Observation deck

For other uses, see Deck.

Main article: 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.

The Edge at 30 Hudson Yards in Midtown Manhattan, the highest outdoor deck containing optically transparent flooring in the world, 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

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	Shanghai Tower	2015	Skyscraper	Shanghai	562^[1]	632	121st floor; decks are also on 118th and 119th floors.
2	Ping An Finance Centre	2017	Skyscraper	Shenzhen	562^[1]	599.1	115th floor (opened on February 10, 2018)
3	Burj Khalifa	2010	Skyscraper	Dubai	555	829.8	148th floor
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^[2]	492.3	100th floor, decks also on levels 94 & 97
9	Burj Khalifa	2010	Skyscraper	Dubai	452−456	829.8	124th and 125th floors
10	Tokyo Skytree	2012	Steel Tower	Tokyo	451.2	634	Three additional observation decks at 340 m, 345 m, and 350 m
11	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.^[3] Two additional observation decks, outdoor on the 91st-floor and indoor on the 89th floor at 383.2 metres (1,257 ft).
12	CN Tower	1976	Concrete tower	Toronto	446.7	553.3	Two additional observation decks at 342 m (outdoor) & 346 m (indoor).
13	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 ^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]
14	Sky100, International Commerce Centre	2011	Skyscraper	Hong Kong	393	484	100th floor; 360-degree indoor observation deck
15	One World Trade Center	2014	Skyscraper	New York City	386.6	541.3	Observation deck on the 100th, 101st and 102nd floors
16	Landmark 81	2019	Skyscraper	Ho Chi Minh City	382	461	Observation decks on 79th, 80th and 81st floors
17	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.
18	Empire State Building	1931	Skyscraper	New York City	369^[8]	448.7	102nd floor; additional 86th floor deck (320 m)
19	Iconic Tower	2023	Skyscraper	New Administrative Capital	360	394	Observations on 74th, 75th and 76th floors
20	Lakhta Center	2021	Skyscraper	Saint Petersburg	357	462	Observations on 84th, 85th 86th and 87th floors
21	Oriental Pearl Tower	1994	Concrete tower	Shanghai	351	467.9	15 observation levels, the highest one being outdoors
22	The Strat	1996	Concrete Tower	Paradise	350	350.2	Tallest observation tower in the U.S.
23	Tuntex Sky Tower	1997	Skyscraper	Kaohsiung	341	347.5	74th floor
24	Jin Mao Tower	1998	Skyscraper	Shanghai	340.1	420.5	88th floor
24	30 Hudson Yards	2020	Skyscraper	New York City	340	387	Observations on 100th and 101nd floors
	Ostankino Tower	1967	Concrete tower	Moscow	340	540.1	Indoor deck is at 337 m
25	John Hancock Center	1969	Skyscraper	Chicago	313.8	343.5	94th floor
26	Milad Tower	2007	Concrete tower	Tehran	312	435	Top level
27	China World Trade Center Tower III	2010	Skyscraper	Beijing	311.8	330	81st floor
28	One Vanderbilt	2021	Skyscraper	New York City	310	427	Observations deck 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)
29	Shun Hing Square	1996	Skyscraper	Shenzhen	298.1	384
30	US Bank Tower	1989	Skyscraper	Los Angeles	297	310	69th (indoor and outdoor observation) and 70th floors (skyslide and events) CLOSED
31	Kingdom Centre	2002	Skyscraper	Riyadh	290	302	41st floor
32	Abeno Harukas	2014	Skyscraper	Osaka	288	300	58th–60th floor (top floor)
33	Zifeng Tower	2010	Skyscraper	Nanjing	287	450
34	Eureka Tower	2007	Skyscraper	Melbourne	285	297.3	Skydeck 88 is at a height of 285 m
35	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
36	Eiffel Tower	1889	Wrought iron lattice tower	Paris	276.1	330	3rd floor
37	Menara Kuala Lumpur	1996	Concrete tower	Kuala Lumpur	276	421
38	Columbia Center	1985	Skyscraper	Seattle	275	284	73rd floor
39	Yokohama Landmark	1993	Skyscraper	Yokohama	273	296	69th floor
40	One Liberty Place	1987	Skyscraper	Philadelphia	269	288	57th floor
41	Bank of America Plaza (Dallas)	1985	Skyscraper	Dallas	268.4	281	71st floor; additional on 70th floor at 264.6 metres (868 ft).
