Built on the site of the former Twin Towers, the One World Trade Center stands at a dizzying 1,776 feet tall, making it one of the tallest of the planet’s super-skyscrapers and the tallest in the Western Hemisphere. In short: it’s an absolute whopper; a gleaming glass goliath of the New York skyline, its height a deliberate reference to the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Neat, huh? Of course, in a building this terrifically tall, an observation platform — the One World Observatory — was a no brainer. It’s not quite at the top of the One World Trade Center's tree, sitting instead at a casual 1,268 feet above the streets of Manhattan. Which, if you ask our humble opinion, is still way higher than a human has any right to be, outside of an airplane. Or space module. The views, as you might imagine, are incredible from up here. We took the ear-popping 47-second elevator ride up to get an idea of what you should look out for from this fully enclosed 100th-floor observatory. Read on for our pick of the most essential views…
1. The Statue of Liberty — ready for her close-up
1. The Statue of Liberty — ready for her close-up
Look south
Not only does the One World Observatory give you a wonderful aerial perspective thanks to its epic height; it also just happens to be the closest observatory to the Statue of Liberty. In other words, the views of the Green Goddess from here at the southernmost tip of Lower Manhattan are just about as good as you can get, short of taking the ferry out to meet her in person (which, of course, we’d also highly recommend doing). So drink it all in, give her a wave, then strike your most serious-faced Lady Liberty pose for that all-important sky-high selfie.
Impress your friends: Gustave Eiffel (yes, the same guy) had a hand in the Statue of Liberty — he designed the flexible inner framework, itself a masterpiece of technical engineering, allowing our Green Goddess to withstand high winds, freezing temperatures and up to 600 lightning strikes a year!
2. Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges — which is your favorite?
2. Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges — which is your favorite?
Look east
We love the soaring neo-gothic towers and stone arches of the Brooklyn Bridge, and you’ll get a pretty good view of them from up here. But the adjacent Manhattan Bridge, with its great steel suspension towers is no slouch either.
Impress your friends: A herd of 21 elephants was driven across Brooklyn Bridge by incurable showpony P.T. Barnum in 1884, by way of demonstrating the structure’s integrity. Regale your own herd with this wild tale as you guide them over the bridge and into DUMBO (no pun intended: it stands for 'Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass'). Here, at the intersection of Washington Street and Water Street, you’ll find a million-dollar shot: Manhattan Bridge framed by historic brick buildings, with the Empire State Building visible beneath its arches.
3. Empire State Building — King Kong’s famous hangout
Look north
Follow your gaze along the length of Fifth Avenue and there, at the end, is where you’ll find one of the Big Apple’s most beloved icons. A stalwart of the skyline since its construction way back in 1930, the Empire State Building held the title of world’s tallest building for a whopping four decades until the North Tower of the World Trade Center finally superseded it in 1970. Now just one among many supertall skyscrapers in the heart of Manhattan, its iconic Art Deco exterior still has the power to make you gasp.
Impress your friends: it took 3,500 construction workers a mere 410 days to complete the Empire State Building. That would be quite a feat even now, but this was nearly a century ago, at the beginning of The Great Depression. Mind-boggling!
4. Jersey City — yonder across the Hudson
4. Jersey City — yonder across the Hudson
Look west
Just across the broad sweep of the Hudson River, you’ll see Jersey City. See if you can pick out Liberty Park and its science center just behind Ellis Island, as well as soaring waterfront skyscrapers including the Goldman Sachs Tower and 30, 99 and 1010 Hudson Street. Bonus points if you can read the time on the famous Colgate Clock. Cast your eyes to the horizon on a clear day and you might even be able to make out the vast green sprawl of Lincoln Park.
Impress your friends: now a century old, the Colgate Clock used to sit atop the old Colgate-Palmolive HQ on Hudson Street. Today it occupies a vacant lot at the waterfront’s southern end, pretty much directly opposite the One World Trade Center in fact.
5. Skyscraper bingo — how many do you know?
5. Skyscraper bingo — how many do you know?
Look north
New York led the global skyscraper race for nearly 100 years, before the Middle and Far East got in on the act with their own cloudbusting colossi — looking at you, Burj Khalifa and the Shanghai Tower. But the city still has one of the largest and most awe-inspiring skylines on the planet and there are plenty of supertall skyscrapers to look out for.
