Wikipedia

Observation deck

Not to be confused with Scenic viewpoint or Deck (building).

An observation deck, observation platform, or viewing platform is an elevated sightseeing platform usually situated upon a tall architectural structure, such as a skyscraper or observation tower. Observation decks are sometimes enclosed from weather, and a few may include coin-operated telescopes for viewing distant features.[citation needed]

The Edge at 30 Hudson Yards in Midtown Manhattan, containing optically transparent flooring, looking toward Lower Manhattan, opened in 2020
View from the Shanghai Tower observation deck
Visitors on the observation deck of the Skylon Tower, which overlooks Niagara Falls
The observation deck from the TK Elevator Test Tower, which overlooks Germany's Black Forest and the Alps
Glass balconies attached to the St Eusebius Church in Arnhem, Netherlands
Footage of the panoramic views during an 1898 ascent of the Eiffel Tower by the Lumière brothers

List of public observation decks

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Further information: List of tallest buildings in the world and List of tallest towers in the world
List of public observation decks
Rank Name Completion Date Type City Deck height (m) Total height (m) Notes
1 Burj Khalifa 2010 Skyscraper   Dubai 585[1] 829.8 Floors 152-154 (opened 2019). Additional decks on floor 148 (555m, opened 2014) and 124-125 (452m), both respectively the world's highest observation deck at their opening.
2 Shanghai Tower 2015 Skyscraper   Shanghai 562[2] 632 121st floor; decks are also on 118th and 119th floors.
3 Ping An Finance Centre 2017 Skyscraper   Shenzhen 562[2] 599.1 115th floor (opened on February 10, 2018).
4 Merdeka 118 2022 Skyscraper   Kuala Lumpur 510 678.9
5 Canton Tower 2010 Steel Tower   Guangzhou 488 604
6 Lotte World Tower 2017 Skyscraper   Seoul 486 555
Abraj Al Bait 2011 Skyscraper   Mecca 486 601
8 Shanghai World Financial Center 2008 Skyscraper   Shanghai 474[3] 492.3 100th floor, decks also on levels 94 & 97.
9 Tokyo Skytree 2012 Steel Tower   Tokyo 451.2 634 Three additional observation decks at 340m, 345m, and 350m.
10 Taipei 101 2004 Skyscraper   Taipei 449.2 508.2 The 101st floor indoor/outdoor rooftop observation deck opened to the public on June 14, 2019.[4] Two additional observation decks, outdoor on the 91st-floor and indoor on the 89th floor at 383.2 metres (1,257 ft)..
11 CN Tower 1976 Concrete tower   Toronto 446.7 553.3 Two additional observation decks at 342 m (outdoor) & 346 m (indoor).
12 Willis Tower 1974 Skyscraper   Chicago 412.7 527.3 103rd floor; it is the highest observation deck (skydeck) and highest skywalk (skydeck glass balconies) in the United States [5][6][7][8]
13 Sky100, International Commerce Centre 2011 Skyscraper   Hong Kong 393 484 100th floor; 360-degree indoor observation deck.
14 One World Trade Center 2014 Skyscraper   New York City 386.6 541.3 Observation deck on the 100th, 101st and 102nd floors.
15 Landmark 81 2019 Skyscraper   Ho Chi Minh City 382 461 Observation decks on 79th, 80th and 81st floors.
16 Petronas Towers 1998 Skyscraper   Kuala Lumpur 370 451.9 Observation deck on 86th floor of tower 2; in addition there is the skybridge between the two towers on 41st and 42nd floors at 170 m.
17 Empire State Building 1931 Skyscraper   New York City 369[9] 448.7 102nd floor; additional 86th floor deck (320 m).
18 Iconic Tower 2023 Skyscraper   New Administrative Capital 360 394 Observations on 74th, 75th and 76th floors.
19 Lakhta Center 2021 Skyscraper   Saint Petersburg 357 462 Observations on 84th, 85th 86th and 87th floors.
20 Oriental Pearl Tower 1994 Concrete tower   Shanghai 351 467.9 15 observation levels, the highest one being outdoors
21 The Strat 1996 Concrete Tower   Paradise 350 350.2 Tallest observation tower in the U.S.
22 Tuntex Sky Tower 1997 Skyscraper   Kaohsiung 341 347.5 74th floor.
23 Jin Mao Tower 1998 Skyscraper   Shanghai 340.1 420.5 88th floor.
24 30 Hudson Yards 2020 Skyscraper   New York City 340 387 Observation decks on 100th and 101st floors.
Ostankino Tower 1967 Concrete tower   Moscow 340 540.1 Indoor deck is at 337 m.
26 John Hancock Center 1969 Skyscraper   Chicago 313.8 343.5 94th floor.
27 Milad Tower 2007 Concrete tower   Tehran 312 435 Top level.
28 China World Trade Center Tower III 2010 Skyscraper   Beijing 311.8 330 81st floor.
29 One Vanderbilt 2021 Skyscraper   New York City 310 427 Observations on 62nd and 63rd floors.
Ciel Tower 2024 Skyscraper   Dubai 310 366 Observation deck on 81nd, 82rd floors, 76th floor (290 m) and 60th floor (248 m).
31 Shun Hing Square 1996 Skyscraper   Shenzhen 298.1 384
32 US Bank Tower 1989 Skyscraper   Los Angeles 297 310 69th (indoor and outdoor observation) and 70th floors (skyslide and events) CLOSED.
33 Kingdom Centre 2002 Skyscraper   Riyadh 290 302 41st floor.
34 Abeno Harukas 2014 Skyscraper   Osaka 288 300 58th–60th floor (top floor).
35 Zifeng Tower 2010 Skyscraper   Nanjing 287 450
36 Eureka Tower 2007 Skyscraper   Melbourne 285 297.3 Skydeck 88 is at a height of 285 m.
