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Travelog and Photos
From the Albany, New York area, New York City is just a couple of
hours away via rail, coach or car. I took an early morning Amtrak
train out of Rensselaer. My friend Dan met me in Hudson and we
pulled into Penn Station at precisely 9AM. From there it was just a
few blocks to The Empire State Building. The ESB officially opened
in 1932. It has 102 floors and reaches a height of just over 1,450
feet. After going through security it's a quick elevator ride to the
observation deck on the 86th floor. Even though it was a hazy day,
the view was still spectacular.
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The ESB we proceeded to Steinway Hall. Located on West 57th Street
in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, Steinway Hall is the flagship
store of Steinway & Sons. Since its opening in 1925, the Hall has
been a landmark destination for music enthusiasts, piano students
and professionals throughout the world. More than 150 Steinway and
Steinway-designed instruments fill three floors of elegant
showrooms. I spent about 30 minutes playing Steinway Model A, B and
D pianos. The sales staff couldn't have been nicer.
 After
that pleasant musical interlude Dan and I were back on the street
and it was lunch time. We were hungry. By the time we walked eleven
more blocks to Restaurant Row we were famished. Restaurant Row is
the nickname for a section of West 46th Street where many fine
bistros sit side by side. The street has a small neighborhood feel
despite it's proximity to Times Square and the Broadway theaters.
There are numerous ethnic eateries here including Thai, Mexican,
Brazilian, Japanese, Chinese, French and Italian, as well as a
handful of Irish pubs, brew pubs and steakhouses. We decided on
Italian for some reason. Most of the two-course lunches on The Row
are reasonably priced ($15-$25) but they pound you on add-ons like
appetizers, drinks, coffees and desserts.
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After lunch, we made the short walk to NBC Studios at Rockefeller
Center. Originally known as Radio City, Rockefeller Center is a
complex of art-deco buildings developed in the midst of The Great
Depression. One of the first buildings completed was the RCA
Building which served as the headquarters of the Radio Corporation
of America. The RCA building is now known as 30 Rockefeller Plaza or
simply, 30 Rock. Even though many television studios have moved to
Los Angeles, 30 Rock is still home to many popular entertainment and
news programs.
Dan and I had two tours: The official NBC 30 Rock Tour guided by
awesome NBC Pages Monica and Ellen and a private tour graciously
given by an old friend who happens to be a long time employee of
NBC. Both tours were amazing. We spent some time in the news bureau
control rooms and broadcast studios, as well as the employee fitness
center and break rooms.
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Photo by Dan Region |
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But the highlight for me was getting to go into Studio 8H, home of
Saturday Night Live since it's inception in 1975. To walk across and
through the same dressing rooms and stages that so many great
comedians, actors and musicians had, just totally blew my mind. Wow! |
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Photo by Dan Region |
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| Photo by Dan Region |
 There
was just enough time for one more brief stop before heading back to
Penn Station. I'm a huge fan of The Beatles. John Lennon would have
been 70 the following week. Time was short so we hailed a cab and
snaked our way through the midtown traffic snarl to 1 West 72nd
Street. The Dakota is the massive, fortress-like apartment building
where John and Yoko Ono lived and where John was senselessly
murdered thirty years ago as he was walking into the courtyard after
a recording session. On a happier note, The Dakota is also the
site of one of the greatest practical jokes ever perpetrated. It
took place in an apartment owned by Gilda Radner and her then
husband, musician GE Smith. The perpetrator was none other than
Senator Al Franken, long before he ever dreamed of becoming a
politician.
All in all a truly memorable day in a terrific town. Don't be afraid
of New York City. Just do some research and put a little extra money
aside. It's well worth the planning and the cash.
Story and photos by Rick Bedrosian
except where otherwise noted.
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