There is an inimitable thrill in being taken to places no one is supposed to go. The secret passageways, the private elevators, and the uniformed tour guide lend a luxuriousness visitors may not expect from such a tourist mecca in the heart of Midtown Manhattan.įor me, the most thrilling moments of the tour were when I was granted access to avowedly off-limits spaces. There’s an old-fashioned sort of intimacy to the whole experience. You’ve got questions about the building’s history? They can tell you all about it. You want to visit the 102nd floor observatory first? No problem. You want a glass of champagne? Sure thing. There’s even a makeup room for last-minute primping for photo shoots.Īll-Access guests can generally choose the nature of their visit, with their guides happy to oblige virtually any request or timetable. For that price, VIP guests are paired with their own tour guide who escorts them to a private lounge for drinks, snacks, and introductions. It’s a tip-to-tail experience crafted for visiting celebrities, but accessible to the general public for a fee: $500 for groups of up to 4 people (according to the building’s website). On a recent Friday afternoon, I was given an all-access VIP tour of the Empire State Building. Its streamlined silhouette remains a symbol not just of New York City, but of a whole bygone era. Even so, nothing captures people’s collective imagination quite like the Empire State Building. In recent decades, a host of taller towers has risen all around the globe, from Shanghai to Dubai and beyond. It was finally dethroned in the 1970s, when glassy boxes like the original World Trade Center and Chicago’s Sears Tower soared to new heights. The Empire State Building remained the world’s tallest for more than 40 years. The opening of the new tower “has brought to an end, for the time being at least, a friendly contest for skyscraper honors.” But would there ever be such a behemoth? “Rivalry for height is seen as ended,” said The New York Times. In theory, some future tower could rise higher than the Empire State. The previous world record holder, the 1,046-foot Chrysler Building, topped out some 200 feet short of the Empire State’s pinnacle. At 11:30 a.m., President Hoover pressed a button in Washington, D.C., illuminating the new building’s lobby and kicking off a day of speeches and celebrations.Īt 1,250 feet, the Empire State Building so completely towered over every other building that any discussion of superseding it was mere conjecture. The grand opening ceremonies were attended by Mayor Jimmy Walker and Governor Franklin Roosevelt. The tower was officially opened on May 1, 1931, barely a year after its first steel beams were installed. In 2011, though, Hanks’ feelings changed when he learned Jon Hamm - at the height of “Mad Man” mania - was sniffing around the role.The Empire State Building, arguably New York’s most iconic skyscraper, celebrated its 90th birthday last year. Many saw McAlary’s hard-won exposé of the sadistic abuse of Haitian immigrant Abner Louima by cops as heroic. That same year, Hanks turned her down flat when she approached him with a script based on the life of New York columnist McAlary, who won the Pulitzer Prize shortly before his death from cancer in 1998. Her highly anticipated “Bewitched,” starring Nicole Kidman, had moviegoers throwing popcorn at the screen four years earlier. Fans had turned their backs on the adorable actress.Īfter “You’ve Got Mail,” Ephron didn’t score again at the box office until “Julie and Julia” in 2009. Ryan followed the scandal by making grittier choices, like the erotic thriller “In the Cut” and the boxing saga “Against the Ropes.”īoth failed. “I felt like I was doing my work in my trailer,” Ryan admitted later.Įphron, who knew every power player in New York, reached out to public relations guru Howard Rubenstein (pictured) to “cast” the Empire State Building in “Sleepless in Seattle.” Reports surfaced that the co-stars were barely speaking at points. Reiner, mortified at having to direct “a woman on how to fake an orgasm in front of my mother,” manned up and started pounding the table, panting loudly while shouting, “Oh God! Oh God!”Īaron Barsky, the assistant director, remembers Crystal as insecure in his “first leading role.” He leaned heavily on his buddy Reiner for reassurance - so much so that Ryan felt excluded. “I’ll have a hot dog.”Įstelle, in her early 70s, got so much more. Reiner had hired mom to deliver the famous line, “I’ll have what she’s having.”Įstelle had told Reiner she was happy to sign on just to spend a day with her son. The director took the seat in Katz’s Deli next to Crystal and across from Ryan, all too aware his mother Estelle sat just a few tables over. Ephron got all the credit for Meg Ryan’s iconic fake orgasm onscreen with Billy Crystal in “When Harry Met Sally,” but Rob Reiner and Andy Scheinman concocted the idea.
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