January 19, 2005

Empire State Building to add exhibits, cut wait time

The wise owners of the Empire State Building have finally decided to do something to make the whole standing-in-line thing less of a pain in the pahtoot for the 3.6 million tourists who visit the building each year, according to the New York Times.

Beginning this spring, a raft of improvements will be phased in to help the lines move faster and fill the waiting areas with exhibits so it feels less like a line.

The ticket booths will be moved (and more added,) from the basement to the second floor along with extra security checkpoints. Since elevators can't be added, the lower waiting area will get "entertainment focusing on the building's history and its connections with celebrities," the Times reports. There will also be projected images on the floor to give the illusion visitors are standing on a 50th floor girder during the building's construction.

On the 80th floor, where visitors must exit the high-speed elevators and catch another elevator to the 86th floor observation deck, plasma screens will show movie clips featuring the building and a history of its construction. The gift shop will be moved to this floor, and they may open up the offices of the building's first manager, Alfred E. Smith, the colorful former governor of New York who was the Democratic candidate for president in 1928.

Oh, and of course they want to hike the price -- possibly to $20 from the current $12, according to the Times. Plus this: "Also under consideration is a V.I.P. tour that would bypass the waiting entirely and visit the currently unused observatory on the 102nd floor."

Earlier: Knowing when to go: the best of times
'Birdman' of the Empire State Building
Empire State Building just trying to help

January 19, 2005 09:53 AM in Kids, Midtown, Sightsology

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