What Is the Vessel? A Staircase Sculpture, the Edge Sky Deck and the Rail Yard Under Hudson Yards

The Vessel at Hudson Yards, a honeycomb-shaped structure of copper-colored steel stairways, seen against glass towers

The Vessel at Hudson Yards, July 2024. Photograph by Kidfly182, via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 4.0.

The Vessel is a staircase that goes nowhere in particular, a 16-story climbing frame of copper-colored steel at the center of Hudson Yards. Next to it, on the 100th floor of 30 Hudson Yards, a triangular glass-floored platform called Edge sticks out into the sky. Both opened within a year of each other on the far West Side, on land the developers built over an active rail yard. This article covers what each is, who made it, what happened when the Vessel closed, and what you need to know before you go.

What is the Vessel, and who designed it?

Heatherwick Studio says it was invited to design a public centerpiece for Hudson Yards, an 11-hectare development on Manhattan's West Side being built above a huge rail yard. The studio wanted to create a structure visitors could use and touch, not just look at. It describes the result as a new social landmark that could be climbed and explored by everyone, influenced by the Indian stepwells of Rajasthan, which are made of multitudes of stone staircases reaching down into the ground. The studio became interested in the visual effect of repeating steps, flights and landings.

Heatherwick says the finished design is composed of 2,500 steps, 154 flights, 80 landings and 16 storeys. It was fabricated in Venice, Italy, by the steel fabricator Cimolai. The framework is raw welded and painted steel, and its underside is polished copper-colored steel that reflects the surrounding city. CBS News, citing Thomas Heatherwick's design, describes a 150-foot-tall structure that cost $150 million. Hudson Yards' own press release said the structure was "temporarily known as Vessel" when the development officially opened on March 15, 2019.

A plaza with young trees and a path in front of new glass and stone towers under construction on Manhattan West Side

Hudson Yards in April 2018, the year before the district opened. Photograph by Epicgenius, via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0.

Why did the Vessel close?

The Vessel closed in 2021 after a series of deaths by suicide, according to CBS and AP. CBS reports that it first reopened only at the ground-level base. On October 21, 2024, it reopened further with new safety features, including floor-to-ceiling steel mesh barriers on some sections. Hudson Yards chief operating officer Andy Rosen said the mesh is "really the key part of the safety measures that we've added" and that the views are still great. The spokesperson for Hudson Yards had said when the further reopening was announced in April that the company worked closely with Thomas Heatherwick and Heatherwick Studio on the plan. AP reports tickets are $10 and that the structure is free for New Yorkers on Thursdays.

The plain account is this: the owner closed a popular public attraction after people died there, and reopened it after adding barriers. This article reports only what AP, CBS and the owner's own statements say about it. If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, you can call or text 988 in the United States.

Looking up through the zigzag stairways and landings of the Vessel, with a glass tower behind

The Vessel from below, August 2021, while it was closed to visitors. Photograph by Kidfly182, via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0.

What is Edge, and how high is it?

Edge is a sky deck at 30 Hudson Yards. Hudson Yards' press release says it officially opened on March 11, 2020, with the first ticketed visitors stepping out at 1:00 pm. The outdoor viewing area has a glass floor, angled glass walls and outdoor skyline steps from the 100th to 101st floors. The release says Edge was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates and extends 80 feet from the 100th floor. It calls the structure triangular and says the 765,000-pound deck is made of 15 sections, each weighing between 35,000 and 100,000 pounds, bolted together and anchored to the east and south sides of the building. The 7,500-square-foot outdoor area is surrounded by 79 glass panels, each weighing 1,400 pounds, manufactured in Germany and finished in Italy. Rockwell Group designed the interiors.

The operator's own pages say the deck is 1,100 feet above Manhattan and call it the highest outdoor sky deck in the Western Hemisphere. This is the operator's claim, not an independent ranking. It is also a claim about outdoor decks. One World Observatory, which is taller, has no outdoor viewing space, according to a 2015 CBS report cited in this site's article on that building. William Pedersen of KPF said in the press release that Edge gestures toward the Empire State Building and is higher than its observation deck.

Is the Vessel a sculpture, a building or a park?

The sources use different words. AP calls it a sculpture. CBS calls it an interactive artwork and quotes the description of a three-dimensional public space that is like a park, but taller. Heatherwick Studio calls it a climbing frame and a social landmark, and says it was meant to be used and touched. Hudson Yards' website lists it under public square and gardens. None of these descriptions is wrong. The common point is that people are meant to walk through it rather than look at it from outside.