42	JPMorgan Chase Tower	1982	Skyscraper	Houston	268.2	305.4	60th floor
43	Sydney Tower	1981	Steel Tower	Sydney	268	309	Main indoor observation deck; outdoor skywalk attraction on roof is located at 279 meters
44	Gran Torre Santiago	2013	Skyscraper	Santiago	261	300	Observation deck named Sky Costanera is located on floors 61 and 62
45	GE Building	1933	Skyscraper	New York City	259.1	259.1	70th floor ("Top of the Rock")
46	Tianjin Tower	1991	Concrete tower	Tianjin	257	415.2
47	40 Wall Street	1929	Skyscraper	New York City	255	283
48	Osaka Prefectural Government Sakishima Building	1995	Skyscraper	Osaka	252	256
49	Etihad Towers (Tower 1)	2011	Skyscraper	Abu Dhabi	251.2	277.6	^[9]
50	63 Building	1985	Skyscraper	Seoul	249	250	60th floor
51	Midland Square	2007	Skyscraper	Nagoya	247	247	47th floor
52	Lotus Tower	2019	Concrete tower	Colombo	245	356
53	The Shard	2013	Skyscraper	London	244.8	306	72nd floor
54	Central Radio & TV Tower	1992	Concrete tower	Beijing	238	405
55	Sunshine 60	1978	Skyscraper	Tokyo	237.6	239.8
56	Federation Tower (Tower West)	2008	Skyscraper	Moscow	235^[10]	252	62nd floor
57	TK Elevator Test Tower	2017	Concrete tower	Rottweil	232^[11]	246	30th floor (indoor and outdoor)
58	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
59	Roppongi Hills Mori Tower	2003	Skyscraper	Tokyo	229.3	238	52nd floor (indoor) and 54th floor (roof-deck)
60	Taipei Nan Shan Plaza	2018	Skyscraper	Taipei	228.5	272	46th floor (indoor)
61	Europaturm	1979	Concrete tower	Frankfurt	227	337.5	Since 1999, the Europaturm has been closed to the public
62	Tokyo Tower	1958	Steel truss tower	Tokyo	223.5	332.6	6th floor
63	Macau Tower	2001	Concrete tower	Macau	223	338
64	Sky Tower	1997	Concrete tower	Auckland	220	328	Skydeck observation deck on 60th floor
65	Tour Montparnasse	1972	Skyscraper	Paris	209	209
66	Fernsehturm Berlin	1969	Concrete tower	Berlin	207	368
67	Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building	1990	Skyscraper	Tokyo	202	243.4
68	Main Tower	1999	Skyscraper	Frankfurt	200	240
	Marina Bay Sands	2010	Skyscraper	Singapore	200	200
70	Olympiaturm	1968	Concrete tower	Munich	192	291
71	Mohammed VI Tower	2023	Skyscraper	Salé	190	250	Observation deck on 54th and 55th floor
72	Vysotsky	2011	Skyscraper	Yekaterinburg	186	188.3	Observation deck was opened on 3 May 2012^[12]
73	Bitexco Financial Tower	2010	Skyscraper	Ho Chi Minh City	181	262.5	47th floor
74	Tower of the Americas	1968	Concrete tower	San Antonio	176	229
75	Rheinturm	1979	Concrete tower	Düsseldorf	170	240.5
	Umeda Sky Building	1993	Skyscraper	Osaka	170	173
	Tallinn TV Tower	1980	Tower	Tallinn	170	314
76	Donauturm	1964	Concrete tower	Vienna	169.4	252
77	N Seoul Tower	1975	Steel tower	Seoul	168.3	236.7	Tower sits atop Namsan Mountain
78	Vilnius TV Tower	1980	Tower	Vilnius	165	326.5
79	Space Needle	1962	Steel tower	Seattle	158.5	184.4
80	Calgary Tower	1968	Concrete tower	Calgary	157.5	190.8
81	Fernsehturm Stuttgart	1956	Concrete tower	Stuttgart	153	216.6
	Çamlıca Tower	2020	Concrete tower	Istanbul	153	369
82	Avala Tower	2009	Concrete tower	Belgrade	135	204.5
83	Fukuoka Tower	1989	Tower	Fukuoka	123	234
84	Kuwait viewing sphere	1979	Concrete tower	Kuwait City	120	187	(1990 Liberation Tower of ~300 m is not open to public)
85	Palace of Culture and Science	1955	Multi-function	Warsaw	114	237	Observation deck on 30th floor
86	Spinnaker Tower	2005	Tower	Portsmouth	110	170
87	Millennium Center 2 office tower restaurant	2016	Skyscraper	Sofia	105	108
88	Kyoto Tower	1964	Tower	Kyoto	100	131
	Nagoya TV Tower	1954	Tower	Nagoya	100	180
89	Tashkent Tower	1985	Tower	Tashkent	97	375
90	Snezhanka Tower, Pamporovo, Bulgaria	1978	Concrete tower	Pamporovo	93	156
91	Kobe Port Tower	1963	Tower	Kobe	90.8	108
92	Sapporo TV Tower	1957	Tower	Sapporo	90	147.2
93	Tsūtenkaku	1956	Tower	Osaka	87.5	108
94	Nebraska State Capitol	1930	Skyscraper	Lincoln	75	120	14th floor

