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Western Hemisphere’s Highest Observation Deck Opens in New York
First unveiled as a concept in 2019, the Western Hemisphere’s highest observation deck has now opened to the public at the Hudson Yards, New York City.
Located on the 100th floor of 30 Hudson Yards and perched 1,131 feet in the air, the ‘Edge’ observation deck has 7,500 square feet of viewing space and weighs close to 765,000 pounds.
The exclusive deck consists of frameless glass panels angled outward and provides stunning views of the Big Apple and can be reached via 52 a second elevator ride from the building’s fourth floor.
Speaking about the opening, Marianne Kwok, Design Director at London-based architecture firm KPF, said: “I think it was a big surprise to everyone that we decided to do something that you can see from the skyline and that would be an attractor to the space.
“What we wanted was to do something more dramatic, so we cantilevered the deck off of the building, protruding by about 80 feet.”
Inside, the deck adjoins to a bar that serves a wide range of champagnes, cocktails, coffee, and snacks.
Rising to over 100 stories, and 1,296 feet, Hudson Yards is a super-tall mixed use building in the West Side area of Manhattan, near Hell's Kitchen, Chelsea, and the Penn Station area.