One World Trade Center Observatory, NYC

My husband and I made a visit to New York City for two weeks in July. We were there to celebrate a birthday milestone for my sister-in-law and to visit family and friends. One of the first tourist sightseeing objectives was to visit the recently opened Observatory on the 100, 101, and 102 floor of the new One World Trade Center building in lower Manhattan, and the National September 11  Memorial Museum.   One World Trade Center is the highest building in the Western Hemisphere, standing a symbolic 1776 feet. The Observatory is at 1,250 feet above the city, offering panoramic views through its windows. (All photos and photo collages in this post will enlarge for easier viewing if clicked on)

The morning we arrived there were wispy clouds around those windows in an otherwise bright blue sky.  There were some storm clouds in the distance, so we hoped the good weather would last long enough to give us good visibility.

We had pre-ordered our tickets online prior to our visit. They are pricey, at $32 a person, $30 for seniors, and $26 for children, but we knew it would be worth the cost. Upon entry, guests are welcomed at a Global Welcome Center.

We were surprised to see a graphic that said the day we visited, in early July, there had already been 349,988 visitors to One World Trade Center, from 190 countries!  We walked through a corridor filled with movie screens called "Voices" that told the personal stories of the men and women who built One World Trade Center. My husband was pleasantly surprised to see the face of a steelworker with whom he rode the bus from Brooklyn to Manhattan every day when we lived in Brooklyn. They often conversed about the construction of the tower.  Next,, we passed through an exhibit called "Foundations" which shows the bedrock upon which the tower stands.




Youtube link: https://youtu.be/l_hPh70-W1I

There are five dedicated elevators that bring guests up the 102 floors. While you ride in the elevator a time-lapse video is shown that shows New York City from the year 1500 to the present day.  The Youtube above was the best video I could find of the ride, although it is slowed down somewhat, and the sounds are slightly off.

There is then a two-minute movie about New York City in the "See Forever" theater. At the end of the movie, the screens move up and you get the first view of the city outside the windows.

It is spectacular to look out the tall floor to ceiling windows, North, South, East, and West and see the views!

Unfortunately, the blue skies we saw earlier were replaced by heavy clouds over the city, but it was fascinating to see lightning coming down from the clouds towards the buildings.  Here I was looking North towards uptown.  The Hudson River is to the left.

Closer...

Zooming in with my camera, I could see the Empire State Building in the distance...

...and an even closer view!

Do you see the tall skinny building in the background of the photo above?  Almost completed in construction, and at 96 stories high, 432 Park Ave is the tallest residential building in the Western Hemisphere.  Penthouses there will cost close to 100 million dollars!  Unbelievable!

There are round "City Pulse" screens on the observation deck with HD video monitors that help visitors pick out landmarks on the horizon.

Looking North East at the East River and the boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn in the distance.

A closer look at the Manhattan Bridge upper left and the Brooklyn Bridge, lower right.

An even closer look at the Brooklyn Bridge.

Looking southeast, I could see Lower Manhattan and Governors Island, with some of the shorelines of Brooklyn.

A closer view of Governors Island -- click here to read my blog post about this island.

More views of Brooklyn to the South East...

...and in the Distance the Verrazano Bridge that connects Brooklyn with Staten Island.

To the south, we could see the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island and near it, Ellis Island.

Closer view of both and...

...closer view of the Statue of Liberty.

To the West, we saw the Hudson River and New Jersey.

More views West to New Jersey.

Back around looking North towards upper Manhattan. 

If I looked directly down the windows I saw some landmarks I recognized.  In the upper left in the collage above is looking down towards Church Street and the unusually shaped Oculus Transportation Hub building. The upper right photo shows one of the 9-11 Memorial pools, on the lower left is the Irish Hunger Memorial--click here to read my post about that, and the lower right looks down on the golden brown-hued Stuyvesant High School. Stuyvesant is a specialized high school for mathematics. science and technology, and is one of the premier high schools in the United States.

The elevator rides down from the Observatory is another one-minute video experience that makes you feel as if you are descending outside the building.

No matter how you look at One World Trade Center...

....whether near...

...or far, it is an interesting building to see, and an amazing one to visit!