NEW YORK—The breathtaking views from the observation deck atop One World Trade Center will become a magnet for millions of visitors when it opens in 2015. But there is much more in store for those who will visit the world’s third tallest building.
Plans have been unveiled for an hour-long observation deck experience at One World Observatory, which will start as soon as visitors queue up in the lobby. People will register by entering their names and locations on touch screens. The system will then display how many people from that location have visited the observation deck.
While riding the elevators, which will soar to 1,250 feet in just 60 seconds, visitors will be in for another treat. The developer, Legends Hospitality LLC, has plans for the walls and ceilings of the elevators to be animated to give visitors the feeling of the building disappearing around them.
Once on the 102nd floor, people will be led to a theater where suspense will be built up further. The theater screen will then lift up like a curtain, revealing the New York City panorama.
An event space, a restaurant, and a gift shop are planned for the observation deck. Floor 100 will have audio tours and guides who can answer questions. Information about New York City will be projected on the windows without obscuring the view.
The observation deck in the Empire State Building is approximately the same height as the One World Observatory. Officials said that the price of a ticket will be comparable to similar observation decks.
Legends, the company tasked with developing the observation deck, is owned by the New York Yankees and the Dallas Cowboys.
“We expect this to be the Yankees Stadium of observation decks,” said Scott Rechler, vice chairman of the board of commissioners of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
One World Trade Center will become the tallest building in the western hemisphere when its spire is topped of at a symbolic 1,776 feet, the number of the year in which the Declaration of Independence was written.
The tallest building in the world is currently the Burj Khalifa in the United Arab Emirates, followed by the Makkah Royal Clock Tower Hotel in Saudi Arabia.
