Highest Sky Deck in Western Hemisphere Opens Up in NYC

Highest Sky Deck in Western Hemisphere Opens Up in NYC

The Hudson Yards megaproject in New York City will have a new tourist attraction starting tomorrow. The Edge, the sky-high observation deck located at 30 Hudson Yards, will welcome its first visitors.

There are several components to the whole Edge experience, but the main attraction is the observation deck itself. One hundred floors up, and over 1,100 feet in the air, Edge has built-in bragging rights: It is, after all, the highest outdoor observation deck in the Western Hemisphere. The outdoor space is approximately 80 feet long, with head-spinning 360-degree views of the city’s skyline and beyond. The triangular glass floor at the center of it all is the Edge’s showstopper. It lets you look down directly onto Midtown buildings and the tiny cars below.

The ride up to the 100th floor takes 52 seconds. To prepare visitors for what they’re about to see, the elevator ride doubles as a mini experience. If you turn your back to the doors, you can watch as the elevator walls come alive with screens of New York City’s famous landmarks, as they get built from the ground up via animated sketches that transform into sharp photographic images.

Technical Details

• The observation deck stands 1,131 feet in height (345 meters), making Edge the highest outdoor sky deck in the Western Hemisphere
• The deck extends almost 80 feet out into the sky
• The elevator ride to Edge will take 52 seconds
• The deck is made up of 15 sections, each weighing between 35,000 and 100,000 pounds
• Bolted together and anchored to the East and South sides of the building, the 765,000 pound sky deck is comprised of 15 main sections, each weighing between 35,000 and 100,000 pounds
• Edge offers a 7,500 square foot outdoor viewing area
• The sky deck is bordered by 3,000 square feet of glass walls divided into 79 panels manufactured in Germany and finished in Italy; each panel is 9 feet tall and weighs 1,200 pounds; the glass panels sit on a 6.6-degree angle facing outwards allowing guests to lean out over the city
• In the floor of the deck is a glass floor expanding 225 square feet; this glass floor offers unprecedented views of the city below

Pricing

Visiting the Edge is not free. There are various tiers of tickets, with the base rate for adults at $36, $31 for children ages 6-12, and $34 for seniors. These tickets come with a predetermined time slot.

New York City residents get a small discount. Adult tickets are $34, kids’ tickets are $29, and NYC seniors are charged $32.

There’s also a “flex pass” that allows you to visit at any time on a particular day, rather than at a specific time; prices for those passes are $56 for adults, $51 for children, and $54 for seniors.

You get a $2 discount if you buy online.

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