SUMMIT One Vanderbilt Vs. Empire State Building Comparison

By <a href="#author-bio">Stuart Bak</a>
By Stuart Bak
Published: May 16, 2024
Manhattan's skyline with both the Empire State Building and One Vanderbilt in view.

Selecting the best observation platform to visit when in New York is a very tall order indeed (pun intended), with five titanic towers to choose from. These, for the uninitiated, are the Empire State Building, Top of the Rock, Edge, SUMMIT One Vanderbilt and the One World Observatory. Each of these has its own unique quirks and views, but perhaps the greatest contrast in experience is to be found between hit-tech newbie SUMMIT and Art Deco OG the Empire State Building. We pitched these two skyscraping icons against one another to find out which one should top your Big Apple bucket list. Dive into our SUMMIT vs Empire State Building comparison to find out...

Empire State Building

Empire State Building at night

Name: This one requires no introduction... the Empire State Building is up there with the Eiffel Tower, Taj Mahal and Sagrada Familia as one of the planet’s most famous structures.

Age: Construction of the Empire State Building began in March 1930 and was, quite remarkably, completed just 14 months later in April 1931.

Empire State Building in a Nutshell: Surely the most iconic Art Deco edifice on the planet, the Empire State Building was the world’s tallest building for over four decades, until topped by the World Trade Center’s North Tower in 1970. This monolithic Manhattan masterpiece has starred in hundreds of movies and TV shows over the last century, including King Kong (obvs), plus Tom and Jerry, Independence Day, Friends, The Smurfs and, well, the list goes on and on. Its observation platform on the 102nd floor is still one of the highest (and most visited) in the city, nearly a century after that monster gorilla first took the al fresco route to the SUMMIT.

Empire State Building: Vital Statistics 

  • Height: 1,454 feet (443 meters) to the tip of the tower on the roof. The top-floor observation platform is 1,224 feet (373 meters) up.
  • Number of floors: 102.
  • Elevators: 73.

What’s the Empire State Building Experience Like?

Observation platform at the Empire State Building

You’ll get some of the best views of the Chrysler and Flatiron buildings from up here. In fact, arguably the only downside is that the awesome views don’t include... the Empire State Building itself. Console yourself by papping some of the Big Apple’s other landmarks, including Central Park, the Statue of Liberty, Times Square, the Brooklyn Bridge and the One World Trade Center (to name just a few). The 86th floor is where you’ll likely want to spend the most time, thanks to its open-air platform and unparalleled photo opportunities, but it would be remiss not to go all the way to the top while you’re here. Be aware though that the platform on the 102nd floor is fully enclosed, a bit smaller, and has a tendency to get quite busy.

Fascinating Empire State Building Fact of the Day

The narrow tower that rises a further 200 feet above the Empire State Building’s roof was originally designed as a mooring point for zeppelin airships, once considered the future of international air travel.

Empire State Building Fast Facts

Empire State Building

But how does the Empire State Building compare to SUMMIT One Vanderbilt? Let’s find out...

SUMMIT

Mirrored room at SUMMIT

Name: Officially SUMMIT One Vanderbilt to hammer home that the platform is at the very top of the One Vanderbilt building in Midtown. 

Age: SUMMIT opened in October 2021, making it (at time of writing) the newest observation platform in town. Fittingly, the building that hosts the immersive, space-age SUMMIT experience is a soaring futuristic wedge of steel, glass and terracotta tiles.

SUMMIT in a Nutshell: It’s testament to SUMMIT’s desire to add something new and unique to the observation platform scene that the resulting experience is somewhat tricky to summarize. There are the views of course: great, sweeping panoramas over Manhattan’s iconic skyline and beyond. But what makes SUMMIT really stand out are the dreamlike immersive experiences and cool art installations within; all clouds, mirrors and optical illusions that will – if the PR blurb is to be believed – help you ‘escape the boundaries of perception’.

SUMMIT: Vital Statistics 

  • Height: One Vanderbilt is the fourth tallest building in New York (disclaimer: at time of writing), standing 1,401 feet (427 meters) high. SUMMIT’s observation platforms hover a knee-weakening 1,100 feet (336 meters) above Madison Avenue.
  • Number of floors: 93.
  • Elevators: 42.
  • Visitors: SUMMIT welcomed a whopping 1.4 million visitors in its first year.

What’s the SUMMIT Experience Like?

SUMMIT

This one isn’t just about the views. A standard ticket also includes access to SUMMIT’s trippy journey through mirrored rooms, floating silver orbs and clouds bearing your own face. Transcendence sets the scene with reflective surfaces that repeat the Manhattan skyline, the clouds and, well, you, to infinity. Enter a dreamlike state as you pass through Unity and Affinity before experiencing the ultimate thrill in Levitation, a series of perspex boxes that protrude from the building and seem to float above the city streets, affording heart-stopping views of Madison Avenue 1,063 feet below. You’ll also bag some of the best snaps of the Empire State Building and Lower Manhattan from up here in the clouds. Requiring an additional ticket, Ascent takes thrill seekers higher still aboard (and we can’t stress this terrifying detail enough) glass-bottomed elevators that rise a further 120 feet into the sky.

Fascinating SUMMIT Fact of the Day

Ok, it’s hardly a crowded field, but the great glass elevators that rise 120 feet above the SUMMIT terrace are the largest of their kind in the world.

SUMMIT Fast Facts

  • Opening hours: 9AM-midnight, year round. Last entry is at 10PM.
  • Tickets: there are several booking options available on the SUMMIT website.

Closest transport links: the entrance to SUMMIT is located on the main concourse of Grand Central Terminal.

Silver orbs at SUMMIT

SUMMIT One Vanderbilt vs Empire State Building: Which Should You Visit?

Apart from the fact that these both boast observation platforms some 1,000 feet (and then some) up in the sky. SUMMIT and the Empire State Building are really quite different prospects. Visitors who crave old school New Yoik vibes should definitely plump for the Empire State Building’s selfie-tastic Art Deco lines and angles. Indeed, this century-old stalwart is worth visiting for the bragging rights alone. If, however, you fancy something a little different, it has to be the hypnotic futurism of SUMMIT’s immersive zones and its gravity defying glass platforms that permit fearless visitors to gaze straight down to the street far below.

Save on New York Activities and Attractions

Save on admission to dozens of New York attractions, including the Empire State Building, with The New York Pass. Check out @NewYorkPass on Instagram for the latest top tips and attraction info.

Stuart Bak
Stuart Bak
Freelance travel writer

Stu caught the travel bug at an early age, thanks to childhood road trips to the south of France squeezed into the back of a Ford Cortina with two brothers and a Sony Walkman. Now a freelance writer living on the Norfolk coast, Stu has produced content for travel giants including Frommer’s, British Airways, Expedia, Mr & Mrs Smith, and now Go City. His most memorable travel experiences include drinking kava with the locals in Fiji and pranging a taxi driver’s car in the Honduran capital.

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