Life begins at 30
Since the end of May, a newly renovated observation deck on the Palace of Culture and Science's (PKiN) 30th floor has given visitors the chance to have a cup of coffee and take a sip of Warsaw history along with their view of the capital.
"The 30th (floor) is no longer just a deck, it has become a multimedia gallery," said Iwona Nowowiejska, an officer at PKiN's promotion department. The idea behind renovating was to create an information center about the capital's ravaged past and possibilities, Nowowiejska said. The multimedia format and new design came from Jerzy Porebski, an architect and project designer, and his company, Towarzystwo Projektowe, she said.
The revamped floor is divided into three parts: a pillar room, a gallery, and an observation deck. The pillar room is equipped with a movie screen, which shows footage taken while traveling around Warsaw on a tram. Aside from the film, the room also has photographs of the city's past and present streets and neighborhoods. The gallery posts papers and interviews on the city, along with panoramic plans that describe and explain what visitors see when standing at different points of the observation deck. Sightseers and Warsawphiles who find their enthusiasm flagging can rest and caffeinate themselves in the new cafeteria on the same floor.
According to Nowowiejska, the observation deck's restoration was a must. "It was the first modernization in 45 years, when the palace was opened." She added that the "restoration of the observation deck was the Executive Board of Warsaw Authorities' (Biuro Zarzadu Miasta Stolecznego Warszawy) idea and the brainchild of Warsaw's Mayor Pawel Piskorski," Nowowiejska said. The board owns PKiN and contributed zl. 700,000 toward the renovation.
Nowowiejska also said that PKiN's owners predict a return on their investment within a year, and she concurs. About 200,000-250,000 people visited the old 30th floor. The bright and shiny new floor seems to have an equally bright and shiny future, as "during the first day after opening, about 2,500 people visited," Nowowiejska said.
Some of the revamped floor's first visitors were a group of elementary school children from Chrzanow in the Malopolskie province, who came on a field trip to Warsaw last Tuesday. "We wanted to come here and we forced our teachers to bring us here," said 12-year-old Anna Lewandowska. She spent her time looking at skyscrapers through a telescope. "These buildings are the best to look at," Anna said. "This blue and red one (FIM tower) is the most beautiful." Fellow student Sebastian Torba had gotten his kicks somewhere else. He couldn't forget going up to the 30th floor in an elevator: "It was great, it runs quick."
Flora (who didn't want to reveal her surname), born in Poland but now a Canadian citizen and resident of the Niagara Falls area, was also delighted. But what delighted her was not the fast elevator, but the look of Warsaw. "I am here (on the deck) for the first time, although this is my third trip to Warsaw since my family and I were exiled to Siberia during the war," Flora said. She was curious to see if the Wilanow Palace was visible from the 30th floor. Unfortunately, it wasn't. "It's a pity, but anyway, Warsaw is beautiful from here," she said.
While Flora was really moved, Warsaw resident Grazyna Slomczynska was rather blase. "It's good that it was renovated," she said. But in her opinion, the new look was nothing to go into raptures about. "It's just normal. The 30th (floor) finally took on a normal shape," Slomczynska said. She admitted that sometimes she drops by to take a look at Warsaw, but in general "it's better to look at skyscrapers from the ground."
Maybe Slomczynska will shake off her world-weariness once plans for the 30th floor are more fully realized. "The 30th floor will come alive," Nowowiejska said. "We're planning to organize a lot of events here such as jazz concerts and live broadcasts of soccer matches."
