January 22, 2021
Jerzy Kosinski‘s Steps, was once described by a reviewer as a “collection of unbelievably creepy little allegorical tableaux done in a terse elegant voice that’s like nothing else anywhere ever.” His book, and that critic’s take on it, came to mind recently after a visit to The Vessel at Hudson Yards. This 3-D M.C. Escher drawing that everyone has to pass by on their way to another recently opened urban oddity, The Edge, is a genuine head scratcher.
Among the questions that occurred to this visitor was what the heck is this thing, why did they build it, and what were they thinking? And if ‘form follows function,’ what is the function here? The Vessel’s website offers few answers. Dubbing this construct the ‘centerpiece’ of Hudson Yards, it goes on to say that it’s comprised of “154 intricately interconnecting flights of stairs — almost 2,500 individual steps and 80 landings.” We didn’t count them so we’ll just take their word for it.
Entering the Vessel at street level we felt a buzz of excitement that something new and amazing was about to be experienced. Along with a companion, we practically bounded up the first flight of stairs to the first landing. Already the buzz was fading. We began to suspect there had been a misunderstanding, or worse, that we’d been tricked. Let’s face it: climbing a flight of stairs is exercise, not an adventure. We looked out at the plaza below and realized we were still near enough to street level that we could easily hear the coach of an open air spin class barking at dozens of spinsters in the big white tent we’d just walked past without noticing. OK that was kind of interesting (eye roll).
Figuring that it had to get better the higher you climb, we set off and did a couple more flights. Stopping on a different landing (there are 80 of them!) we took in the fact that depending on where you stop, you could look to the north, the south, the east or the west. Or up and down. We were beginning to feel a little bit underwhelmed already. The views at this point were less than impressive. Not high enough to amaze or surprise but just high enough to see that the massive Equinox Hotel has an outdoor pool on like the fifth or maybe sixth floor. Being that it’s January and there’s a pandemic, it was not being used of course.
Continuing up it began to dawn on us (we could look up and see, actually) that after just a few more open-air flights we’d reach the summit of this thing and we still wouldn’t be all that far off the ground. The views were not really very interesting: to the west you can see the namesake Hudson Yards train parking lot. Lots of trains there to look at. From above they looked like subway trains but they were probably LIRR wagons. Beyond them stretched a swath of the mighty Hudson River, the view clipped on both sides by nearby buildings. And across the water you can see a totally nondescript slice of Jersey. The views in the other three directions are other nearby buildings and some Hudson Yards landscaping.
Before we knew it we’d reached the top. A photographer and a pretty girl were snapping pictures and a few other hardy explorers looked around, perhaps wondering (as were we) if there was anything else to do up here or do you just head back down?
One unexpected finding was that, while the exterior views were pretty lame, looking down into the Vessel’s interior cavity was kind of cool. No matter how far up in the thing you’ve climbed, the center courtyard (that you walked through when you entered) is kind of neat, like looking into a pit or down into a futuristic Hell perhaps. A blue light glows eerily down there, like a cold fire at the base of all of these steps, giving off a strange and almost spiritual (but not in a nice way!) vibe.
The other thing that stands out is the unusual elevator. It has the look of an afterthought and it may have actually been one. After all, the entire point of this project is that it’s got a ton of steps to climb. But if climbing them is not an option, which is the case for millions of people, you need another way to get to the top. That they didn’t realize that and incorporate an elevator into the design is pretty bad, actually. So what they seemingly did is just tack one on after the thing was built. We’re guessing, of course.
But if you’ve ever passed by a construction site where they send debris down to a dumpster on the street, you’ve seen those chutes that look like plastic garbage cans strung together to form a long tube. That’s what this exposed elevator shaft may bring to mind for some visitors.
There’s no accounting for taste, and for all we know, tourists and local visitors may absolutely love the Vessel. For us it was no big deal. Quirky, perhaps. Unintentionally intriguing (as in ‘who the heck pitched and sold this concept?’). We can’t recommend a visit – not because we don’t think it’s worth one, but because the Vessel is now closed. While many people may have wondered ‘why?’ upon seeing it, three people have hurled themselves to their deaths from it in the short time it’s been open. Suicide was surely not the reason this was designed and constructed but it’s become a reason to go there for some, unfortunately.
If you or anyone you know is considering suicide or self-harm, or is anxious, depressed, upset, or needs to talk, contact the following people who want to help:
Crisis Text Line: Text CRISIS to 741741 for free, confidential crisis counseling
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255
The Trevor Project: 1-866-488-7386