GET ELEVATED WITH THE MOST ICONIC SKYLINE IN THE WORLD
The city that never sleeps has one of the most iconic recognizable skylines in the world. From classic to new to reinvented, New York City’s best observatories offer up glimpses of its continuous evolution and incarnations. These views evoke all kinds of familiar stories in every corner of its sprawling playground. It’s where dreams are made.
These elevated views are what allow us to appreciate this place best and in the most encompassing wayAfter all, NYC is center stage in the stories of every tourist and local. Gazing out from above, it’s satisfying to just put that phone away for a New York minute and live in the moment, amazed, embracing it all. It can change your whole perspective.
The Big Picture
This city always has a way of outdoing itself. And, like it or not, it is always changing. But like never before, New York offers some truly thrilling offerings for mind-blowing views on any day, in any season. CityPASS is the ticket to get started on the journey.
From The Edge to One World Observatory, to the upper deck on the ferries, then over to Top of the Rock, and beyond to the Summit, there are many ways to see the city with a bird’s eye view.
Not least of these is the iconic Empire State Building Observatory right in the heart of it all. All you have to do is get there and you’ll get all the movie-moment feels.
ESB: A Beacon Revamped
You might have missed her 90th birthday invitation while certain things went down around the globe during the pandemic years. But The Empire State Building is now indeed a nonagenarian. And she is more gorgeous and engaging than ever. Those new shiny big matchstick monoliths around town don’t outshine her.
She’s got style and she’s got grace, and she embodies a monumental history claimed by only a handful of landmarks with her Art-Deco façade and tall slender core. And now she offers up an interactive time-capsule experience like never before.
While the competition for who can erect the biggest building endures (like it or not), the stewards of this senior beacon (ESB, as shorthand branding dubs it) have kept substance and authenticity a priority in her revamping.
They’ve completely reinvented the experience. With the $165 million invested, you bet they want to keep us entertained as we head up to the new Observatory. A variety of new specialized informative guided tours behind the scenes are also available.
Hi-Tech Time-Capsule
Once I entered the new digs through the new dedicated visitor’s entrance on 34th Street, I escalated up to the 10,000 sq. ft. museum on the 2nd floor. I was instantly drawn into the reimagined guest experience. This is not the ESB of yesteryear. It is an alluring celebration of the city and the iconic structure itself.
In a showcase of immersive high-tech audio/visual exhibits that integrate history and nostalgia, an unexpectedly animated display came to life. Both endearing and fascinating, stories spanning the 1920s to today came to life.
A dazzling display of replicas and artifacts like the 1930s elevator switches came alive in one corner, and a sprawling retrospect of ESB’s celebrity status splashed across movie screens in another. Interactive glimpses into old New York’s heyday along with engaging in-depth looks into the actual build of the icon were exhibited in the beautifully lit user-friendly space.
Urban Campus
The space is a great urban campus introducing kids to NYC’s history, too. There’s a lot to learn before inevitably becoming distracted by the sparkling panoramic skyline that waits at the top. There you’ll find the revamped observatory and the needle giving stunning up-close views.
A pit stop on the 80th floor offered multi-medium art galleries and signature libations. The bird’s eye views of the city began to reveal themselves. It was easy to time here enamored and awestruck without being herded or rushed like during visits here in the old days.
When ready to go higher, the little Art-Deco elevators had a lively, immersive HD animation on the ceiling depicting the experience of the construction workers and the brave souls who built it. So look up!
Pop-up to the Top
Partnering with New York City businesses, ESB has begun featuring rotating pop-ups on the redesigned sleek and ambient 86th floor. The ESB Hazy IPA by Craft & Carry in collaboration with Brooklyn’s Five Boroughs Brewing “offers a tropical jam of flavor. Flaked oats balance heavy Amarillo and Citra hop additions — bumper-to-bumper deliciousness.”
And a sweet treat from Greenwich Village confectioner, Cookie DŌ (yep, it’s every cookie you ever loved, in dough form) provided some mood enhancers on my way to the top and a souvenir with a sugar-high.
