World Trade Center, New York City--From the Top

We splurged on tickets to One World Observatory, the observation deck that's part of the new World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan. The brochure modestly claims it as the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere (and patriotic too at 1776 feet tall!).

One World Trade Center, NYC

The visit starts in the basement. Displays show the bedrock foundation of the tower and how it was built after the 9/11 attacks. Then, a "skypod" takes visitors 102 stories up to the observation level in 47 seconds. Before seeing the outside windows, there's another presentation on the construction of the building. The screens rise up dramatically and visitors look out over the city.

Screen presentation

Screen going up

View of the city

The views are pretty amazing from the top.

Looking south

Liberty Island and Ellis Island

For $15, we rented an iPad that identified famous sites (like the Statue of Liberty above) and had short videos with a helicopter-eye's view of those sites. It was impressive and kept the kids engaged, especially when looking at the dense crowd of buildings on Manhattan Island.

West side of Manhattan

Just below us on the West Side

A bunch of tall buildings

On the East Side, we could see the Williamsburg Bridge, the Manhattan Bridge, and the Brooklyn Bridge spanning the East River.

Three bridges

Plenty of other buildings caught our eyes.

Looking down on a high rise being built

We called this the "slap dash" building

Fancier buildings

Three bridges again

To the south, we saw Governors Island, which looked like it would be a relaxing place to visit.

Governors Island

Ghost of my son

Down below, we saw the Oculus, which is a very fancy transportation center and part of the Trade Center's shopping mall.

Oculus

St. Paul's Church, just past the Oculus

The observation deck has other amenities. A tour guide provides all sorts of information about the city as he is surrounded by screens. He has advice on places to eat and things to see.

Good info

The deck also has a bar and a restaurant for those who want to dine at the top. We didn't get anything to drink or eat, but did admire the display. They stock wines named after the building!

For sale and consumption

The views from the observation deck are worth the visit.