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Rise 19 stories in New York’s tallest exterior glass elevator and step onto an all-glass skywalk for river-to-river views of Manhattan. Explore historic New Year’s Eve balls and leave your wish on official confetti.
Rise 19 stories in New York’s tallest exterior glass elevator and step onto an all-glass skywalk for river-to-river views of Manhattan. Explore historic New Year’s Eve balls and leave your wish on official confetti.
Book with Untapped New York
Verified experiences and guided adventures in the surrounding area.
Operated by Untapped New York · New York, NY
Stand on a glass walkway and watch the river-to-river sweep of Manhattan unfold beneath a glass elevator—this is the Times Travel Experience at One Times Square, a compact hour-long ascent that reframes the city. Located at 1475 Broadway in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, the attraction places you 19 stories above the Crossroads of the World on an open-air skywalk with 360-degree views, a rare perch for seeing the grid, the Hudson and East Rivers, and the neon cascade of Broadway.
The experience begins with a quiet emphasis on verticality: you step into New York’s tallest exterior glass elevator and rise alongside the lit facades that define Times Square. The climb itself is an unexpected urban thrill. When the doors open, a glass sidewalk runs over Broadway, engineered to let you peer straight down through structural glass at the bustle below. That bold design element—a highest-all-glass sidewalk—turns everyday traffic into a moving diorama beneath your feet.
Inside the compact interpretive space, five historic New Year’s Eve balls are displayed, each tagged to the era it helped mark. A time-traveling taxi projection reconstructs 1903 One Times Square, showing the building’s turn from newspaper headquarters to the stage for the annual Ball Drop tradition that began in 1907. Visitors can also write a wish on the official Times Square confetti, a small participatory moment that connects your visit to the city’s civic rituals and the thousands of celebrations that follow each New Year’s Eve.
What makes this stopout feel both intimate and essential is the way it combines skyline perspective with curated history. Unlike crowded, commercial observation decks, the Times Travel Experience keeps groups small—a maximum of 15—so lines move quickly and views don’t feel rushed. It’s a compact learning experience that reveals layers of signage, architecture, and celebration rarely explained amid street-level chaos.
Practical details: check-in is at 1475 Broadway; you must present the digital Times Travel ticket that will be emailed in advance. Free cancellation is available up to 24 hours before the tour. Wear comfortable shoes and dress for Manhattan weather—wind at height can be sharper than on the ground. Bring a camera or smartphone with charged battery; blue hour and nighttime exposures make the LED marquees sing.
For short-stop visitors, history seekers, and photographers, this hour delivers context and vantage points you won’t get walking the plazas below. It’s a precise, urban viewpoint that reframes Times Square as a vertical stage and offers a clearer line of sight into one of the city’s oldest public rituals. Plan your visit around sunset for dramatic lighting, factor in security screening, and note that tours are conducted in English; small-group pacing makes this a relaxed, informative stop in busy city center.
Check-in is at 1475 Broadway, New York, NY 10036; have your digital Times Travel ticket ready for entry.
The listed duration is roughly 1 hour, though arrival and security can add a bit of time.
Free cancellation is offered up to 24 hours before the tour start; check your booking confirmation for exact policies.
There is no specified minimum age listed; families should supervise children closely on the glass sidewalk.
Yes—photography is welcome. Use caution with tripods in tight spaces and be mindful of other visitors.
Accessibility details are not provided in the listing; contact the operator in advance if you require accommodations.
Untapped New York is a specialist tour operator based in Jersey City, New Jersey, offering immersive, history-focused experiences across the New York metropolitan area. The company curates guided walking tours, hard hat access trips, private tours, and urban exploration itineraries that reveal hidden architecture, abandoned spaces, and lesser-known cultural stories. Signature experiences include private tours of remnants of Old Penn Station with photographic documentation from noted photographers and railroad historians; Secrets of Grand Central led by award-winning guides; and multiple Ellis Island Hospital hard hat tours that explore century-old contagious disease wards, autopsy rooms, and JR’s "Unframed" exhibition. Other offerings include underground subway explorations, Gilded Age mansions walks along Fifth Avenue, and thematic cultural routes such as NYC’s Irish History Tour. Tours are presented as focused, small-group experiences—private and public—designed for visitors and locals who want deep historical context and rare access. Untapped New York highlights tangible artifacts and architectural remnants, combining storytelling with visual materials to enrich each tour. The company works with specialist guides, photographers, and historians to document locations factually and compellingly. Booking options include private tours and scheduled public departures for select trips. Whether exploring abandoned hospital wards, hidden stations, or the opulent façades of Millionaire’s Row, Untapped New York emphasizes archival research, expert-led narration, and unique on-site photographs to convey the layered history of New York’s built environment. Scheduled experiences feature Remnants of Penn Station, Secrets of Grand Central, Ellis Island Hospital Hard Hat Tours, NYC’s Underground Subway Tour, Fifth Avenue Gilded Age mansion walks.
Book with Untapped New York