Which towers are accessible to the public?

[Grumpy]

I would like to know which high-rises do have an observation deck (no telecommunication towers) or a covered lookout point?

[volguus zildrohar]

I'll give you the one's I've visited:

New York:
Empire State Building
30 Rockefeller Plaza

Philadelphia:
City Hall

Baltimore:
World Trade Center

Washington, D.C.
Washington Monument

Cincinnati:
Carew Tower

Chicago:
Sears Tower
John Hancock Center

Boston:
John Hancock Tower is still closed yes? I was there in '99.

Pittsburgh:
Tower Of Learning (;))

[Dac150]

In todays's society (for New York atleast) if there is no reatail and your not working in the building, you are no allowed in.

[KingKrunch]

Jena, Germany:
JenTower (formerly known as Intershop Tower)

Frankfurt, Germany:
Maintower

[MolsonExport]

I've been to (observatories):
Empire State Building (NYC)
Rockefeller Center (former RCA building, NYC)
World Trade Center (RIP, NYC)
Sydney Tower (Sydney)
Skylon Tower (Niagara Falls)
Tour de Montreal (Olympic Stadium, Montreal)
Place Ville Marie (747 club, Montreal)
Hotel dela Montagne (rooftop club, Montreal)
Calgary tower (Calgary)
Harbourfront Centre (Vancouver)
Seoul Tower (Seoul)
Space Needle (Seattle)
Prudential Center (Boston)
Edifice Marie-Guyart (Quebec City)

[Buckeye Native 001]

Stratosphere (Las Vegas)

Westin Bonaventure Hotel (Los Angeles)*




*Well, not really, but sometimes if you go up there during non-peak hours, they'll be nice enough to let you walk around and take pics.

[BTinSF]

In todays's society (for New York atleast) if there is no reatail and your not working in the building, you are no allowed in.

Not true in San Francisco. The city Planning Dept. requires developers to include "public open space" in their projects which can be either indoors or outdoors. In the case of office towers, it's sometimes space in the lobby. One newish tower here (101 Second St.for locals) has a large first floor lobby that's open and makes a great place to eat a take-out lunch. Rarely, it's even roof gardens or something similar. I'm not aware of any observation decks presently open, but that's a possibility.

Embarcadero Center used to have an observation deck for which, as I recall, they charged. Not sure if it's still open.

There's a public restaurant, The Carnelian Room, on top of the Bank of America Building, and there's the Top of the Mark bar/restaurant on top of the Mark Hopkins Intercontinental Hotel (on top of Nob Hill). The latter makes a great place for a late-night drink.

There's also a bar open to the public on an upper (not sure if it's the very top) of the SF Marriott and I believe also a restaurant at top of the St. Francis Hotel. Finally, the Sir Francis Drake Hotel has the "Starlight Room", a nightclub.

[909]

Berlin has an impessive list of observation decks, but i don't know if they are still open for the public. Nevertheless an impressive list.

Fernsehturm (368 m):

http://www.zurkuhlen.de/september/fernsehturm_770.jpg

Funkturm (150 m):

http://www.aip.de/image_archive/images/funkturm_065.jpg

Restaurant of the Park Inn Hotel Berlin (132 m):

http://www.lilano.de/catalog/images/Hotel-Park-Inn_200604DSC1046.JPG

Berliner Dom (116 m):

http://web02.city-map.de/img/07010043901.jpg

Dailmer-Chrysler Hochhaus panorama (102 m):

http://www.courses.psu.edu/nuc_e/nuc_e405_g9c/berlin/potsdamerplatz/potsdamerplatz7.jpg

Europacenter panorama (86 m):

http://www.mercedoel-berlin.de/images/EuropaCenter.jpg

Bell tower Olympic Stadium Berlin (77 m):

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Berlin_Olympiastadion_Glockenturm_aussen.jpg

Siegessäule (67 m):

http://www.berlin-info.de/deutsch/sights/big/s_17_a.jpg

Grunewaldturm (56 m):

http://www.ilexikon.com/images/5/5f/2004-03-07_01_Berlin_Grundewaldturm.jpg

Reichstag (48 m):

http://www.hoffmann.caltech.edu/placesVisited/Aug05/images/Reichstag%20Berlin%202005.jpg

http://www.berlin.citysam.de/fotos-hotels/reichstag-3.jpg

Bierpinsel (46 m):

http://catwins.de/berlin/spitz/spitz14.jpg

Müggelturm (29 m):

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/forsten/ausflugstipps/de/2004/pix/04_08_5_230.jpg

[plinko]

You can go up to the skylobbies in Houston in the Chase Texas Tower and the Wells Fargo Tower.

