June 2024. For our first visit to the United States of America since the COVID-19 pandemic, we flew to New Orleans via London Heathrow with British Airways. After two days of exploring NOLA, Amtrak‘s Crescent overnight train brought us from Louisiana to New York, where we we stayed one night only before flying home. 

From arrival by train to departure by plane we had 25 hours in New York City. How to spend them? Inspired by a coworker’s Facebook post, we decided to visit SUMMIT One Vanderbilt. I will not continue to use all caps for that name. 

Summit is far from your only option. Perhaps the Empire State Building Observatory is the most famous, thanks to King Kong. Top Of The Rock is also popular nowadays. And there’s New York Edge as well. 

One Vanderbilt

One Vanderbilt is a 73-story supertall skyscraper at the corner of 42nd Street and Vanderbilt Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighbourhood. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox for developer SL Green Realty, the skyscraper opened in 2020. 

Its roof is 1,301 feet (397 m) high and its spire is 1,401 feet (427 m) above ground, making it the city’s fourth-tallest building after One World Trade Center, Central Park Tower, and 111 West 57th Street.

One Vanderbilt’s facade and design is intended to harmonize with Grand Central Terminal immediately to the east. The building’s base contains a wedge-shaped void, and the tower tapers as it rises, with several ‘pavilions’ and a pinnacle at the top. 

The facade is made mostly of glass panels, while the spandrels between stories are made of terracotta. The superstructure is made of steel and concrete, and the interior spaces are designed to be as high as 105 feet (32 m). 

The lobby has a bank branch and an entrance to the nearby railroad terminal and the associated subway station, while the second floor contains the Le Pavillon restaurant. Most of the building is devoted to office space. 

The top stories contain the Summit One Vanderbilt observation deck.

SL Green acquired the site between 2001 and 2011 and announced plans to construct the building in 2012. 

A planned zoning amendment for the neighbourhood failed in 2013, delaying the project for several months. TD Bank signed as the anchor tenant in May 2014 and after the skyscraper was approved one year later, the existing structures on the site were demolished. 

A groundbreaking ceremony for One Vanderbilt was held in October 2016. Topping out occurred on 17 September 2019, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed its completion. The building opened in September 2020, followed by the observation deck 13 months later.

Summit

Above floor 73, the top of One Vanderbilt contains an observation deck called Summit One Vanderbilt which spans 71,938 square feet (6,683.3 m2) and contains some restaurants.

Summit One Vanderbilt consists of four components, the interiors of which are being designed by Snøhetta from Oslo. 

The first part, Rise, has three high-speed Schindler 7000 series elevators or lifts, which take visitors from the Grand Central Terminal level to the observation area 1,020 feet (310 m) above ground in less than 50 seconds. 

The second part, Levitation, is composed of enclosed glass balconies that protrude from the facade. 

The third part, Ascent, has two all-glass Cimolai Custom Rack-and-pinion outside elevators which bring visitors near the top of the building.

The interior of the top floor features a glass parapet and a bar.

One space at Summit is an ‘infinity room‘ containing a ceiling 40 feet (12 m) tall.

Summit One Vanderbilt also contains an interactive art exhibit created by Kenzo Digital.

According to a press release published in mid-2021, Summit One Vanderbilt also has a green space, advertised as the world’s highest urban ‘alpine meadow’.

A visit

To go up, you must first go down. Funny how this is so often the case. In the basement there’s an elaborate security and check-in area designed to keep you busy until it’s your turn to go up. And of course there’s a green (blue) screen photo posing moment. 

You get to see a short video, you must put on shoe covers and you can grap sunglasses. 

Then you need to have your picture taken for identification upstairs. 

A hallway leads you to the flashy elevator. My writing perhaps sounds underwhelming, but it’s all very well thought through, efficient and impressive. 

Mirrors and light

Upstairs, Reflect is is a very instagrammable space full of mirrors. The first level is called Air: Transcendence 1.

‘Clouds‘ by Yayoi Kusama leads you to the next attraction. 

Air: Affinity is a space full of balloons to play shortly with. Also very instagrammable. Let’s be honest, the whole Summit experience is made for Instagram. 

On level 2 there is Air: Transcendence 2.

Levitation, a glass-bottomed ledge extending 1,100 feet over Madison Avenue, another photo opportunity.

“Take center stage in this one-of-a-kind, personalized digital experience” called Air: Unity. A video projection incorporating your face. We missed ours. 

On level 3, Après and Terrace let you go outside. 

We seem to have missed Ascent, “world’s largest glass-bottomed exterior elevator”. 

Impossible to miss: Boutique. Exit through the gift shop. 

So?

If I acted blasé, I’d say Summit is just another observation deck. But it’s really well conceived, well organised and has plenty on offer. The balloons are really fun. 

From New Orleans to New York on Amtrak’s Crescent – USA 2024

1. REVIEW | British Airways Brussels to London Heathrow.
2. REVIEW | British Airways World Traveller London Heathrow to New Orleans.
3. NEW ORLEANS | Streetcars, Garden District, Algiers Point, Riverfront, Jackson Square.
4. REVIEW | Louisiana State Museums – the Presbytère and the Cabildo, in New Orleans.
5. NEW ORLEANS | French Quarter ft. Bourbon Street.
6. REVIEW | voco St. James Hotel.
7. NEW ORLEANS | Riverwalk and Riverfront at the Mississippi River.
8. REVIEW | The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana.
9. USA | A Sunday and a Monday in New Orleans, Louisiana.
10. REVIEW | Amtrak’s Crescent overnight sleeper train from New Orleans to New York in a roomette.
11. REVIEW | Hyatt Herald Square.