It’s official. New York’s highly anticipated One World Observatory will open to the public on May 29, 2015.
Sitting on levels 100-102 of the One World Trade Center — the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere — it’s vying to become the city’s hottest new tourist attraction.
Visitors will be get panoramic views of pretty much every corner of New York City from 1,250 feet above ground.
It’s obviously the scenes outside that sell this one but, to be fair, the developers have also come up with some impressive interactive features inside.
For starters, visitors get to the observatory via one of five “Sky Pod” elevators that whiz up to the 102nd floor in fewer than 60 seconds.
During the ride they’ll be surrounded by a floor-to-ceiling virtual time-lapse that recreates the development of New York City’s skyline from the 1600s to present day.
The Main Observatory space on the 100th floor will include an interactive skyline “concierge” known as City Pulse.
It’s made up of a ring of HD video monitors that use gesture recognition technology to bring imagery to the screens, allowing guests to find out more about the landmarks and neighborhoods they’re checking out from above.
There’s also a Sky Portal — a 14-foot wide circular disc that will deliver real-time, high-definition footage of the streets below.
Nice to meet you, Anna
The entire One World Trade Center, including the 408-foot spire, stands at a height of 1,776 feet — the year the Declaration of Independence was signed.
The base is 200 feet by 200 feet, the same size as the original twin towers that were destroyed in the terror attacks of 2001.
Visitors who hang around long enough might even get to bump into Anna Wintour.
Conde Nast, which publishes Vogue magazine, was the first company to move into the One World Trade building when it opened in November, 2014.
Tickets to the One World Observatory go on sale from Wednesday, April 8, and are available on the official website www.OneWorldObservatory.com.
Admission for adults ages 13-64 will be $32. Children ages 6-12 pay $26 and seniors over 65 can get in for $30. Guests five and under will be admitted at no charge.
