Observation deck

For other uses, see Deck.

Visitors on the observation deck of the Skylon Tower overlooking Niagara Falls

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, as many skyscraper decks, and may include coin-operated telescopes for viewing distant features.

List of public observation decks

Further information: List of tallest buildings in the world and List of tallest towers in the world

Notable public observation decks located on human made structures include the following:

List of public observation decks
	Name	Built	Type	Location (sorts by nation)	Deck ht (m)	Total ht(m)	Notes
1	Shanghai Tower	2015	Skyscraper	PRC ! Shanghai	561	632
2	Burj Khalifa	2010	Skyscraper	UAE ! Dubai	7002555000000000000♠555^[1]	7002829800000000000♠829.8	148th floor, outdoor (opened October 2014^[2])
3	Canton Tower	2011	Steel Tower	PRC ! Guangzhou	7002488000000000000♠488	7002600000000000000♠600	The outdoor rooftop observation deck opened in December 2011. The highest indoor deck is at 448.8 m or 1472 ft.
4	Shanghai World Financial Center	2008	Skyscraper	PRC ! Shanghai	7002474000000000000♠474^[3]	7002492300000000000♠492.3	100th floor, decks also on levels 94 & 97
5	Tokyo Skytree	2012	Steel Tower	JPN ! Tokyo	7002451200000000000♠451.2	7002634000000000000♠634	Three additional observation decks at 340 m, 345 m, and 350 m
6	CN Tower	1976	Concrete tower	CAN ! Toronto	7002446700000000000♠446.7	7002553290000099999♠553.3	Two additional observation decks at 342 m (outdoor) & 346 m (indoor).
7	Willis Tower	1974	Skyscraper	USA ! Chicago	7002412700000000000♠412.7	7002527290000099999♠527.3	103rd floor
8	Sky100, International Commerce Centre	2011	Skyscraper	Hong Kong ! Hong Kong	7002393000000000000♠393	7002484000000000000♠484	100th floor 360 degree indoor observatory, it is the highest observation deck in Hong Kong.
9	Taipei 101	2004	Skyscraper	Taiwan ! Taipei	7002391600000000000♠391.6	7002509200000000000♠509.2	91st floor's outdoor observatory, it's the previous record of highest outdoor observatory in the world. The 89th floor indoor observatory is 383.2 metres (1,257 ft).
10	One World Trade Center	2014	Skyscraper	USA ! New York City	7002386600000000000♠386.6	7002541290000099999♠541.3	Observatory on the 100th, 101st and 102nd floors
11	Petronas Towers	1998	Skyscraper	MAS ! Kuala Lumpur	7002370000000000000♠370	7002452900000000000♠452.9	Observatory on 86th floor of tower 2, in addition there is the skybridge between the two towers on 41st and 42nd floors at 170 meters.
12	Empire State Building	1931	Skyscraper	USA ! New York City	7002369000000000000♠369^[4]	7002448700000000000♠448.7	102nd floor, additional 86th floor deck (320 m)
13	Oriental Pearl Tower	1994	Concrete tower	PRC ! Shanghai	7002350000000000000♠350	7002467900000000000♠467.9	15 observation levels, the highest one being outdoors
14	Tuntex Sky Tower	1997	Skyscraper	Taiwan ! Kaohsiung	7002341000000000000♠341	7002347500000000000♠347.5	74th floor
15	Jin Mao Tower	1998	Skyscraper	PRC ! Shanghai	7002340100000000000♠340.1	7002421500000000000♠421.5	88th floor
16	Ostankino Tower	1967	Concrete tower	RUS ! Moscow	7002340000000000000♠340	7002540100000000000♠540.1	Indoor deck is at 337 m
17	John Hancock Center	1969	Skyscraper	USA ! Chicago	7002313800000000000♠313.8	7002343500000000000♠343.5	Observation deck on the 94th floor, also an outside screened in area on same floor. 45 second elevator ride.
18	Milad Tower	2007	Concrete tower	Iran ! Tehran	7002312000000000000♠312	7002435000000000000♠435	Top level
19	China World Trade Center Tower III	2010	Skyscraper	PRC ! Beijing	7002311800000000000♠311.8	7002330000000000000♠330	81st floor
20	Abenobashi Terminal Building	2014	Skyscraper	JPN ! Osaka	7002300000000000000♠300	7002300000000000000♠300	58th-60th floor (top floor)
21	US Bank Tower	1989	Skyscraper	USA ! Los Angeles	7002297000000000000♠297	7002310000000000000♠310	70th floor