- The Chrysler Building. A 1930s Art Deco gem par excellence. Pick it out of the Midtown skyline, somewhere between the East River and the Empire State Building.
- Central Park Tower. A supertall, super-slim structure up behind the Empire State at the southern end of Central Park. Note that Midtown’s jungle of concrete, glass and steel means that you can’t catch a glimpse of the park itself.
- 111 West 57th Street (aka Steinway Tower) Not to be confused with the similar-looking Central Park Tower, this giant resides a couple of blocks east of its neighbor.
- One Vanderbilt. Another of the city’s loftiest buildings, this one is identifiable by its distinctive wedge shape. It’s just right of the Empire State Building.
- 30 Hudson Yards. Home to another of the city’s highest observation platforms (Edge), 30 Hudson Yards is the great big glass goliath that stands in front of George Washington Bridge.
6. Governors Island — island in the stream
Look south
Cast your gaze across New York Harbor to this historic island and see if you can pick out some of its more interesting landmarks: the impressive fortifications of Castle Williams and Fort Jay for the win.
Impress your friends: the name Governor’s Island (with apostrophe) originated in the British Colonial era, but was officially renamed Governors Island (no apostrophe) after the U.S. won its independence. Way to sock it to the Brit’s!
7. Pier 40 — a pier worth peering at
7. Pier 40 — a pier worth peering at
Look north
Jutting out of the Hudson’s east bank at the top of the Hudson River Greenway you’ll spot a perfectly square pier with an athletics field on it. But look a little more closely and you’ll see what appears to be graffiti painted across its side. Reading ‘I WANT TO THANK YOU’, this huge mural (big enough to be read from way up top of the One World Trade Center) was painted by artist Stephen Powers in 2019. Its simple expression of gratitude has earned it a place as one of the city’s best-loved pieces of public art.
Impress your friends: Powers is no fly-by-night street artist. His work is much sought-after and has been displayed in the Brooklyn Museum, at the Venice Biennale and in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Bonus: he’s known as ‘ESPA’ (Exterior Surface Painting Outreach) and, rather more prosaically, ‘Steve’.
8. George Washington Bridge — 14 lanes of fun
Look north
Follow your eyes north along the shimmering Hudson. That huge suspension bridge you can see beyond Midtown? That’d be the mighty George Washington Bridge, an absolute marvel of 20th Century engineering that links Manhattan to New Jersey via 14 traffic lanes. Set across two levels, the bridge also has lanes for pedestrians and bikes, so that — as well as snapping shots from One World Observatory — you can stroll the bridge’s one-mile span and nab a reverse shot of the One World Trade Center itself. Look out for the cute little red lighthouse at the GW’s Manhattan end.
Impress your friends: The Little Red Lighthouse, aka Jeffrey’s Hook Light, predates the bridge by several years, and is the subject of children’s book ‘The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge’ by Hildegarde Swift.
Bonus round: can you spot these on-the-move NYC icons?
Bonus round: can you spot these on-the-move NYC icons?
Let’s be honest: there’s not an awful lot you can’t see from way up here in the clouds. But, as well as all those cool Big Apple landmarks, can you spot any of these classic moving targets on the streets (and water) below? Eyes peeled for classic yellow New York cabs driving bumper to bumper, steam rising from beneath the striped awnings of those ubiquitous hot dog carts, Big Bus sightseeing tours cruising SoHo and Wall Street, Brooklyn Bridge bikers and, of course, the Staten Island Ferry painting white lines across the bay below. How many will you spot from the One World Observatory?
Top tips for landmark-spotting
- One World Observatory staff have encyclopaedic knowledge of what you can see in the New York skyline, so don’t be afraid to ask if you can’t quite spot the landmarks you came here to tick off. Signage around the observatory should also help you get a handle on what you can see where.
- Go on a clear morning for the sharpest shots of the city skyscrapers. Clear days also promise the farthest-reaching views — up to 45 miles, in fact, including upstate New York, New Jersey and even parts of Connecticut.
- Take binoculars or use your camera phone to zoom in for a closer look at the city’s skyline icons.
Enjoyed this little slice of New York?
Keep your sightseeing top-level with our sister guides to the things you can see from Top of The Rock and Edge at Hudson Yards.
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