Christmas in New York City

Each year after Thanksgiving, New York City rolls out its holiday decorations and lights and the city is transformed into a magical place. Most of the decorations are the same year after year, but still they always elicit smiles and fond memories from those who have seen them, and excitement from those who are seeing them for the first time.

One evening a couple of weeks ago, I walked along Sixth Avenue and came across these wonderful decorations. Coming from the north, I first came across several giant nutcrackers standing guard at the UBS Bldg. between 52nd and 53rd Streets.

A little further along, between 49th and 50th Streets are the giant Christmas balls of 1251 Sixth Avenue.

On the next block is the toy train of Rockefeller Center Station, parked at the fountain of 1271 Sixth Avenue.

Directly across the toy train is the colorful Christmas tree of Radio City Music Hall which changes colors every few seconds, from green to gold to red.

Then there's the giant Christmas lights on the next block in front of the McGraw-Hill Bldg between 48th and 49th Streets.

On the next block at the News Corp Bldg is a reindeer family, the baby reindeer looked cute!

I also walked one December evening, this time along Fifth Avenue from Central Park South. At 57th Street is the Unicef snowflake, a special symbol for the world's most vulnerable children. It hangs as a reminder of UNICEF’s commitment to reach a day when zero children die from preventable causes.

The original snowflake, a New York attraction since 1984, was dedicated to UNICEF by the Stonbely family in 2002. The New York Snowflake contains 16,000 crystal prisms, is 23 feet wide and over 28 feet tall, and weighs more than 3,300 pounds. While the original Snowflake contains 12,000 crystals, is 17 feet wide and over 14 feet tall, weighs 1,600 pounds and is illuminated by 125 steady-burning and 300 high-powered flashing LED lights.

Near the Unicef snowflakes are the stores of Bergdorf Goodman and Tiffany's, both stores' holiday show windows are eagerly anticipated each year. For my pics on those holiday show windows, here's the album on Flickr.

Also in this intersection is Bulgari's, the store's facade is decorated with metallic, light-up snakes, the brand’s legendary symbol. 

Between 57th and 56th Street is Trump Tower, it has a very tall Christmas tree, placed near the lobby's waterfall and guarded by a toy soldier.

At the corner of 56th Street, the Harry Winston store glows with its holiday lights that shine in every window.

A block away reindeer prance on the awning at the entrance of The Peninsula.

Across Fifth Avenue but still on 55th Street, a toy soldier guards the entrance to the St. Regis Hotel.

A block and a half away, the lights decorating Fendi's look like a variation of Santa. I pretty much prefer their previous years' light decor which resembles a belt encompassing the building. Seems fitting as they are a leather goods store.

At the corner of the next block, the Cartier Building is wrapped in a red bow and a pair of panthers shine in golden light. Beside it, the Versace store light decor also shines prettily.

A pair of toy soldiers bring in good tidings as they stood at the entrance of 630 Fifth Avenue, which is part of the Rockefeller Center complex.

More toy soldiers, holding different musical instruments, are standing on the area surrounding the rink. Here's a drummer toy soldier.

And over at the Lego Store at the Rockefeller Center complex is a big Santa made of Lego bricks.

Of course the star of the Rockefeller Center Christmas decors is the tree. Usually a Norway spruce, the tree has been put up every year since 1933. Its lighting has been broadcast live nationwide on NBC's Christmas in Rockefeller Center show and is scheduled for the Wednesday after Thanksgiving.

The tree is topped with a Swarovski star.

The Swarovski Star is comprised of 25,000 crystals, with 1,000,000 facets, and it measures 9 ½ feet in diameter and 1 ½ feet deep. The Star weighs 550 pounds, including 300 pounds of crystal panels, and is composed of six outer rays and six smaller inner rays.

The path towards the tree at the Channel Gardens is lined with angels and their trumpets. Across the tree at Saks Fifth Avenue, the store's building facade serves as screen for its annual holiday light show. Snowflakes, ice skaters, gifts and a Yeti all interact through a custom-built, six-projector system developed by Iris Worldwide. The angels at Rockefeller Center have the best view of the Saks light show.

Here's the official video of the light show. Enjoy!

  
Further down Fifth Avenue by the New York Public Library, the lions Patience and Fortitude are once again wearing wreaths this holiday season for the first time since 2004.

The parks have their own beautiful Christmas trees, too! This year I was able to visit just the ones in Bryant Park and Central Park.

Bryant Park this year has gone patriotic with its red, white and blue ornaments.

While at Central Park, the tree is usually floating at the Harlem Meer. When I went there last weekend, the Meer was frozen and the lights of the tree was reflected on the ice.

Along Park Avenue, the lights of the Helmsley Building dominate the area.

Walking towards the building and onto Grand Central Terminal, I was treated to the terminal's Centennial Holiday Light Show, on display daily through December 26.