[Patrick]

Westin Bonaventure Hotel (Los Angeles)*

*Well, not really, but sometimes if you go up there during non-peak hours, they'll be nice enough to let you walk around and take pics.

Yeah! My dad took me up there once after walking around downtown. It was really cool! It was like 3 in the afternoon, so there was no one there, except the staff, who let us walk around and enjoy the view!

Plus the glass elevators provided an amazing view on the way down. :)

http://i13.tinypic.com/6cdnqd4.jpg

http://i18.tinypic.com/61l6wyb.jpg

http://i14.tinypic.com/4ulm91y.jpg

[Minato Ku]

Paris

Montparnasse tower
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c5/Paris.montparnasse.500pix.jpg/175px-Paris.montparnasse.500pix.jpg

Grand Arche
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/31/Grande_arche_de_la_defense.jpg/300px-Grande_arche_de_la_defense.jpg

Maybe in some hotels maybe

Hotel Concorde Lafeyette
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/d4/Concordelafayette.JPG/250px-Concordelafayette.JPG

Hotel Meridien Montparnasse
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f0/Paris_055.jpg/250px-Paris_055.jpg

[LeeWilson]

Here are some for the Tokyo area:

Tokyo 23 wards:
Sunshine 60, 60th floor, 620 yen
Shinjuku Center Building, 53rd floor, free
Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 52nd floor, 1500 yen
Shinjuku Sumitomo Building, 51st floor, free
Shinjuku Nomura Building, 50th floor, free
St. Luke's Tower, 47th floor, free
Dentsu Headquarters/Caretta Shiodome, 46th floor, free
Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, 45th floor, free (2 different decks)
World Trade Center Building, 40th floor, 620 yen
Ebisu Garden Place Tower, 39th floor, free
Marunouchi Building, 35th floor, free
Shinjuku NS Building, 30th floor, free
Carrot Tower, 26th floor, free
Bunkyo Civic Center, 25th floor, free
Fuji TV Headquarters, 25th floor, 500 yen
Tokyo Teleport Telecom Center, 21st floor, 500 yen
Nerima Ward Office, 20th floor, free
Oji Hokutopia, 17th floor, free
Senju Mildix Building 1, rooftop (12th floor), not covered, free
Shibuya Tokyu Toyoko Department Store, rooftop (12th floor I think), not covered, free
Harumi Port Terminal, 7th floor, free (its central bay location gives it a fairly good view despite its height)
Rainbow Bridge, n/a, free (fairly high, and has a good and unobstructed view, if you're willing to walk across the whole thing)

Yokohama:
Landmark Tower, 69th floor, 1000 yen
Sogo Yokohama, rooftop (10th floor), maybe not covered, free

Saitama:
Omiya Sonic City, 31st floor, free

Edit: I added a couple buildings.

[JivecitySTL]

The Gateway Arch has 16 elevators to take visitors to the top...

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c283/jeffvstl/archcool.jpg

[stepper77]

This a great thread! I'm always trying to find these. I just wish more cities/buildings offered onservation decks, though there seems to be quite a lot of options in Tokyo!

Anyway, I have one to add, Aloha Tower in Honolulu. It's not terribly tall, but, offers a great view of downtown.

http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/734/honolulu043eh8.jpg

I should ask too while I'm at it, I'll be going to San Diego soon. Does anyone know of a good place for city views in SD?

[Buckeye Native 001]

Yeah! My dad took me up there once after walking around downtown. It was really cool! It was like 3 in the afternoon, so there was no one there, except the staff, who let us walk around and enjoy the view!

Plus the glass elevators provided an amazing view on the way down. :)


Personally, I think the Bonaventure is the best way to really get a feel for how tall most of the skyscrapers are in Downtown LA. I mean seriously, you're about 400' high in the Bonaventure, and you're still only at about mid-height to the surrounding towers.

:tup:

[tablemtn]

The highest observation deck in Seattle is located at the 73rd floor of the Columbia Center.

[lawsond]

the old cn tower is all about the view when it is not smoggy.
the skydeck is still the highest observation deck in the world.
i wonder if the birj will have one higher.

[WonderlandPark]

Gawd, been to so many of them,

is that why I frequent a site like SSP?:shrug:

Astoria - Astoria Column
Atlanta - Westin Peachtree
Boston - Prudential Deck
Calgary - Calgary Tower
Chicago - John Hancock
Chicago - Sears Tower
Cincinnatti - Carew Tower
Florence - Duomo
Houston - Top of Hyatt - (restaurant)
Indianapolis - State Soldier's Monument
Kuala Lumpur - Menara Tower
Kuala Lumpur - Petronas - skybridge is public, top is not
Los Angeles - Bonaventure Hotel
London - London Eye
Munich - Frauenkirche
Munich - Olympiaturm Tower
New York - Empire State Building
New York - Top of the Rock
Penang - KOMTAR building
Provinectown - Pilgrim Tower
Rome - St. Peter's Basilica
St. Louis - St. Louis Arch
San Francisco - Transamerica - only the 29th floor or something
San Francisco - Coit Tower
Seattle - Columbia Center, don't know if it is still open
Toronto - CN Tower
Tokyo - Sunshine 60
Tokyo - Tokyo Tower
Washington D.C. - Washington Monument

probably more than this, too, all I can remember for now.

