The Skyscraper Museum image

The Skyscraper Museum

Tourist attraction Museum History museum

Sleek gallery hosting exhibits & programs exploring history of tall buildings in New York & beyond. People often mention museum, buildings, small, skyscrapers, free, architecture, interesting, informative, information, York,


Address

39 Battery Pl, New York, NY 10280

Website

skyscraper.org

Contact

(212) 968-1961

Rating on Google Maps

4.00 (528 reviews)

Open on Google Maps

Working Hours

  • Wednesday: 12 to 6 PM
  • Thursday: 12 to 6 PM
  • Friday: 12 to 6 PM
  • Saturday: 12 to 6 PM
  • Sunday: (Easter), Closed, Hours might differ
  • Monday: Closed
  • Tuesday: Closed

Featured Reviews


Frequently mentioned in reviews: museum (35) buildings (16) small (15) skyscrapers (15) free (10) architecture (8) interesting (8) informative (8) information (8) York (8)
Reviews are sorted by relevance, prioritizing the most helpful and insightful feedback at the top for easier reference.
  • 5/5 Robert F. 4 years ago on Google • 467 reviews
    This is a small but relatively inexpensive ($5- $2.50 for students and seniors) architecture museum in Lower Manhattan. The museum is on the ground and first floor of a building . Its a little hard to find as there does not seem to be a sign on the street for the museum. Its across from the Battery Park Esplanade and next to the Museum of Jewish Heritage. The Skyscraper Museum focuses, as the name suggests, on skyscrapers, large buildings and urban infrastructure in general.The museums core exhibit is on super large buildings in various parts of the country . Their is a mural with the largest skyscrapers in the world- both already built and planned- each represented in a separate magnet so you can compare their sizes. Its a great visual aid to show kids their relative size . A recently opened exhibit is on building density.It explains how population density in various apartment complexes and buildings is calculated and what it means for quality of life. On the surface, this doesn't sound interesting at all but I found it fascinating as to how density equates to quality of life. An hour or two is all that is needed at the museum. A trip there , especially if you are near Lower Manhattan is highly recommended,
    13 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Adati T. 1 year ago on Google • 1023 reviews
    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.
    4 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Jack G. 5 years ago on Google
    I would recommend this museum for architecture and building nerds only! Not really much of a must-visit New York attraction... Lots of reading and some cool models. Great section on the World Trade Center. Nonetheless it is cheap and small museum that does not take too much time out of a day.
    7 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Jason P. 7 months ago on Google • 262 reviews
    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.
    5 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Oliver S (. 1 year ago on Google • 111 reviews
    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.
    5 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Christopher A. 5 years ago on Google
    This is a small boutique museum near Battery Park on west side downtown NYC. The museum has some Great photographs of the early days of NYC’s buildings, as well as original photographs of WTC being built with background information, has a few scale models and a bookstore. The museum is fairly new as well as the building so it has a new modern look. The best thing about it is the monthly Children`s class about architecture and buildings. They work with the kids to build models of buildings & structures and learn about what is involved in the process of the construction. You can also get a annual membership that range from $35.00 to $1,000.00.
    5 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Josh P. 1 year ago on Google
    Neat little museum with detailed info graphics on the history of skyscrapers in New York City and the world. Also there are a few hands on exhibits.
    4 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Wesley J. 5 years ago on Google
    Very interesting museum which had a good selection of books in the store. The panoramic images of how the city's skyline has changed over more than 100 years was fascinating. Free for military!
    4 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Mike O. 8 months ago on Google • 291 reviews
    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.
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 P. A. 4 years ago on Google
    Among the 12 museums i visited in NYC it was in the top 3. If you are into architerture and/or urbanistics and high-rise buildings, this is not just a must-see but a tremendously rich exhibition.
    3 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 diana m. 4 years ago on Google
    A small, but beautiful and interesting museum. This is the world of skyscrapers. You get to know a lot of the history of tall buildings.
    3 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Mayur 6 years ago on Google
    Very nice place, it gives you information about engineering of sky scapper building in new York as well as from rest of world. Decent place, not crowded.
    3 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Pablo A. 2 years ago on Google • 13 reviews
    A small, but very informative and captivating museum of architecture. There were plenty of amazing architectural models of skyscrapers from all over the world. If you have an appreciation for buildings, this is a must.
    3 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Spencer O. 8 months ago on Google • 117 reviews
    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.
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Christine O. 4 years ago on Google
    Small but very informative and interesting museum if you're into architecture and how New York City looked like at different times. The fee was cheap too.
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Ruthie E. 1 year ago on Google
    great museum and was free. i visited this museum because my partner is a structural engineer and i appreciated have many of the buildings explained to me. i probably wouldn’t have enjoyed the museum had i not had that particular experience. the museum is small, but has quite a lot of information about design and engineering.
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Abigail B. 1 year ago on Google
    Great for those who are into architecture, engineering, construction, or scale models. Very detailed. Learned a lot!
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Daniel T. 1 year ago on Google
    Very small and underrated museum right in downtown Manhattan. It's a very small museum. Plan to spend 30-60 minutes here. Convenient to the Bowling Green Station or St George ferry terminal to get here. Admission is free!!! 🤩
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Ophelia R. 4 years ago on Google
    I went with my professor Nicolas Bloom and he's had a huge hand in this housing exhibition. He's so knowledgeable and gave a fantastic tour!! The architectural models were made by NYIT students and they look amazing. This is a small museum but it's packed of good content!
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 E J. 1 year ago on Google • 50 reviews
    A must-see. This museum gives you a real insight into the skyline and the changes over the centuries of lower Manhattan. If you are really into architecture, engineering, and the history of skyscrapers, check this wonderful museum out.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Ceci R. 1 year ago on Google
    It was a great stop while in the 9/11 area. We decided to check it out. We enjoy the info it provided of the old city and its buildings. At the moment it’s free, you just have to reserve tickets online.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Princess M. 11 months ago on Google
    My Son wanted to check this little museum out when we visited New York. Cool to see all the before works of some of the tallest buildings in NY ! 🏗️🏬
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Mahi R. 1 year ago on Google • 153 reviews
    As an engineer I really liked the place. It is a very small but well-crafted museum. It doesn’t have information about the newer ultramodern engineered buildings in midtown but still has a lot of information about the history behind the many nyc skyscrapers. I will probably visit it again.