37 King Power MahaNakhon 2018 Skyscraper   Bangkok 281.6 314 Observation deck on 74th, 76th, and 78th floors.
Etihad Towers (Tower 2) 2011 Skyscraper   Abu Dhabi 281.6 305.3 Observation deck at 300 is located on 75th floor.
39 Eiffel Tower 1889 Wrought iron lattice tower   Paris 276.1 330 3rd floor.
40 Menara Kuala Lumpur 1996 Concrete tower   Kuala Lumpur 276 421
41 Columbia Center 1985 Skyscraper   Seattle 275 284 73rd floor.
42 Yokohama Landmark 1993 Skyscraper   Yokohama 273 296 69th floor.
43 One Liberty Place 1987 Skyscraper   Philadelphia 269 288 57th floor.
44 Bank of America Plaza (Dallas) 1985 Skyscraper   Dallas 268.4 281 71st floor; additional on 70th floor at 264.6 metres (868 ft).
45 JPMorgan Chase Tower 1982 Skyscraper   Houston 268.2 305.4 60th floor.
46 Sydney Tower 1981 Steel Tower   Sydney 268 309 Main indoor observation deck; outdoor skywalk attraction on roof is located at 279 meters.
47 Gran Torre Santiago 2013 Skyscraper   Santiago 261 300 Observation deck named Sky Costanera is located on floors 61 and 62.
48 GE Building 1933 Skyscraper   New York City 259.1 259.1 70th floor ("Top of the Rock").
49 Tianjin Tower 1991 Concrete tower   Tianjin 257 415.2
50 40 Wall Street 1929 Skyscraper   New York City 255 283
51 22 Bishopsgate 2020 Skyscraper   London 254 278 Tallest free observation deck in Europe on the 58th floor.
52 Osaka Prefectural Government Sakishima Building 1995 Skyscraper   Osaka 252 256
53 Etihad Towers (Tower 1) 2011 Skyscraper   Abu Dhabi 251.2 277.6 .[10]
54 63 Building 1985 Skyscraper   Seoul 249 250 60th floor.
55 Midland Square 2007 Skyscraper   Nagoya 247 247 47th floor.
56 Lotus Tower 2019 Concrete tower   Colombo 245 356
57 The Shard 2013 Skyscraper   London 244.8 306 72nd floor.
58 Central Radio & TV Tower 1992 Concrete tower   Beijing 238 405
59 Sunshine 60 1978 Skyscraper   Tokyo 237.6 239.8
60 Federation Tower (Tower West) 2008 Skyscraper   Moscow 235[11] 252 62nd floor.
61 TK Elevator Test Tower 2017 Concrete tower   Rottweil 232[12] 246 30th floor (indoor and outdoor).
62 Q1 2005 Skyscraper   Gold Coast 230 323 77th floor (SkyPoint), with the function hall on the 78th[specify].
West Pearl Tower 2006 Concrete tower   Chengdu 230 339
Varso Tower 2023 Skyscraper   Warsaw 230 310 50th and 53rd floor.
65 Roppongi Hills Mori Tower 2003 Skyscraper   Tokyo 229.3 238 52nd floor (indoor) and 54th floor (roof-deck).
66 Taipei Nan Shan Plaza 2018 Skyscraper   Taipei 228.5 272 46th floor (indoor).
67 Europaturm 1979 Concrete tower   Frankfurt 227 337.5 Since 1999, the Europaturm has been closed to the public.
68 Tokyo Tower 1958 Steel truss tower   Tokyo 223.5 332.6 6th floor.
69 Macau Tower 2001 Concrete tower   Macau 223 338
70 Sky Tower 1997 Concrete tower   Auckland 220 328 Skydeck observation deck on 60th floor.
71 Tour Montparnasse 1972 Skyscraper   Paris 209 209
72 Fernsehturm Berlin 1969 Concrete tower   Berlin 207 368
73 Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building 1990 Skyscraper   Tokyo 202 243.4
74 Main Tower 1999 Skyscraper   Frankfurt 200 240
Marina Bay Sands 2010 Skyscraper   Singapore 200 200
76 Olympiaturm 1968 Concrete tower   Munich 192 291
77 Mohammed VI Tower 2023 Skyscraper   Salé 190 250 Observation deck on 54th and 55th floor.
78 Vysotsky 2011 Skyscraper   Yekaterinburg 186 188.3 Observation deck was opened on 3 May 2012.[13]
79 Bitexco Financial Tower 2010 Skyscraper   Ho Chi Minh City 181 262.5 47th floor.
80 Tower of the Americas 1968 Concrete tower   San Antonio 176 229
81 Rheinturm 1979 Concrete tower   Düsseldorf 170 240.5
Umeda Sky Building 1993 Skyscraper   Osaka 170 173
Tallinn TV Tower 1980 Tower   Tallinn 170 314
84 Donauturm 1964 Concrete tower   Vienna 169.4 252
85 N Seoul Tower 1975 Steel tower   Seoul 168.3 236.7 Tower sits atop Namsan Mountain.
86 Vilnius TV Tower 1980 Tower   Vilnius 165 326.5
87 Space Needle 1962 Steel tower   Seattle 158.5 184.4
89 Calgary Tower 1968 Concrete tower   Calgary 157.5 190.8
90 Fernsehturm Stuttgart 1956 Concrete tower   Stuttgart 153 216.6
Çamlıca Tower 2020 Concrete tower   Istanbul 153 369
92 Avala Tower 2009 Concrete tower   Belgrade 135 204.5
93 Fukuoka Tower 1989 Tower   Fukuoka 123 234
94 Kuwait viewing sphere 1979 Concrete tower   Kuwait City 120 187 (1990 Liberation Tower of ~300 m is not open to public).
95 Palace of Culture and Science 1955 Multi-function   Warsaw 114 237 Observation deck on 30th floor.
96 Spinnaker Tower 2005 Tower   Portsmouth 110 170
97 Millennium Center 2 office tower restaurant 2016 Skyscraper   Sofia 105 108
98 Kyoto Tower 1964 Tower   Kyoto 100 131
Nagoya TV Tower 1954 Tower   Nagoya 100 180
100 Tashkent Tower 1985 Tower   Tashkent 97 375
101 Snezhanka Tower, Pamporovo, Bulgaria 1978 Concrete tower   Pamporovo 93 156
102 Kobe Port Tower 1963 Tower   Kobe 90.8 108
103 Sapporo TV Tower 1957 Tower   Sapporo 90 147.2
104 Tsūtenkaku 1956 Tower   Osaka 87.5 108
105 City-Hochhaus Leipzig 1972 Skyscraper   Leipzig 120 142.5 31th floor.
106 Nebraska State Capitol 1930 Skyscraper   Lincoln 75 120 14th floor.

