The One Vanderbill’s Summit has overtaken the Empire State Building Observatory after its 95 years as king of the city’s sky-high viewing desks by at least one major metric.
The Summit is just five, and has brought in more money in the first half of this year than the iconic Empire State desks for the first time, according to the fillings by the building’s publicly traded owners.
The Summit’s $55.651 million operating revenue for the first six months of 2026 has surpassed last year’s $53.541 million over the same period. The 3.9% increase was tucked into landlord SL Green’s supplement to its second-quarter earnings report.
To compare the two buildings, Empire State Observatory revenue for the first half of 2026 plunged to $42.7 million from 57 million in the first of 2025, according to Empire State Realty Trust’s second-quarter earnings report.
“In fact, Summit revenue exceeded the Empire State Observatory in the fourth quarter of 2025 as well as in 2026 to date,” Manhattan-based Bank of Montreal analyst John P. Kim noted.
The shocking change of fortune came as Manhattan observation decks face more competition. There are a half-dozen today, compared with only two after 9/11. The number of international travelers to the Big Apple has fallen by 8% since the pandemic.
There is also the city’s newly opened, 35th-floor Centre 360 atop the Municipal Building at 1 Centre St, it’s free but you must book the tickets well in advance. “It’s the last thing that the pricey ones need,” a source said of the publicly funded competition.
Kim, whose office overlooks the Skywalk, said, “The observatory pie is growing, but it’s affecting the Empire State Building the most.” He also added “Everyone offers something new and different.”
The Summit is on One Vanderbill’s 97th to 99th floors, while Empire State has viewing platforms on the 86th and 102th floors.
