An Ode to Skybars

On a recent trip to New York City, I was faced with a conundrum. My wife wanted to take photos of the city from a high vantage point, but also did not want to pay for an observation deck. Going to the top of a skyscraper didn't seem worth the expense to me either. Rockefeller Center's Top of the Rock Observation Deck costs at least $34. Tickets to One World Observatory start at $44. To get to the 102nd floor of the Empire State Building is an eye watering $79 -- in comparison, a ticket to Disneyland earlier this year only cost me $74. Also assuming you don't want VIP tickets, which can run in the triple digits. This is particularly galling to someone from St. Louis like myself, we're used to completely different price points. Our art museum, history museum, zoo, and science center are all free. Tickets to one-of-a-kind Gateway Arch are just $15.

What do you get for those observation tickets? You go up, you have a look around, you come back down. There's just not much to it. There is one tower that seems to have realized the dullness of observation decks: Summit at One Vanderbilt. It boasts "Three floors of multisensory immersive experiences that will forever change the way you view New York." This appears to largely consist of mirrored rooms with various baubles that will make for striking Instagram photos. This maybe worthwhile for would-be influencers.

Slick made for social media physical spaces are some of the oddest contemporary structures. If you are planning a visit to Summit, you should note that their website warns "Dress with purpose. SUMMIT features many reflective floors. We recommend pants, shorts, or tights if possible." This means "Ladies, if you wear a skirt, others will be able to see your panties in the mirrored floors."

None of these places seemed worthwhile to us. If it had just been me, I would have gone on to something else. However, my better half wanted to get to see the city from an elevated point. I needed to figure it out. Scanning a map of the city, one place caught my eye, the Panorama Room. Located atop on the 18th floor of Graduate New York, Panorama Room rooftop bar and lounge boasts breathtaking 360-degree views of New York. Sure it's not that high for NYC, but it doesn't need to be. Situated on Roosevelt Island (between Manhattan and Queens) a little distance from the heart of the city gives you a better overall view of it. The cost was comparable to a ground level New York bar, my beer was $10, her cocktail was $11 (pictured above). Plus now you have something to do: you sip your drink while admiring the view. If you're really admiring the outlook, order another.

Not one to rest on my laurels, later in the week I picked out another skybar for us to visit. The Crown at 50 Bowery offers a range of drinks served by bubbly waitresses. At 21 stories it is high enough to put you well above neighboring buildings in Chinatown. After a lot of time on our feet--we walked 6-10 miles everyday--it was a great place to relax. Again we got an excellent view and drinks for far less than an observation deck would cost.

Of course all of this assumes there is a view to be had. Skies were getting hazy towards the end of our trip due to Canadian fires. Our flight out ended up being delayed because of poor visibility.

That is the only caveat I can think of for skybars: you want clear skies. That's not even a deal breaker though, they still give you some distance from street noise on cloudy days.