[spoonman]

I should ask too while I'm at it, I'll be going to San Diego soon. Does anyone know of a good place for city views in SD?
In San Diego I'd recommend the "Top of the Hyatt" lounge, which is on the 40th floor of the Manchester Grand.

[Inkdaub]

Personally, I think the Bonaventure is the best way to really get a feel for how tall most of the skyscrapers are in Downtown LA. I mean seriously, you're about 400' high in the Bonaventure, and you're still only at about mid-height to the surrounding towers.

:tup:

I love the Bonaventure.

In Seattle we have the Needle of course. The Columbia Center/BofA Tower has been mentioned. There is also an observation deck in the Smith Tower but I've never visited. Westin Seattle is sortof like Bonaventure in that it's tall...a little taller and not as wide say...and is circular with floor to ceiling windows in the rooms. Guests only of course. The best views in Seattle will probably always be the ferries and Queen Anne Hill.

In Portland we have Big Pink/US Bank Tower which has the Portland City Grille up on the top floor. Alexanders in the Hilton is high up I'm told but I've never been. Portland isn't really an 'observation deck' sort of place. The tram has great views, though.

Vancouver has an Ob-deck in a building downtown. I'm sure someone knows the name as it escapes me. Great views...but it's Vancouver so OF COURSE the view is great.

I don't know about any buildings in Pitt with view decks...but who needs them when you have Mount Washington...I think it's Mount Washington. As staggering a skyline view as you'll get anywhere. Head up after nightfall...spectacular.

[Strayone]

I didn't see any Mpls buildings mentioned and wonder if the Foshay Tower or IDS tower as well as other buildings have observation levels that exist. Dallas has the Reunion Tower, it's pretty damn cool!
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p302/strayone61/Reunion_Tower.jpg

[alleystreetindustry]

the sundial (westin peachtree plaza) in atlanta is beautiful.

[Buckeye Native 001]

I forgot about another one in Los Angeles: City Hall.

Unfortunately, I think its only open from 9-5 on Mondays through Fridays.

[Inkdaub]

Well, the building itself isn't tall but the Griffith Park Observatory is high on a hill and has staggering views. The last time I was there the air was clear and you could see downtown and the ocean quite clearly.

[MolsonExport]

I've been to (observatories):
Empire State Building (NYC)
Rockefeller Center (former RCA building, NYC)
World Trade Center (RIP, NYC)
Sydney Tower (Sydney)
Skylon Tower (Niagara Falls)
Tour de Montreal (Olympic Stadium, Montreal)
Place Ville Marie (747 club, Montreal)
Hotel dela Montagne (rooftop club, Montreal)
Calgary tower (Calgary)
Harbourfront Centre (Vancouver)
Seoul Tower (Seoul)
Space Needle (Seattle)
Prudential Center (Boston)
Edifice Marie-Guyart (Quebec City)

Now that I am back from my Italy trip, I must update the above to include:

-Lamberti Tower (Verona)
http://z.about.com/d/goeurope/1/0/8/N/verona_6.jpg

-Campanile San Marco (Venice)
http://www.cheapvenice.com/campanile-san-marco.jpg

-Campanile San Giorgio (Venice)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/graphics/2007/04/16/etvenice418.jpg

-top of the Duomo (Florence)
http://www.exodus.co.uk/pictures/a02hp13c.jpg

[SpongeG]

vancouver has 3 i think

harbour centre
http://www.dkimages.com/discover/previews/1007/50250905.JPG

Empire landmark a hotel on robson street
http://images.travelnow.com/hotels/VAN_EMPI-exter-1.jpg

the hotel vancouver has some kind of ballroom at the top or near the top
http://www.vancouverbnb.com/Vancouver-pix/RobsonSquareArtGalleryHotelVan.jpg

[uncompahgre]

Great thread! I've often wondered if there was a complete list of buildings with observation areas open to the public. I guess this is as close as I'll come to that. I've been to the Top of the Rock and the Empire State Building observatories here in NYC as well as a magnificent medieval observation tower in the ancient city of Nicosia in Cyprus. If I had the money, I'd do a world "tour" someday of all the notable observation spots. Wonderland, you've got me beat on this one!