Going Up?
I hadn’t been all the way to the 102nd floor at ESB in forever. I don’t even remember when, but this was obviously more memorable.
The vibe between the 86th floor to the Top Deck on the 102nd was significant as I stood inside the perched with its smooth, modern, elegance.
The intimate space was subtly lit and the shiny black floor glowed. The 360° view of the nighttime sky was crystal clear and remarkable.
You could just fall in love with New York all over again. If I had a sleeping bag, I would have loved camping out for the night.
The windows stretched from top to bottom, and my palms got a bit sweaty. Still, there was a calm vibe and feeling of being – I don’t know – in space? With only a handful of people at capacity, I welcomed the tranquility of it. It has a unique, almost intimate quality compared to most of the other observatories.
RiseNYC
You might remember the Skyline ride in the 1990s at the Empire State Building, way before its renovation, of course. Tech has certainly come a long way since then, as has New York City. It seems rudimentary in retrospect, but it was fun at the time.
A new spectacular simulation of flying on your own jetpack around some of the most beautiful scenes of New York can be found at the recently opened RiseNYC on West 45th St.
Imagine your feet dangling just above the tips of the Manhattan Bridge, turbo blasting through subway tunnels, ascending high above the Hudson and on to some breathtaking views –this was one of the best rushes I’ve had in a while on the new theatrical thrill ride that has just opened its doors.
Various unexpected sensory surprises were in store, enhancing the ride-along into this super-high resolution, 21st-century joyride. No virtual goggles are necessary. And social media does not really translate the experience, in my opinion.
I have to admit, I went in knowing next to nothing about the experience at all when I was invited for a preview. The experience begins with a labyrinth of galleries celebrating many facets of New York City through the decades while bringing New York-centric entertainment that’s part of the zeitgeist. But be prepared, the ride at the end of the more leisurely museum will likely shift your adrenaline into high gear.
Twenty-first Century Heights
Perhaps it’s poetic or maybe it’s just ironic that this trifecta of shiny new observatories is a reflection of futuristic 21st Century ideas. Even old New York was new, once.
And, after all, the thrill of the journey to these rooftops is the stirring up of reverie made up of nostalgia and the excitement to really “be a part of it” to quote Mr. Sinatra’s New York anthem. That’s the allure. But the sunsets, those lights! And the lady in the harbor …Okay, I gush, but I’m a proud New Yorker. Deal with it.
I can’t help but imagine the boat-fulls pulling into Ellis, Angel, or Liberty Islands in the 19th century and the Lower East Side tenements and precious remains from back in the day. Standing at the floor-to-ceiling windows on the 102nd floor of One World Observatory (or OWO in today’s lingo), I tend to favor any given directional point indicated on the marble floors of the 360° layout depending on the hour.
On the main floor, the 100th, you can explore highlights of the five boroughs with multimedia kiosks to help get your bearings or explore the spots you might not get to this time around.
I’ve been up there too many times to count and those sunsets always stun me. It’s a mesmerizingly beautiful scene. The water shimmered and the silhouettes became a movie scene. If you plan your trip right, you can make the most of it, and what better way than with a sunset dinner and some bubbly? Even better, a perfect Manhattan at cozy ONE Dine on floor 101?
After my own personal ambivalence about the glitzy monochrome of Hudson Yards, I have to say that on a clear sunny day while leaning into The Edge, the latest tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, I felt the future. Or maybe I’ve seen the new Batman movie too many times.
Maybe it was the open-air factor, but it was nothing less than spectacular; Stunning me with a new way to see the beloved concrete jungle below and the actual curvature of the earth. I was levitating.
Next up on the horizon was Summit One beside the iconic Grand Central. Making its debut in 2021, the 1,401 ft. tower gets lots of buzz for its ever-changing colorful spire reaching into the clouds from the heart of Manhattan, with mirrors, mirrors everywhere. And lots of levity.
