly interspersed with the odd c. 20 storey apartment block, like our own. The roofs of the brownstones are often equipped with flourishing gardens, all of them bereft of people today. (I was the only person on the roof, btw.)
From the roof you can see a building which is on the corner of what I believe to be 62nd and Broadway, just north of Columbus Circle. It reminds me of the John Hancock Tower in Boston, in both its angularity and its materials. The way in which Broadway bisects Manhattan on the angle gives such great opportunities for wonderful buildings, the most famous of these being the Flatiron building on the junction of 5th Avenue and Broadway. Times Square exploits the angle to make an awesome space.
Talking of Broadway, I headed further uptown the other morning to see Tom's Restaurant as featured on almost every episode of Seinfeld. It's on the north-east corner of Broadway and 112th. I also inadvertently passed H&H Bagels on Broadway and 80th, the employer of Kramer throughout his 12-year strike.