List of highest observation decks by type

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^[13]^[14]	2013	1,035 m (3,396 ft)
Observation deck inside a spire	Merdeka 118, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia^[1]	2023	566 m (1,857 ft)
Enclosed observation deck on high-rise building	Shanghai Tower, Shanghai and Ping An Finance Centre, Shenzhen, China ^[1]	2015 and 2017	562 m (1,844 ft)
Outdoor observation deck on high-rise building	Burj Khalifa, Dubai, UAE^[1]	2014	555.7 m (1,823 ft)
Skywalk over (artificial) waterfall free drop	Sky Corridor Waterfall Walkway, Huangteng Gorge, Guangdong, China ^[15]	2018	500 m (1,640 ft)
Observation deck on tower^[1]	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 ^[1]	2009	412.4 m (1,353 ft)
Skywalk over bridge	Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge, Zhangjiajie, China ^[16]	2016	300 m (984 ft)
Skywalk over glacier	Glacier Skywalk, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada ^[17]	2014	280 m (919 ft)

Timeline of world's highest observation decks

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)^[8]	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

• Unknown Jeddah Tower, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. 637 m, Level 157
• Unknown^[18] Goldin Finance 117, Tianjin, China. 578.7 m, Level 116
• 2023 (est.) Merdeka 118, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 517.7 m , Level 117 (Spire observation level at 566 m)^[19]
• 2026 (est) Torre Rise, Monterrey, Mexico. 354 m, Level 93 and 365 m, Level 96
• 2027 (est) Taipei Twin Towers, Taipei, Taiwan. 347 m, Level 73
• 2028 (est.) Torch Tower, Tokyo, Japan. 300 m, Level 55

Approved

• 2025 (est.) Signature Tower Jakarta, Jakarta, Indonesia. 515.8 m, Level 111
• 2030 (est.) Millennium Tower, Frankfurt, Germany. 280 m, Level 67^[20]

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

Observation deck gallery

•  
  The 10 m observation deck of Ronda, Spain, overlooks the Depression of Ronda plain over 100 m below.
•  
  A multi-level tree house in Cape Town, South Africa, with an observation deck on top
•  
  An observation deck place in Rokko Garden Terrace, Mount Rokkō, Kobe, Japan
•  
  An observation deck in West Berlin with a view of Potsdamer Platz on the other side of the Berlin Wall, 1977. At the bottom of the steps a placard shows what the square looked like in 1929.
•  
  Brooklyn Bridge as viewed from the One World Observatory in New York City
•  
  Night View of the Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong from sky100

See also

• Observation car
• Observation wheel

References

1. ctbuh. . www.ctbuh.org. Archived from the original on 28 October 2018. Retrieved 2018-10-28.
2. "Shanghai World Financial Center -SWFC- | Official site of Shanghai Financial Center". www.swfc-shanghai.com. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
3. "Taipei 101 to open top floor to public for the first time". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13.
4. "Sears Tower unveils 103rd floor glass balconies", USA Today, July 1, 2009
5. . Archived from the original on June 8, 2011. Retrieved May 15, 2011. SOM.com Project Page
6. BJ Lutz (May 30, 2014). "Coating on Willis Tower Skydeck's Ledge Cracks Under Tourists". Nbcchicago.com. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
7. Sophie Lewis (June 12, 2019). "Protective layer of Willis Tower's SkyDeck cracks under visitors' feet". cbsnews. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
8. "The Empire State Building". Wired New York. Retrieved 2007-12-23.
9. . Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. 2013. Archived from the original on August 1, 2013.
10. "Смотровая площадка Башня Федерация".
11. "thyssenkrupp Elevator". TK Elevator (in German). Retrieved 2021-04-06.
12. "Открытие смотровой площадки в БЦ "Высоцкий"".
13. "Aiguille du Midi : Inauguration nouvelle attraction le Tube". June 2016.
14. Coldwell, Will (19 December 2013). "Step into the Void: The glass skywalk at the top of the French Alps – in pictures". The Guardian.
15. "Visit Guangdong's Highest Sky Corridor Waterfall Walkway in China | the Asian Magazine".
16. "World's tallest and longest glass bridge closes after just two weeks". Dezeen. 2016-09-05. Retrieved 2018-01-21.
17. "Jasper National Park Glacier Skywalk Travel Information".
18. China has banned the construction of skyscrapers in 2021.
19. Watch the livestream to the Merdeka 118 Tower Spire Completion Ceremony here!, retrieved 2021-12-04
20. "Millennium-Tower: So grün wird Frankfurts neuer Rekord-Wolkenkratzer". Top Magazin Frankfurt (in German). 2021-12-15. Retrieved 2022-01-28.

 

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