SUMMIT: Where the Edge of the Sky Becomes the Experience

There is a natural instinct to pause when you approach a precipice. For most of us, the edge represents a boundary where the familiar ends and the unknown begins. However, at SUMMIT, we invite you to lean into that moment of hesitation and transform it into a moment of discovery through our immersive, design-driven experience.

Stepping onto a glass floor in NYC is not about the ground below. It is about the expansion within. When you choose to step forward instead of back, you participate in a transition that redefines your entire relationship with the city.

The Physics of Levitation

As you navigate the varying immersive rooms throughout our space, you eventually arrive at Levitation. These glass-bottomed ledges are more than just a skybox in NYC. They are a feat of architectural design and immersive engineering that allows you to float 1,100 feet (335.28m) directly above Madison Avenue. These two enclosed transparent ledges extend out from the building, suspended in the air, giving you a bird’s eye view of the vast, vibrant life of the streets moving far below.

The experience reaches even greater levels with Ascent, the world’s largest all-glass exterior elevator. Ascent transports guests to 1,200 feet (365.76m) above the city while scaling the exterior of One Vanderbilt. As the elevator rises along the outside of the skyscraper, Manhattan begins to unfold beneath you in every direction, creating an exhilarating feeling of floating above the skyline. Together, Levitation and Ascent transform the edge of the sky into something you can experience firsthand.

Maximizing Your Moment in the Sky

To fully appreciate the gravity-defying nature of Levitation, it helps to know the small details that make the visit seamless. Here are a few essentials to keep in mind before you step out over the city:

Complementary Photo Capture: We provide professional camera systems that capture your skybox experience from the perfect angle, ensuring you leave with a high-resolution memory of your time in the sky.
The View Beyond the Grid: On clear days, the visibility from the skybox extends far beyond the five boroughs, allowing you to see into the landscapes of New Jersey and beyond.
Accessible Innovation: Levitation is designed to be inclusive, ensuring that guests with mobility devices can experience the same transition from the building to the sky without any barriers.
Environmental Harmony: Because the skyboxes are fully enclosed in climate-controlled glass, you can experience the feeling of being outdoors while remaining perfectly comfortable, regardless of the temperature or wind speed outside.

A Sensory Masterclass

The experience of Levitation is a masterclass in multisensory, artistic storytelling. As you move into the skybox, the world suddenly opens up in 180 degrees. To your left and right, the architectural icons of the skyline stand as silent witnesses to your journey. Below, the yellow hues of city traffic and the intricate grid of Manhattan look like a living, breathing map.

This is undoubtedly one of the most thrilling things to do in NYC, with the thrill grounded in awe over adrenaline. It’s a feeling of weightlessness, as if the laws of gravity have been temporarily suspended to allow you a private audience with the skyline. You feel the scale and the energy of the city in a tangible way.

That sensation continues with Ascent, where the experience shifts from standing above the city to actively rising through it. Inside the all-glass exterior elevator, guests rise along the outside of the building while suspended amid the skyline. With every foot higher, the perspective becomes more transformative, revealing sweeping views of NYC, the surrounding boroughs, and beyond.

Scaling the exterior of a supertall skyscraper in a fully transparent elevator is an experience found nowhere else in the city, making Ascent a powerful pairing of thrill, perspective, and immersive design.

The Duality of Curiosity and Trust

Why are we drawn to the edge? It is often a mix of deep curiosity and the desire to see what lies beyond our usual limits.

By choosing to stand in a place that feels impossible, like Levitation or Ascent, you undergo a personal transformation. You are no longer a spectator looking at the city through a window. You become part of the skyline. This is the hallmark of a true NYC observation deck experience, where the focus moves away from simple sightseeing and toward an internal shift in perspective.

Step Beyond Your Expectations

The edge of the sky is not a place to stop. It is a place to begin. Levitation invites you to shed your comfort zone and embrace a new way of being in the world through a multisensory, design-led encounter. Whether you are looking for inspiration, a moment of peace, or a memory that will stay with you forever, the experience is waiting for you 1,100 feet in the air.

For adventurers ready to go even higher, Ascent delivers the ultimate payoff. Rising along the exterior of One Vanderbilt in the world’s largest all-glass exterior elevator creates a breathtaking sense of movement, openness, and elevation unlike anything else in NYC. The combination of Levitation’s suspended skyboxes and Ascent’s vertical climb turns a visit to SUMMIT into a journey to the outer edge of the Manhattan skyline.

Are you ready to see what happens when you step beyond the edge? Join us at SUMMIT and find out.

Experience Ascent and Levitation Today.