Observation Deck Blues
I’ve been frustrated with observation decks in New York for some time now. There’s about a dozen buildings or structures that used to have public observation decks that are now closed, or used for private space. I’ve managed to get up a few of them, but it’s always been of the unofficial variety: going out a window of an abandoned office in the Williamsburg Savings Bank building, climbing what remains of the rusted stairs in the 1964 World’s Fair towers in Flushing, Queens, and (my favorite) spending a romantic night watching the 4th of July fireworks after climbing the scaffolding to the top of the Prison Martyrs Monument in Ft. Greene Park (slated to be re-opened soon - hence the scaffolding).
There’s also been a couple others I’ve been able to head up to during an event or after a friend has gotten me into the building. But trying to just talk your way in cold is pretty much an exercise in futility. It seems like the city is conspiring to keep you off its heights.
In New York City, one of the top tourist destinations in the world, there’s two public observation decks. While the views are great, both cost way too much, and one regularly has hours-long lines. The pattern for them (and for most touristy observation decks I’ve visited) seems to be to jazz stuff up with a lot of bells and whistles, charge a ton of money, and advertise it as an “experience.” (A good tourist rule of thumb is to skip anything that advertises itself as the “so-and-so experience”). That’s what happened with the Rockefeller Center Observation deck, and it’s what’s currently happening with the under-renovation Empire State Building. Of course they didn’t hesitate to take the first step - raising prices exorbitantly - before actually completing any of the renovations.
Here’s what people want from an observation deck - to be up high, have an unobstructed view of the city, and be able to snap a few pictures. They don’t want $20 souvenir photos of them superimposed in front of the building. They don’t want talking elevators. They don’t want a tzotzke shop the size of Rhode Island to walk through before getting to the deck. Luckily, all that garbage goes out the window in Sao Paulo.
I made it up to half a dozen rooftops when I was in Sao Paulo, and best of all, never paid a dime. I had been up one of the official ones on my previous trip to Sao Paulo, and hit a couple others (in the Edificio Italia and Banespa building) on this trip. These were all in the old downtown, affording only somewhat different views of the city. Luckily, I also got up to a rooftop bar in the Avenida Paulista area a few miles south, affording a gorgeous view of the row of rooftop antennas that is a Sao Paulo skyline landmark. There’s been talk of removing the antennas (which are located among the skyscrapers on Avenida Paulista because the avenue is geographically the highest point in Sao Paulo), and replacing them with one large antenna, similar to the CN Tower or Seattle Space needle, but I personally hope this doesn’t happen. Even thought the antennas are somewhat outdated and not terrible aesthetic, they are an interesting identifying feature of the skyline and entire city. For a town that doesn’t do a great job marketing itself, some kind of unique identity is always a plus.
But the best rooftop surprise was still yet to come…
Tags: Brazil, Sao Paulo