22	Zhongyuan Tower	2011	Steel tower	PRC !Zhengzhou	7002292000000000000♠292	7002388000000000000♠388
23	Royal Gorge Bridge	1929	Bridge	USA !Colorado	7002291000000000000♠291	7002321000000000000♠321	spans Grand Canyon of the Arkansas River
=24	Grande Dixence Dam	1964	Dam	SUI !Valais	7002285000000000000♠285	7002285000000000000♠285
=24	Eureka Tower	2007	Skyscraper	AUS !Melbourne	7002285000000000000♠285	7002297300000000000♠297.3	Skydeck 88 is at a height of 285 m
25	SEG Plaza	2000	Skyscraper	PRC !Shenzhen	7002284000000000000♠284	7002355800000000000♠355.8
26	OUB Centre	2010	Skyscraper	SIN !Singapore	7002280000000000000♠280	7002280000000000000♠280	Rooftop gallery opened in 2010 as a part of 1-Altitude establishment
27	Eiffel Tower	1889	Wrought iron lattice tower	FRA !Paris	7002276100000000000♠276.1	7002324000000000000♠324	3rd floor
28	Menara Kuala Lumpur	1996	Concrete tower	MAS !Kuala Lumpur	7002276000000000000♠276	7002421000000000000♠421
29	Columbia Center	1985	Skyscraper	USA !Seattle	7002275000000000000♠275	7002284000000000000♠284	73rd floor
30	Yokohama Landmark	1993	Skyscraper	JPN !Yokohama	7002273000000000000♠273	7002296000000000000♠296	69th floor
31	Millau Viaduct	2004	Bridge	FRA !Millau	7002270000000000000♠270	7002343000000000000♠343	270 m clearance
32	Bank of America Plaza (Dallas)	1985	Skyscraper	USA !Dallas	7002268390000099999♠268.4	7002281000000000000♠281	71st floor, additional 70th floor 264.6 metres (868 ft).
33	JPMorgan Chase Tower	1982	Skyscraper	USA !Houston	7002268200000000000♠268.2	7002305390000000000♠305.4	60th floor
34	Sydney Tower	1981	Steel Tower	AUS !Sydney	7002268000000000000♠268	7002309000000000000♠309
35	Stratosphere Tower	1996	Concrete tower	USA !Las Vegas	7002266000000000000♠266	7002350200000000000♠350.2	108th Floor (Indoor)
36	Vajont Dam	1961	Dam	ITA !Erto e Casso	7002261600000000000♠261.6	7002261600000000000♠261.6	"disused"
37	Gran Torre Santiago	2013	Skyscraper	CHI !Santiago	7002261000000000000♠261	7002300000000000000♠300	62nd floor outdoor deck.
38	GE Building	1933	Skyscraper	USA !New York City	7002259100000000000♠259.1	7002259100000000000♠259.1	70th floor ("Top of the Rock")
39	Tianjin Tower	1991	Concrete tower	PRC !Tianjin	7002257000000000000♠257	7002415200000000000♠415.2	"observation pod"
=40	Devon Energy Center	2012	Skyscraper	USA !Oklahoma City	7002257000000000000♠257	7002259000000000000♠259	50th floor
=40	40 Wall Street	1929	Skyscraper	USA !New York City	7002255000000000000♠255	7002283000000000000♠283	Once was second tallest observation deck in the world after the Eiffel Tower
41	American International Building	1932	Skyscraper	USA !New York City	7002250200000000000♠250.2	7002290000000000000♠290	Open only on few select days of the year since 9/11 attacks
=42	Rinku Gate Tower	1996	Skyscraper	JPN !Osaka	7002250000000000000♠250	7002256000000000000♠256
=42	Mauvoisin Dam	1957	Dam	SUI !Bagnes	7002250000000000000♠250	7002250000000000000♠250	Raised 13.5 m in 1991
43	Tokyo Tower	1958	Steel truss tower	JPN !Tokyo	7002249900000000000♠249.9	7002332600000000000♠332.6	6th floor
44	63 Building	1985	Skyscraper	ROK !Seoul	7002249000000000000♠249	7002250000000000000♠250	60th floor; North Korea can be seen on clear days
45	Midland Square	2007	Skyscraper	JPN !Nagoya	7002247000000000000♠247	7002247000000000000♠247	47th floor
46	The Shard	2013	Skyscraper	United Kingdom !London	7002244800000000000♠244.8	7002306000000000000♠306	72nd floor Observatory Deck
47	Central Radio & TV Tower	1992	Concrete tower	PRC !Beijing	7002238000000000000♠238	7002405000000000000♠405
48	Sunshine 60	1978	Skyscraper	JPN !Tokyo	7002237600000000000♠237.6	7002239800000000000♠239.8
49	Istanbul Sapphire	2011	Skyscraper	Turkey !Istanbul	7002236000000000000♠236	7002261000000000000♠261	56th Floor open roof
50	Federation Tower (Tower West)	2008	Skyscraper	RUS !Moscow	7002235000000000000♠235^[5]	7002252000000000000♠252	62nd Floor