List of highest observation decks by type

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Type Name and Location Constructed Height Notes
Observation Skywalk over vertical cliff free drop ”Step into the Void” glass skywalk, Aiguille du Midi peak, The Alps, France[14][15] 2013 1,035 m (3,396 ft)
Observation deck inside a spire Merdeka 118, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia[2] 2023 566 m (1,857 ft)
Enclosed observation deck on high-rise building Shanghai Tower, Shanghai and Ping An Finance Centre, Shenzhen, China [2] 2015 and 2017 562 m (1,844 ft)
Outdoor observation deck on high-rise building Burj Khalifa, Dubai, UAE[2] 2014 555.7 m (1,823 ft)
Skywalk over (artificial) waterfall free drop Sky Corridor Waterfall Walkway, Huangteng Gorge, Guangdong, China [16] 2018 500 m (1,640 ft)
Observation deck on tower[2] Canton Tower, Guangzhou, China 2011 488 m (1,601 ft)
Skywalk over high-rise building Skydeck (The Ledge) observation deck glass balconies, Willis Tower, Chicago, USA [2] 2009 412.4 m (1,353 ft)
Skywalk over bridge Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge, Zhangjiajie, China [17] 2016 300 m (984 ft)
Skywalk over glacier Glacier Skywalk, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada [18] 2014 280 m (919 ft)

Timeline of world's highest observation decks

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This is a timeline of the development of world's highest observation decks since the inauguration of the Washington Monument in 1885.

