SUMMIT One Vanderbilt lets visitors do more than just gaze across the spires of New York City’s tallest buildings. Here, you might find yourself looking inward at the observatory itself as much as looking out.
Constructed over two stories, the observatory looks and feels like you’re standing in a massive mirrored box – bring sunglasses. A stroll around it reveals views over the shining Chrysler Building, Central Park, the Hudson River and Bryant Park. But it will also show you infinite reflections of yourself and your fellow visitors, creating the sensation that you're floating along the reflective floor.
A tour through SUMMIT One Vanderbilt: The phases
Most of the SUMMIT One Vanderbilt experience – and it is a complete experience – was designed by Kenzo Digital, an artist who's created immersive performance and video installations for Beyoncé. The two-story glass-and-mirror room, called Air, is its first phase. From there, you'll move on to Levitation, a series of much smaller transparent glass boxes that are cantilevered over the edge of the One Vanderbilt skyscraper. The glass floor lets you gaze down more than 1000ft to the street below. You can even jump inside the box. The entire experience is built to create a feeling of weightlessness and can be a bit disorienting, so those with vertigo or motion sickness might want to take it slowly or take some medication.
After the cantilevered boxes, you'll have the opportunity to join the portion of the tour called Ascent – a glass elevator that carries visitors even higher to the tallest portions of the 1401ft building. To reach the elevator, you’ll walk through an open-air garden, which feels a bit like the observation deck at the Empire State Building but with an updated sensibility. (The Ascent portion is an add-on experience and requires an additional ticket.) There’s an outdoor bar and indoor cafe near Ascent, with swooping modern design and a menu by Danny Meyer that includes snacks, small plates and cocktails. A small, mid-century-style fireplace that hangs from the ceiling and has no floor supports pays homage to the “floating” theme throughout SUMMIT. It's a great place to stop for a break after your tour and continue taking in the views. SUMMIT also includes two additional gallery spaces that serve as transitions and palate cleaners between Air, Levitation and Ascent. These spaces are less dramatic and sweeping than the core elements of SUMMIT.
How to get to SUMMIT, and how to get inside
One Vanderbilt, now New York City's second-tallest office tower, is directly adjacent to Grand Central Station and its tangle of connecting subways. Follow the signs from the station's famous Main Concourse into the tower, but don't worry if it still looks like you're in Grand Central as you enter. The white marble was intended to create a sense of seamlessness between the station itself and the skyscraper.
You can purchase tickets at the kiosks in the lobby or reserve in advance online, which is recommended to save time. To reach SUMMIT, you'll step into a mirrored elevator that whisks you up more than 1000ft and gives you a sneak peek into the mind-bending sensation you're about to experience.
Tickets start from $44 for the Experience and from $68 to include Ascent. Kids aged under 5 can enter for free. A few caveats to consider before your visit: SUMMIT's website discourages visitors from wearing skirts or dresses to the experience, given the number of mirrored spaces they will encounter. In addition to bringing along your sunglasses to protect from the glare, guests are not permitted to wear stilettos or steel-toed boots in the interest of protecting the mirrored surfaces. SUMMIT is fully wheelchair-accessible, and service animals are allowed.
What to see and do near SUMMIT
If you’re soaring up to SUMMIT to take in the view, keep in mind that you’re in a neighborhood that’s rich in cultural sights. Pairing a visit with a trip to historic Grand Central Station seems like a no-brainer. After you’ve spent some time gazing down at the city at SUMMIT, take a moment to look up at Grand Central’s famous sea-green ceiling, with its celestial-themed mural.
If you have a bit more time and want to soak up some vintage New York City ambiance, step down to the lower level at Grand Central Oyster Bar & Restaurant, which opened in 1913. Another must-see spot in Grand Central Station is The Campbell, a bar serving fancy cocktails inside what was once the opulent office space of financier John W Campbell. It’s worth stepping inside just to catch a glimpse of the dramatic window behind the bar and the coffered, 25ft ceilings.
If you haven’t gotten enough of Gilded Age Manhattan after all that, we recommend stepping a few blocks downtown to the Morgan Library and Museum, formerly the opulent personal library of Pierpont Morgan. It retains its original palazzo-style design by McKim and includes an addition by architect Renzo Piano.
And of course, just a few blocks west, there’s always elegant Bryant Park and the central branch of the New York Public Library, with its stately stone lions out front and its gilded reading rooms.