The Vessel was also meant to be free. Heatherwick Studio described it at the 2019 opening as a major free public attraction at the heart of the new district. Tickets are now required, which the Hudson Yards pages and AP both state.

How do the Vessel and Edge compare?

The Vessel rises about 150 feet, according to CBS, and you climb it by stairs through an open lattice. Edge is 1,100 feet up, according to its operator, and you reach it by elevator and then step onto a glass-floored platform. Both are ticketed and both are at Hudson Yards, a short walk apart. Edge's website sells a combined Edge and Vessel bundle and says it saves 10 percent on both admissions. Edge says it is open daily whatever the weather.

The triangular Edge sky deck jutting from the top of a glass tower at Hudson Yards, seen from a distance across Midtown

Edge at 30 Hudson Yards, seen from Summit One Vanderbilt, 2022. Photograph by Larry D. Moore, via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 4.0.

What is the experience like now?

Edge's website describes a multi-sensory indoor-to-outdoor experience before you step onto the deck. Installations named Pulse, Kaleidoscope, Reflections, Infinite City and Crystal Cave lead to the skyline views. The original 2020 opening included a multi-room show called Journey to Edge about the history of Hudson Yards, from building over an active rail yard to sustainability. A bar on the 100th floor serves drinks to take outdoors, and Peak, a restaurant, bar and event space operated by Tao Group Hospitality (per Edge's current Eat & Drink page; an earlier source named RHC), was opened one floor above on the 101st.

The press release also announced a program giving New York City public school groups free visits to Edge and Vessel on Tuesdays. It said the program began that day with fifth graders from P.S. 33 in Chelsea. Whether the program continues today is not stated on the pages read for this article.

Visitors on the Edge observation deck with tilted glass walls, seen from the deck, with buildings of Midtown beyond — Visitors on the Edge observation deck at 30 Hudson Yards. Photograph by Wikipettanko, via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 3.0.

Who owns the Vessel and Edge today?

Hudson Yards is a private development. The opening press release names the developers as Related Companies and Oxford Properties Group and quotes Related chairman Stephen Ross and Oxford president Michael Turner. In 2024, CBS reported Related CEO Jeff Blau as saying that Related owns Hudson Yards. The sources therefore do not agree on whether the owner is Related alone or Related with Oxford. The article does not resolve it. The pages read do not state who owns the Vessel structure itself.

Where can you eat or drink at Vessel (Hudson Yards)?

No restaurant or bar was found inside Vessel itself.

Edge, at 30 Hudson Yards, is a separate building. Its official page lists Skyline Bar & Café, Peak with Priceless (a restaurant operated by Tao Group Hospitality) and Avenue Sky Lounge.

Hours and status were read from the official pages listed below on October 13, 2026. They change, so confirm before visiting.

Sources

Visiting Hudson Yards

Vessel hours: Vessel NYC lists Monday and Tuesday 11:00 am to 7:00 pm, Wednesday and Thursday 11:00 am to 8:00 pm, Friday and Saturday 9:00 am to 8:00 pm, and Sunday 9:00 am to 7:00 pm. An older Hudson Yards FAQ page lists different hours and still says the Vessel is temporarily closed, so rely on the Vessel NYC page.
Vessel tickets: Tickets are required, and the Vessel NYC site adds a $2 processing fee. AP reported $10 tickets and free admission for New Yorkers on Thursdays. The older Hudson Yards FAQ says free during the first hour and $10 at other times, and free for children 5 and under. Check which applies when you book.
Edge hours: Hudson Yards lists Monday to Sunday 9:00 am to 10:00 pm, with the last elevator ride 50 minutes before closing. Edge says it is open daily whatever the weather.
Edge tickets: Edge lists general admission from $42, an Advance Saver from $34, and an Edge and Vessel bundle from $84, each plus a $2 processing fee. Prices change, so confirm at edgenyc.com.
Entrance: Edge is at 30 Hudson Yards, entered from level 4 of The Shops and Restaurants. The Vessel is in the public square outside.
Getting there: Edge and Vessel NYC both say to take the 7 train to 34th Street-Hudson Yards. Penn Station is two blocks east. Vessel NYC lists the M4, M5, M6, M7, M34 and Q42 buses and the Midtown ferry terminal at West 39th Street.

Checked against Vessel NYC visit page and Hudson Yards Edge page. Confirm hours and ticket rules there.