Held record Name and Location Constructed Height of highest observation deck Notes
From To
1885 1889   Washington Monument, Washington D.C., United States 1889 152.3 m (500 ft) Was the world's tallest structure when completed.
1889 1931   Eiffel Tower, Paris, France 1889 275 m (902 ft) Two further observation decks 57 & 115 m.
1931 1973   Empire State Building, New York City, United States 1931 369 m (1,211 ft)[9] A second observation deck is located on the 86th floor at 320 metres above ground.
1973 1974   World Trade Center, New York City, United States (article) 1973 399.4 m (1,310 ft) Measured from sea level, street level was 10 feet above sea level. Indoor observation deck on the 107th floor of South Tower opened on April 4, 1973. Destroyed during the September 11 attacks.
1974 1975   Sears Tower (since renamed Willis Tower), Chicago, United States 1974 412.4 m (1,353 ft) Measured from the Franklin Street entrance, 103rd floor observation deck opened on June 22, 1974
1975 1976   World Trade Center, New York City, United States (article) 1973 419.7 m (1,377 ft) Measured from sea level, street level was 10 feet above sea level. Outdoor observation deck on rooftop of the South Tower opened on December 15, 1975. Destroyed during the September 11 attacks.
1976 2004   CN Tower, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 1976 446.5 m (1,465 ft) Two further observation decks 342 and 346 metres above ground.
2004 2008   Taipei 101, Taipei, Republic of China (Taiwan) 2004 449.2 m (1,474 ft) Two other observation decks are at 392 m (1,286 ft) (91st-floor outdoor observation deck) and 383 m (1,257 ft) (89th-floor indoor observation deck).
2008 2011   Shanghai World Financial Centre, Shanghai, People's Republic of China 2008 474 m (1,555 ft) Other observation decks are at 423 m (1,388 ft) and 439 m (1,440 ft).
2011 2014   Canton Tower, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China 2011 488 m (1,601 ft) The outdoor rooftop observation deck opened in December 2011. There are also several other indoor observation decks in the tower, the highest at 433.2 m (1,421 ft).
2014 2016   Burj Khalifa, Dubai, UAE 2010 555.7 m (1,821 ft) Opened on October 15, 2014, on the 148th floor. There is another observation deck at 452.1 m (1,483 ft) on the 124th floor, which has been open since the building was opened to the public.
2016 Present   Shanghai Tower, Shanghai, China 2015 562.1 m (1,844 ft) Opened on July 1, 2016. there are also 2 more observation decks on the 118th and 119th floor, at 546 and 552 meters respectively.

Under construction

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Approved

See also List of tallest buildings and structures in the world#World's highest observation deck

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "World's highest lounge opens in Dubai". TimeOut Dubai. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g ctbuh. "World's Highest Observation Decks". www.ctbuh.org. Archived from the original on 28 October 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  3. ^ "Shanghai World Financial Center -SWFC- | Official site of Shanghai Financial Center". www.swfc-shanghai.com. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  4. ^ "Taipei 101 to open top floor to public for the first time". YouTube. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021.
  5. ^ "Sears Tower unveils 103rd floor glass balconies", USA Today, July 1, 2009
  6. ^ "The Ledge at Skydeck Chicago". Archived from the original on June 8, 2011. Retrieved May 15, 2011. SOM.com Project Page
  7. ^ BJ Lutz (30 May 2014). "Coating on Willis Tower Skydeck's Ledge Cracks Under Tourists". Nbcchicago.com. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  8. ^ Sophie Lewis (12 June 2019). "Protective layer of Willis Tower's SkyDeck cracks under visitors' feet". cbsnews. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  9. ^ a b "The Empire State Building". Wired New York. Retrieved 23 December 2007.
  10. ^ "Etihad Towers T1 - The Skyscraper Center". Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. 2013. Archived from the original on 1 August 2013.
  11. ^ "Смотровая площадка Башня Федерация".
  12. ^ "thyssenkrupp Elevator". TK Elevator (in German). Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  13. ^ "Открытие смотровой площадки в БЦ "Высоцкий"".
  14. ^ "Aiguille du Midi : Inauguration nouvelle attraction le Tube". June 2016.
  15. ^ Coldwell, Will (19 December 2013). "Step into the Void: The glass skywalk at the top of the French Alps – in pictures". The Guardian.
  16. ^ "Visit Guangdong's Highest Sky Corridor Waterfall Walkway in China | the Asian Magazine".
  17. ^ "World's tallest and longest glass bridge closes after just two weeks". Dezeen. 5 September 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  18. ^ "Jasper National Park Glacier Skywalk Travel Information".
  19. ^ China has banned the construction of skyscrapers in 2021.
  20. ^ Watch the livestream to the Merdeka 118 Tower Spire Completion Ceremony here!, retrieved 4 December 2021
  21. ^ "Millennium-Tower: So grün wird Frankfurts neuer Rekord-Wolkenkratzer". Top Magazin Frankfurt (in German). 15 December 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
 
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