  • 4/5 sven n. 6 months ago on Google • 43 reviews
    I would recommend the combo with the 9/11 memorial. Even though it's not big, it's quite interesting and gives you some nice info on older and newer skyscrapers.

  • 5/5 Rosalie M. 1 year ago on Google
    Very interesting exhibits. If you love the city skyline and history, you will love this place.

  • 5/5 Ali S. 1 year ago on Google
    Coolest museum in New York for sure. Information dense, but very enlightening. Actual architectural models on display highlight the iconic buildings of New York

  • 5/5 Julian K. 1 year ago on Google
    Ni waiting time with the free timed tickets. Very informative if you‘re intrested in urban development in NYC and the history of skyscrapers. The museum is small but informative, nice to relax for and hour between other activities.

  • 5/5 Gisse R. 1 year ago on Google
    Small museum but with lots of educational information on every wall space. Loved the scale structures

  • 5/5 Luke M. 2 years ago on Google
    Great museum for supertall skyscraper fans.

  • 4/5 Dan B. 2 years ago on Google
    Small, but relatively interesting... And free!

  • 4/5 Eric 2 years ago on Google
    Tiny tiny museum, a bit pricey, but somewhat unique for nyc.

  • 3/5 Keri S. 2 years ago on Google
    It was okay, not memorable so I probably won't be coming back. Nice staff though!


Call (212) 968-1961 Open on Google Maps

Amenities


  • Accessibility
    • ✓️ Wheelchair accessible entrance
    • ✓️ Wheelchair accessible restroom

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