Skyscraper Museum

The Skyscraper Museum is dedicated to the history and design of tall buildings from around the world

Enjoying the interesting exhibits in the Skyscraper Museum
Enjoying the interesting exhibits in the Skyscraper Museum cc licensed photo by Jakob Montrasio

A true New York original, the Skyscraper Museum has been the only museum in the world dedicated solely to the architecture of the high-rise since it opened in 1997. Exhibits in the collection focus on the artistic design, technology, construction, influence on real estate values and human inhabitancy of tall buildings worldwide.

The museum interior features mirror polished stainless steel floors and ceilings creating the illusion of an infinitely vertical space and has been met with critical acclaim in architectural and interior design community.

The Skyline Museum houses two galleries, one dedicated to the Manhattan skyline and a special exhibitions hall. The permanent collection includes two hand-carved, highly detailed models of Midtown and Downtown, informative displays on the world's tallest buildings and a visual history of the buildings of Lower Manhattan. In 2006, an exhibit was added to commemorate the architecture and history of the World Trade Center and the construction of the Freedom Tower.

A full calendar of lectures, exhibitions and guided walking tours organised by museum staff are available on the website. On Saturday mornings, museum educators host a family program to introduce children to engineering, architecture and urban development through hands-on activities.

Nearby attractions include Battery Park, Staten Island Ferry, Financial District, Trinity Church, St. Paul's Chapel and the Brooklyn Bridge.

Facts For Your Visit

Fee: Yes. See the official website for details.

Skyscraper Museum Hours:
Opening hours may differ on holidays

  • Monday: Closed
  • Tuesday: Closed
  • Wednesday: 12:00 – 6:00 PM
  • Thursday: 12:00 – 6:00 PM
  • Friday: 12:00 – 6:00 PM
  • Saturday: 12:00 – 6:00 PM
  • Sunday: Closed

Address: 39 Battery Pl, New York, NY 10280, USA

Phone: (212) 968-1961

Official Website: Skyscraper Museum

Skyscraper Museum Reviews

Rated 4 out of 5 Star Rating

5 Star Rating Great free and informative museum in downtown Manhattan. Although it is free, reservations online are required in advanced for entry. (As of July 2023) Although small, it is free and contains lots of information on the concepts, structures and building process of many skyscrapers all over the world. It takes you through the history of skycrapers and looks into a few future projects. I believe this may be more interesting to those who like engineering and want to know the "why" and "how" behind many of these incredible structures. It is conveniently located in downtown Manhattan, nearby the Freedom Tower, Jewish Museum, Battery Park and Statue of Liberty Ferry areas...so can easily be worked into a site-filled itinery while exporing that area. I was able to see and read almost everything within an hour. So, it shouldn't take up too much time out of your day. Staff there was nice and informative.
Jason Persaud - 7 months ago

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5 Star Rating Really charming, and free, museum right across the street from where you board to ferry to the statue of liberty. If you have about 30 min to spend I would recommend stopping in. You do need to reserve a ticket ahead of time from their website but I did this 15 minutes before the time I selected and had no issue getting a ticket (only 5 people including myself were there for that timeslot). There are some gems here such as architectural elements salvaged from historic skyscrapers and the proposal model for the twin towers.
Spencer Owen - 8 months ago

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5 Star Rating Very informative. It’s a small museum and the skyscraper are mostly NY buildings. There is an exhibition showing other iconic buildings around the world but most information is about NY. The bookstore is very lovely. I will say most of it is informative and there are a few things actually see, it is mainly reading but I enjoyed it very much! FYI it is like a decent room of items so not a lot of things to look at, I will say you can finish examining all the exhibits within an hour.
Adati Tarfa - 12 months ago

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4 Star Rating Free entry. Tiny museum, if you love skyscrapers and the history of the largest skyscrapers in nyc this is a great 1-2 hour activity. Loads of info on the twin towns and info on the largest skyscrapers in the world.
Mike Ortiz - 8 months ago

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4 Star Rating Great place to visit if you have a fascination for skyscrapers and/or architecture however not really geared for more casual visitors since the exhibit is relatively small but VERY info-dense with a lot of reading involved if you want to really grasp what you’re looking at. For those who don’t want to do much reading like little kids the building models are cool to look at but there’s only about a dozen of them. I thought it would be bigger but it’s actually a fairly small museum with only one floor of exhibits plus the book store. I thought I’d be there for a good while but I was done in about an hour even with taking my time reading a lot of the posted info. Can’t complain about the admission price though since it’s only 5 bucks - and at the time of my visit actually free apparently due to sponsorship. It’s also conveniently located near Battery Park and the Staten Island and Liberty ferry terminals. Fitting too that it’s in New York - the spiritual home of the skyscraper.
Oliver S (23GT.net) - a year ago

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Directions

Subway Line Nearest Station Walking Time
4 or 5Bowling Green6 minutes
1 or RRector Street8 minutes

How to get to Skyscraper Museum by Subway

Take the 4 or 5 train to Bowling Green, head west towards the river on Battery Place continuing to the entrance on your right or take the 1 or R train to Rector Street and walk south on either Greenwich Street or Trinity Place to Battery Place and go right. The entrance is on the right-hand side of the road directly across from the Museum of Jewish Heritage.

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