About the deck
The 102nd floor observation deck of the Empire State Building is the higher of the building's two public decks, enclosed in glass at 369 metres. It is reached by a separate elevator from the 86th floor outdoor deck. The 102F deck is smaller and fully enclosed - unlike the iconic 86F outdoor terrace - but offers the higher elevation.
On clear days the views extend over 100 kilometres in all directions. The 102nd floor was originally designed as a mooring mast for dirigibles; the circular observation room sits inside what was intended to be the airship docking structure..
The honest take
The Empire State Building's honest height is 373.1m - its highest occupied floor. The 102F deck at 369m is 4.1m below the highest occupied floor, making it one of the few observation decks that sits within a building's honest height rather than in the vanity zone. By TBC's measure, this is genuinely as high as the building goes for regular visitors.
See the full height breakdown: Empire State Building profile.
Height in context
Elevation data
Deck elevation: 369m (1211 ft)
Floor: 102
Access type: Indoor / enclosed
Data notes
Height and floor data sourced from Wikipedia (CC-BY-SA). Ticket prices verified from official sources on 2026-05-03. Prices change frequently - verify before booking.
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