[title]
A shiny new crown jewel has joined New York’s stacked lineup of sky-high attractions with sweeping vistas, including the Top of the Rock, One World Observatory and the Empire State Building. For the uninitiated, the A. Eugene Kohn–designed venue, Edge, has a giant outdoor platform that’s 100 stories off the ground, promising a fresh look at the city.
I went over to check it out before opening day to find out if it was just as over-the-top as it sounds.
To get up to Edge, I entered through the fourth floor of the nearby 20 Hudson Yards, made my way through security and wandered into an intergalactic-looking hallway that felt like the start to some immersive ride at Disney World. After a swift, 60-second elevator ride, where I spent the entire time thinking about how this trip would go down given the fact that I'm pretty afraid of heights, I made it with clammy hands.
Floor 100 has floor-to-ceiling windows showing off the swanky 360-degree view of New York. After briefly taking it all in, I noticed the corner champagne bar and charged it. With a mimosa in hand (for journalistic liquid courage) I walked out onto the deck, which is about 7,500 square feet of unenclosed space. For the non-math nerds, that's pretty freaking massive. About 10 times as spacious as your shoe-box apartment in New York.
Stepping out onto the triangular deck which is cantilevered 80 feet out from the skyscraper, the whole thing took my breath away. But, at the same moment, my breath was being taken away, I was taking flight too. It was incredibly windy up there. Full gusts were pulling my jacket off of me like I was in a wind tunnel, and our camera equipment was wobbling on its tri-pod. Petite folks, hold on!
But don't panic, you are really really safe. Instead of a railing on Edge, the entire space is enclosed by nine-feet-tall thick-glass panels that, together, weigh a whopping 110,600 pounds.
Next, I walked on top of the 225-square-foot glass floor that's big enough for you and your whole squad of friends to look down and get that super queasy feeling all together. Neat!
After that, I sat on their grandstand bleachers, which is probably the best seat in the house. This is also the staircase up to Peak, their restaurant and events space. Hanging here was much less windy than the pit, so I sipped on my mimosa in peace with crazy hair. Insane, wind-swept hair or not, this was also the ideal place to pose for a photo or take a time-lapse at sunset of the sky changing hues of color. While there, I thought I'd also like to visit Edge again at night time when the skyline is lit up. They stay open to visitors until 11pm.
In the world of claustrophobic New York City attractions, at Edge you didn't have to live that "Quick Mom! Take my photo!" moment, because there is so much sprawling space. It helps that there's also no single prime real estate spot. As you meander around the glass exterior peering out, somehow each vantage point feels just as spectacular as the next.