Looking at the Empire State Building, 1 July 2003

How would it have felt to be part of the construction team? From New Jersey, its midtown surroundings look like mere foundations of buildings yet to stack up. The Empire State Builing towers above them all, delicate and elegant, but it looks lonely up there.

From the top, the whole of New York City's five boroughs are visible, and a couple of dozen miles beyond on a clear day. I think I would worry more about those clear days than poor weather. Even with the crush of summer tourists, the top of the Empire State Building can seem eerily quiet, especially after the noise of the city at ground level. Each day, for months on end, to ascend to the manmade world's highest point and to see the entire metropolis spread out below?

On one level it must have been awe-inspiring, to see a unique view and to be among the first of millions. However, I suspect there must have been an equal sense of isolation, in a very real sense departing the city before the main rush hour and remaining quite separate from the life of the very city they were working to serve. The story could have been written by a modern-day Victor Hugo, a thousand Quasimodos in the world's greatest belltower.