Over at Macy's on 34th Street is a big Believe sign. One of the Santa elves balloon was at the entrance near the sign when I took this pic.

Inside the store there's a Believe meter ..

and a mailbox for your letter to Santa.

Outside the store, the lights of the Empire State Building shine brightly. When I took this pic, it was lit in red and green for the Christmas holiday.

The Empire State Building also has its light show, held for 5 days from December 20 up to Christmas Eve. Here's the official video of the first day:

I know there are a lot more holiday decorations around the city I haven't covered but the ones I wrote about are the ones that I think are the most well-known and well-loved. 

Christmas in New York City is really the best! Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! 

The rest of my photos of the holiday lights in the city are on Flickr. There is a separate album for the show windows.

NYC 2013 Holiday Lights

2013 NYC Holiday Show Windows

At the Top of the Rock

Last summer I submitted some pics I took of the Channel Gardens to the Facebook page of Rockefeller Center for their Ground Up contest, and I won! My prize was two tickets to its Observation Deck at the Top of the Rock. I immediately used one of the tickets and enjoyed the 360 degrees view of New York City.  I was thinking of using the other ticket last autumn but wasn't able to use it until last week, just a couple of days before the ticket expired.

At that time, the staff were saying visibility is not good because of the fog but I had no choice otherwise the ticket will expire. New York at night is beautiful with all the lights, and the fog, I think, added to the beauty.

That was my view that night looking at midtown and lower Manhattan. Last summer, standing at almost the same spot, I was enjoying this view.

There were times the fog was so dense, the lights of the Empire State Building could not be seen.

At the other side of this view is Central Park and upper Manhattan. As it was late afternoon and foggy when I was up at the Top of the Rock, I couldn't see much of Central Park except for the lights from the lamp posts around the park.

A very different view from the one I took last summer, Central Park looks gorgeous in daytime!

Looking east, you can see the views from the lower avenues of Manhattan and the borough of Queens. When I was at the Top of the Rock that foggy night, there was this dense fog rolling over the area.

I know the Citicorp Building, the tallest in Queens is there in the above pic, maybe just obscured by the fog cause on a clear day, it's the one thing that stands out when you gaze across the East River to Queens.

The west side view is that of the upper avenues of Manhattan, and New Jersey across the Hudson River,

During daytime you can see the river, just like the people up on Top of the Rock saw Captain Sully make that miracle landing on the Hudson River four years ago.

At the northwest side of Manhattan, you could see the Upper West Side and parts of New Jersey.

During daytime, you could see the George Washington Bridge which connects Washington Heights in northern Manhattan to Bergen County in New Jersey.

At night, the lights from these two tall buildings at the southwest part of Manhattan catches the eye, and, on a foggy night, the lights still shine through.

The tall building on the left is the Bank of America Tower, I don't know the other building, though. Here's how they look during daytime.

The tall building at the back is Goldman Sachs Tower, the tallest building in New Jersey. And if you just squint your eyes a little bit, you could almost see Lady Liberty at the far left of the above pic. Here she is, as seen from Top of the Rock on a summer day.

This is the view on the northeast side of the Top of the Rock. The lights in this pic belong to the buildings on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and the borough of Queens across the East River.

In the daytime, you can clearly see Queens stretched out across the East River. Big Allis is right there, its smoke stacks shining brightly in white and red.

 

On the southeast side, the Chrysler Building plays hide and seek behind the Metlife Tower.

In between the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building in the pic above is the Lower East Side of Manhattan and Brooklyn across the East River. During daytime, you could see the three bridges connecting Brooklyn to Manhattan - Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg Bridges, often referred to as BMW.

That covers the views seen from Top of the Rock. If you get a little disoriented, embedded on the floor of the Observation Deck is a directional map of sorts.

I like the night view since you can see the lights in the city that never sleeps. At the lower right corner of the pic below is a bright well-lit area. That's Times Square, the area is bright with all the neon lights.

I like the daytime view because you can see the individual buildings that make up New York City, the different designs and structures, as well as the rooftops, some with solar panels.

 

An added bonus in the daytime is you can see St. Patrick's Cathedral through the gap in the decorative designs adorning the top of the Observation Deck.

As you can see from the map, Rockefeller Center is right there near the center of Manhattan and being up in the Observation Deck gives you a 360 degree view of New York City and parts of New Jersey.

In summer or winter, in daytime or at night, in bright sunlight or fog .. New York, you're so captivating! Thank you Rockefeller Center for the free tickets, the views from your Observation Deck are awesome!

That was a great experience, seeing the city in different seasons, in daytime and at night with all its lights. I'm hoping to be up there again, maybe in the spring or autumn. Yes, way up there, at the Top of the Rock!

 

For my winter Top of the Rock pics, here's the album on Flickr - Fog in the City

For my summer Top of the Rock pics, here's the album on Flickr - Summer at the Top of the Rock