BALTIMORE | 401 S. Charles Street | FT | 53 FLOORS

[Mr Saturn64]

Originally Posted by ArchGuy1

Now that the observation deck near the top of the Blatimore World Trade Center is closing in May, this building should have an observation deck on the top floor since Baltimore will no longer have an observation deck with sky high views

Anyone know the date of the deck closing?

[ArchGuy1]

Originally Posted by StevenW

Again, I'm on board with the developer doing this. All I'm saying, when it comes to Baltimore and it's developers, just don't expect them to include this. They are basic in design, height and functionality. The nice designed towers of proposals of the past have never come to fruition. Believe me. I've been a huge supporter of Baltimore building excellence. It just doesn't happen much in Baltimore. It's not an attractive thing for big spenders and big name developers. Baltimore gets the next best design and a usually garrentteed height decrease for every "first exciting" proposal. I mean, I'm really doubting that 401 S. Charles is built as is rendered now. I see it actually being reduced in scale and design. I HOPE I'M WRONG.

Do any of the other 400-600 foot tall skyscrapers proposed, but yet built for Baltimore have an observation deck planned for their top floors.

[Notonfoodstamps]

Originally Posted by ArchGuy1

Do any of the other 400-600 foot tall skyscrapers proposed, but yet built for Baltimore have an observation deck planned for their top floors.

No. Almost all of them have residential rooftop amenities. All of them are mixed use w/ apartment on the top floors.

[ArchGuy1]

Originally Posted by Notonfoodstamps

No. Almost all of them have residential rooftop amenities. All of them are mixed use w/ apartment on the top floors.

There are a number of skyscrapers around the world that are either fully or partly residential with observation decks open to the public on their top floors.
Examples of otherwise purely residential skyscrapers with observation decks open to the public on their top floors.
Eureka Tower in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Q1 in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Sapphire Tower in Istanbul
Palm Tower in Dubai
The Lighthouse in Aarhus, Denmark
Karlatornet in Gothenburg, Sweden
Examples of mixed use office and residential skyscrapers with observation decks
John Hancock Center in Chicago
Examples of mixed use hotel and residential skyscrapers with observation decks on their top floor
Emmar Address in Istanbul
Landmark 81 in Saigon
MahaNakhon in Bangkok
Four Seasons Hotel and Residences in New Orleans
Examples of mixed use office, hotel, and residential skyscrapers with observation decks.
Burj Khalifa in Dubai
The Shard in London
Lotte World Tower in Seoul

Therefore, I think that at least one of the tallest skyscrapers that is planned for Baltimore should have an observation deck open to the public on the top floor.

[samoen313]

Originally Posted by ArchGuy1

Therefore, I think that at least one of the tallest skyscrapers that is planned for Baltimore should have an observation deck open to the public on the top floor.

Those examples are mostly in cities with huge tourist populations that can sufficiently patronize an observation deck. Baltimore, which is a great city, does not put up anywhere near those numbers.

Penthouse units are far more valuable for a residential tower in a mid-sized city.

[ArchGuy1]

Originally Posted by samoen313

Those examples are mostly in cities with huge tourist populations that can sufficiently patronize an observation deck. Baltimore, which is a great city, does not put up anywhere near those numbers.

Penthouse units are far more valuable for a residential tower in a mid-sized city.

I forgot to mention some more examples of at least partly residential skyscrapers with observation decks open to the public on their top floors. The Kingdom Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia has an observation deck open to the public on the top floor despite being a mixed use residential, office, and apartment skyscraper. The Belgrade Tower in Belgrade, Serbia and the Address Sky View in Dubai have observation decks open to the public despite being mixed use hotel and residential skyscrapers. The Federation Tower East in Moscow has an observation deck open to the public on the top floor despite being a mixed use residential and office skyscraper. Furthermore, the Jeddah Tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and the Mohammed VI Tower in Sale, Morocco will have observation decks near the top despite being mixed use hotel, residential, and office skyscrapers. Additionally, McCarthy Plaza in Burnaby, British Columbia will have an observation deck open to the public despite being otherwise purely residential. Finally, the Legends Tower in Oklahoma City will also have an observation deck open to the public on the top floor despite being a mixed use hotel and residential skyscraper. Shows you why at least one of the tallest skyscrapers planned for Baltimore should have an observation deck open to the public included as part of the construction.

[BuildThemTaller]

Observation decks

[Notonfoodstamps]

Poster on Skyscraper City did some digging and Questar submitted permitting for the building back in '24 which was approved last year.

Building will be 53-stories tall so this will be Baltimore's tallest.



Getting that much closer to an actual ground breaking.

Originally Posted by BuildThemTaller

Observation decks

The observation deck at the WTC is open again so no need to incorporate it into this building.

Besides, due to the curvature of the earth to see twice as far you need to be 4x higher so cost gets very prohibitive for not much vista gain.

[Ktulured55]

Hey everyone! Has been well over 10 years since I came here. I see Steven still here! I hope they build this one.