51	Q1	2005	Skyscraper	AUS !Gold Coast	7002230000000000000♠230	7002323000000000000♠323	77th floor (SkyPoint), with the function hall on the 78th
52	West Pearl Tower	2006	Concrete tower	PRC !Chengdu	7002230000000000000♠230	7002339000000000000♠339
53	Roppongi Hills Mori Tower	2003	Skyscraper	JPN !Tokyo	7002229300000000000♠229.3	7002238000000000000♠238	52nd floor (indoor) & 54th floor (roof-deck)
54	Olympic Park Observation Tower	2014	Steel tower	PRC !Beijing	7002228000000000000♠228	7002258000000000000♠258	Several observation levels
55	Europaturm	1979	Concrete tower	GER !Frankfurt	7002227000000000000♠227	7002337500000000000♠337.5	Since 1999, the Europaturm has been closed to the public-->
=56	Luzzone Dam	1963	Dam	SUI !Blenio	7002225000000000000♠225	7002225000000000000♠225
=56	Rialto Towers	1986	Office	AUS !Melbourne	7002225000000000000♠225	7002242300000000000♠242.3
=57	Carlton Centre	1973	Building	ZAF !Johannesburg	7002223000000000000♠223	7002223000000000000♠223	50th floor
=57	Macau Tower	2001	Concrete tower	Macau !Macau	7002223000000000000♠223	7002338000000000000♠338
=58	Verzasca Dam	1965	Dam	SUI !Ticino	7002220000000000000♠220	7002220000000000000♠220
=58	Westin Peachtree	1973	Skyscraper	USA !Atlanta	7002220000000000000♠220	7002220000000000000♠220	73rd floor
=58	Mratinje Dam	1975	Dam	MNE !Mratinje	7002220000000000000♠220	7002220000000000000♠220	in Plužine municipality
=58	Sky Tower	1997	Concrete tower	NZ !Auckland	7002220000000000000♠220	7002328000000000000♠328
59	Long Ta	2000	Steel lattice tower	PRC !Harbin	7002216100000000000♠216.1	7002335900000000000♠335.9
60	Terminal Tower	1930	Skyscraper	USA !Cleveland	7002216000000000000♠216	7002235000000000000♠235
61	Prudential Tower	1964	Skyscraper	USA !Boston	7002213000000000000♠213^[6]	7002228000000000000♠228	50th floor ("Prudential Skywalk")
62	Detroit Marriott	1977	Skyscraper	USA !Detroit	7002212300000000000♠212.3	7002221500000000000♠221.5	70th floor
63	Act Tower	1994	Skyscraper	JPN !Hamamatsu	7002211000000000000♠211	7002213000000000000♠213
64	Tour Montparnasse	1972	Skyscraper	FRA !Paris	7002209000000000000♠209	7002209000000000000♠209
65	Fernsehturm Berlin	1969	Concrete tower	GER !Berlin	7002207000000000000♠207	7002368000000000000♠368
66	Almendra Dam	1970	Dam	ESP !Almendra	7002202000000000000♠202	7002202000000000000♠202
67	Sky Tower	2012	Skyscraper	Poland !Wrocław	7002201000000000000♠201	7002212000000000000♠212	Highest in Poland
=68	Kölnbrein Dam	1979	Dam	AUT !Malta	7002200000000000000♠200	7002200000000000000♠200
=68	Main Tower	1999	Skyscraper	GER !Frankfurt	7002200000000000000♠200	7002240000000000000♠240
69	Fernmeldeturm Nürnberg	1980	Concrete Tower	GER !Nuremberg	7002194000000000000♠194	7002292000000000000♠292	VIP access only; public expansion planned
70	Olympiaturm	1968	Concrete tower	GER !Munich	7002192000000000000♠192	7002291000000000000♠291
71	Vysotsky	2011	Skyscraper	RUS !Yekaterinburg	7002186000000000000♠186	7002188300000000000♠188.3	Observation deck was opened on 3 May 2012^[7]
72	Gateway Arch	1965	steel/concrete	USA !St Louis	7002185000000000000♠185	7002192000000000000♠192
73	Bitexco Financial Tower	2010	Skyscraper	Vietnam !Ho Chi Minh City	7002181000000000000♠181	7002262500000000000♠262.5	47th floor
74	Colonius	1968	Concrete tower	Germany !Cologne	7002177000000000000♠177	7002266000000000000♠266
75	Tower of the Americas	1968	Concrete tower	USA !San Antonio	7002176000000000000♠176	7002229000000000000♠229
76	Olympic Stadium	1987	Concrete tower	CAN !Montreal	7002175000000000000♠175	7002175000000000000♠175
77	Rheinturm	1982	Concrete tower	GER !Düsseldorf	7002174500000000000♠174.5	7002240500000000000♠240.5
78	Carew Tower	1931	Skyscraper	USA !Cincinnati	7002171300000000000♠171.3	7002175000000000000♠175	roof observation deck
