Glorious as the view of New York is from the Empire State Building observatory, it has its flaws: for a start you don't get to see the most famous skyscraper in the world from its 86th floor since - well, you're already standing in it.
從帝國大廈觀景台看到的紐約景色美則美矣，仍有其不足之處：首先，你無法從這棟大廈的86樓看到全世界最知名的摩天大樓，因為你已身在其中。
And 15 blocks to the north, looming above the stacked concrete that is the centre of Midtown Manhattan, a second towering art deco masterpiece partially blocks your line of vision to Central Park.
向北走15條街，一棟僅次於帝國大廈的高聳裝飾藝術傑作，自曼哈頓中城區中心層層疊疊的水泥建築間隱約浮現，擋住你望向中央公園的部分視線。
That masterpiece is 30 Rockefeller Plaza, the main tower of the sprawling Rockefeller Center, where, for 53 years after it opened at the height of the Great Depression in 1933, New Yorkers zoomed up to its roof-top observation deck 70 storeys above the city to experience what they claimed really were the best views in town.
這項傑作正是洛克斐勒中心30號，是佔地廣大的洛克斐勒中心之主要高樓。這棟大樓在經濟大蕭條期間最低迷的1933年開幕，之後有53年的時間，紐約客登上它位於70樓的頂樓觀景台，親身感受他們口中紐約市真正最美的景色。
After all, you had unimpeded sight of Central Park to the north, and a spectacular deckchair seat view of the world's most famous cloud topper those 15 blocks south.
畢竟，從那裡往北看，你可以將中央公園的景色盡收眼底。向南望15條街，則可自躺椅上仰望高聳入雲的全球最著名高樓──帝國大廈。
Stylish, refined and never as overtly commercial as the Empire State observatory, which was 16 stories higher, "the Rock's" roof-top quickly became part of Manhattan's Golden Age grandeur.
時髦、精緻、且不似比它高16層樓的帝國大廈觀景台那麼商業化，洛克斐勒中心大廈的頂樓迅速在曼哈頓全盛時期的輝煌中佔有一席之地。
Its sleek, open-air simplicity was pure art deco, the terracotta-tiled floors, rows of deckchairs and ship-stack style vents evoking the great ocean liners of the age.
雅致的露天簡約氣息，藉由純粹的裝飾藝術、紅土磚地板、一列列躺椅、以及令人想起當時大型遠洋輪船的船囪式通風口一一傳達。
All that came to an end in 1986 however, when, with expansion of the Rainbow Room on the floors immediately below it, elevator access to the roof was shut off. For the past 20 years, the second-highest vantage point in Manhattan has been closed to the public.
然而，這一切都在1986年告終，因為觀景台正下方的彩虹廳進行擴建，通往頂樓的電梯因而關閉。過去20年來，曼哈頓第二高的優越位置就一直不對公眾開放。
That's all about to change. This northern autumn, just in time for the leaf-turning show in Central Park, the Rockefeller observation deck will reopen as Top of the Rock, following a $75m renovation that was six years in the planning.
這樣的情況就要改變了。在今年北方的秋天來臨時，經過6年規劃、耗資7500萬美元（約23億8千元萬台幣）整修的洛克斐勒觀景台，將以「磐石之頂」為名重新開放，恰好可欣賞中央公園綠葉轉黃的美景。
劉婉瑀、李寧怡譯
skyscraper : 摩天大樓；超高層大樓
art deco : 裝飾藝術；立體派裝飾 (以幾何與流線型為主特色)
the Great Depression : 指1929-1939年間發生在北美洲、歐洲及其他工業地區的經濟衰退
unimpeded : 未受阻礙的；暢通無阻的
evoke : 喚醒(記憶等)；引起