79	Reunion Tower	1978	Concrete tower	USA !Dallas	7002170700000000000♠170.7	7002170700000000000♠170.7	Closed for renovations since November 16, 2007
80	Shennong Tower	1999	Concrete tower	PRC !Zhuzhou	7002170000000000000♠170	7002293000000000000♠293
81	Donauturm	1964	Concrete tower	AUT !Vienna	7002169400000000000♠169.4	7002252000000000000♠252
82	N Seoul Tower	1975	Steel tower	ROK !Seoul	7002168300000000000♠168.3	7002236700000000000♠236.7	Tower sits atop Namsan Mountain
83	Space Needle	1962	Steel tower	USA !Seattle	7002158500000000000♠158.5	7002184400000000000♠184.4
84	Calgary Tower	1968	Concrete tower	CAN !Calgary	7002157500000000000♠157.5	7002190800000000000♠190.8
85	Fernsehturm Stuttgart	1956	Concrete tower	Germany !Stuttgart	7002153000000000000♠153	7002216600000000000♠216.6	The Alps and the Black Forest can be seen on clear days
86	Philadelphia City Hall	1901	Masonry tower	USA !Philadelphia	7002152000000000000♠152	7002167000000000000♠167
87	Nina Tower	2006	Skyscraper	Hong Kong !Hong Kong	7002151690000000000♠151.7	7002320000000000000♠320	41st floor
88	Fernsehturm Dresden-Wachwitz	1969	Concrete tower	Germany !Dresden	7002145000000000000♠145	7002252000000000000♠252
89	Las Vegas Eiffel Tower	1999	Steel tower	USA !Paradise	7002140190000099999♠140.2	7002164600000000000♠164.6	½ scale (originally to be full-sized)
90	Foshay Tower	1929	Skyscraper	USA !Minneapolis	7002136190000099999♠136.2	7002185000000000000♠185	30th floor
91	Custom House Tower	1915	Skyscraper	USA !Boston	7002136000000000000♠136	7002151000000000000♠151	26th floor
=92	Kansas City City Hall	1937	Skyscraper	USA !Kansas City	7002135000000000000♠135	7002151000000000000♠151	30th floor
=92	Avala Tower	2009	Concrete tower	SRB !Belgrade	7002135000000000000♠135	7002204500000000000♠204.5
93	Penobscot Observatory	2007	bridge tower	USA !Penobscot R	7002133000000000000♠133^[8]	7002136000000000000♠136	3rd level (1st & 2nd levels @ 122 & 128 m)
94	Edifice Marie-Guyart	1972	Skyscraper	CAN !Quebec City	7002126500000000000♠126.5	7002126500000000000♠126.5	31st floor
95	Smith Tower	1914	Skyscraper	USA !Seattle	7002122000000000000♠122	7002141000000000000♠141	35th floor
96	Kuwait viewing sphere	1979	Concrete tower	KWT !Kuwait City	7002120000000000000♠120	7002187000000000000♠187	(1990 Liberation Tower of ~300 m is not open to public)
97	National Monument (Indonesia)	1975	Obelisk Monument	INA !Jakarta	7002115000000000000♠115	7002132000000000000♠132
98	KölnTriangle	2006	Skyscraper	GER !Cologne	7002103200000000000♠103.2	7002103200000000000♠103.2	29th floor^[9]
99	Faro de Moncloa	1992	Concrete Tower	ESP !Madrid	7001900000000000000♠90	7002110000000000000♠110
100	Alor Setar Tower	1998	Tower	MYS !Alor Setar	7001880000000000000♠88	7002165500000000000♠165.5
101	Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument	1888	Obelisk Monument	USA !Indianapolis	7001840000000000000♠84^[10]	7001870000000000000♠87
102	George Washington Masonic National Memorial	1932	Stone building	USA !Alexandria, Virginia	7001820000000000000♠82	7002101000000000000♠101	Offers views of Washington D.C. and Northern Virginia; open on national holidays
103	Statue of Liberty	1886	Statue	USA !Liberty Island	7001800000000000000♠80	7001930000000000000♠93^[11]	crown level (~90 m torch level closed to public in 1916)
104	Antey-1	2004	Skyscraper	RUS !Yekaterinburg	7001760000000000000♠76	7001760000000000000♠76
=105	Liberty Memorial	1926	Concrete tower	USA !Kansas City	7001660000000000000♠66	7001660000000000000♠66
=105	Mt Washington towers	2000	Steel Structure	USA !Pittsburgh	7001660000000000000♠66	7001660000000000000♠66	towers overlook Downtown Pittsburgh
106	Coit Tower	1933	Concrete tower	USA !San Francisco	7001640000000000000♠64	7001640000000000000♠64
107	John Hancock Tower	1976	Skyscraper	USA !Boston	7001600000000000000♠60	7002241000000000000♠241	Closed to the public since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.^[12]

List of highest observation decks by type

Type	Name and Location	Constructed	Height	Notes
Enclosed	Shanghai World Financial Center, Shanghai, China	2008	474 m (1,555 ft)
Outdoor	Burj Khalifa, Dubai, UAE	2010	555 m (1,821 ft)
On skyscraper	Burj Khalifa, Dubai, UAE	2010	555 m (1,821 ft)
On tower	Canton Tower, Guangzhou, China	2011	488 m (1,601 ft)
Bridge	Royal Gorge Bridge	1929	291 m (955 ft)	Above water level.
Dam	Grande Dixence Dam	1964	285 m (935 ft)

Timeline of world's highest observation decks

This is a timeline of the development of world's highest observation decks since inauguration of the Eiffel Tower in 1889.

Held record		Name and Location	Constructed	Height of highest observation deck	Notes
From	To	Name and Location	Constructed	Height of highest observation deck	Notes
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)^[4]	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 observatory 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 observatory on rooftop of the South Tower opened on December 15, 1975. Destroyed during the September 11 attacks.
1976	2008	CN Tower, Toronto, Canada	1976	446.5 m (1,465 ft)	Two further observation decks 342 and 346 metres above ground.
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 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	561 m (1,841 ft)	Opened on July 1, 2016.

Note: Higher observation decks have existed on mountain peaks or cliffs, rather than on tall structures. For example, the Royal Gorge Bridge in Cañon City, Colorado, United States, was constructed in 1929 spanning the Royal Gorge at a height of 321 m (1,053 ft) above the Arkansas River; the 5 Fingers viewing platform on Mount Krippenstein in the Austrian state of Upper Austria is built over a chasm of 400 m (1,300 ft) depth.^[13]

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