-- New 80th floor Completes Four-Year, $165 Million Redevelopment Project 

The Empire State Building Observatory (ESBO) atop The World's Most Famous 
Building today announces the completion of the redevelopment of its 80th floor. 
The final component of the four-year, $165 million project to reimagine the 
ESBO adds engaging and informative exhibits to orient visitors on their visit 
to New York City and showcases the building's unique place at the center of it 
all.

New on the 80th floor is an exclusive, interactive partnership with NYC & 
Company, the official marketing, tourism and partnership bureau for New York 
City, with five interactive video blades which allow visitors to utilize NYC & 
Company's expertise to design itineraries for their visit using a massive 
inventory of destinations in all five boroughs. The itineraries automatically 
download to a visitor's phone with the use of a QR Code reader or can be sent 
via e-mail. Designed in response to research that showed ESBO is many visitors' 
first destination, this service is a boon to all tourists and New York City 
residents.

Interactive, augmented reality scenes from New York City, housed inside classic 
binoculars, bring visitors directly to the sights and sounds of popular 
destinations.  Other exhibits include videos of ESB's famous light shows with 
interviews with Marc Brickman, the lighting artist who brings them to life, 
user-generated content, and famous British memory artist Steven Wiltshire's 
monumental skyline of New York City.  

To celebrate the unveiling, the Empire State Building is also excited to 
announce the premiere of a new video starring Tony, Grammy, Emmy, and 
Pulitzer-Prize winning composer, lyricist, and actor Lin-Manuel Miranda. Set to 
his love-letter to New York, Cheering for Me Now - an original track from his 
Hamildrop series with music by legendary composer John Kander (Cabaret, 
Chicago) and lyrics by Miranda, the video will feature a new music-to-light 
show designed by world-renowned lighting artist Marc Brickman and footage of 
Miranda exploring the all-new Observatory Experience. A portion of the video 
will premiere on November 27, on CBS This Morning's live broadcast and will be 
posted exclusively on the Empire State Building's YouTube Channel and Facebook 
page. Fans in New York can also watch the music-to-light show live on the 
building that night at 8 p.m. while listening to the song on iHeartRadio's 
Broadway channel via www.iheartradiobroadway.com.  

80th Floor Exhibits Include:

   -- NYC: Above and Beyond: This exhibit, created in partnership with NYC &
      Company, encourages visitors to create a personalized trip itinerary from
      the top of the Empire State Building – often their first stop in New York
      City. After answering questions about their interests and the length of
      their stay, they can assemble a personalized list of recommendations for
      attractions and sites throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx,
      and Staten Island. Guests can then obtain their customized itinerary via
      e-mail or scanned by QR code directly to the visitors' handheld devices
      for future reference. 
   -- Artistry in Light: Ever wonder how the Empire State Building's music-to
      light shows are created? The Artistry in Light exhibit features a short
      film narrated by world-renowned lighting designer Marc Brickman, a master
      of light creation. The film features highlights from his designs, such as
      the first-ever music-to-light show with Alicia Keys in 2012, and a
      holiday light show synced to Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is
      You." 
   -- Stephen Wiltshire's Drawing: In 2017, famed British artist Stephen
      Wiltshire took a 45-minute helicopter ride above Manhattan. He then drew
      an incredibly detailed landscape drawing of New York City, while in
      residence on the 80th floor of the Empire State Building, completely from
      memory. A three-minute film documents his process, from the 45-minute
      helicopter ride to the four days in which he created the original piece
      of art. 
   -- Scenes of NYC: Through Empire State Building's classic viewfinders,
      visitors can check out panoramic views of nine different famed New York
      locations from the 80th floor. From Times Square to Coney Island,
      visitors get an up-close look (and even a glance inside) at places they
      can spot from the building's 86th and 102nd floor observation decks. 
   -- Showtime Pictures: Excited to see the photos taken in front of the green
      screen on the 2nd floor? The pictures are captured from 25 different
      angles utilizing 25 different HD cameras to create an immersive
      experience to tell a visual narrative. The new location for pick up has
      been redesigned with facial recognition technology, to speed the
      retrieval and purchase process through self-service kiosks. 
   -- Share Your Experience: As visitors enter the exit queue, they are
      encouraged to share their pictures on their social media platforms by
      four screens that create mosaic shadows of each visitor with images
      shared by other guests that use the hashtag #empirestatebuilding.

"What began with the new Observatory entrance opening in August 2018 is now as 
we intended – a fully educational and immersive journey which connects visitors 
from around the world to their emotional connections to the World's Most Famous 
Building and helps them design their entire visit to New York City from the 
center of it all. The completed Empire State Building Observatory elevates our 
Guests' experience, from our new entrance to the dramatic and exciting new 
102nd floor," said Anthony E. Malkin, Chairman and CEO of Empire State Realty 
Trust. "At 88 years young, the Empire State Building remains the icon of 
innovation, aspirations, and dreams, and is the vibrant ancestor of all tall 
buildings around the world."

Thinc Design led the cross-disciplinary, best-in-class team from the arts and 
architecture, travel, technology, engineering, and entertainment industries 
that conceived, curated, designed, and built the project.

The team included:

   -- Beneville Studios 
   -- Corgan 
   -- Diversified. 
   -- IDEO 
   -- Intersection 
   -- JLL 
   -- Kubik Maltbie 
   -- NYC & Company 
   -- Otis Elevator Company 
   -- Showtime Pictures 
   -- Skanska 
   -- Squint / Opera 
   -- Stephen Wiltshire 
   -- Syska Hennessy Group 
   -- Tactman 
   -- Tenguerian Models   
   -- The Lighting Practice 
   -- Thornton Tomasetti

Tickets to the 86th Floor Observatory start at $38 with tickets to the 102nd 
Floor Observatory available for an additional $20. Tickets can be pre-purchased 
online at www.empirestatebuilding.com or in real time on-site at kiosks located 
on the second and 86th floor. Stay connected on social via #ESBReimagined.

About the Empire State Building 
Soaring 1,454 feet above Midtown Manhattan (from base to antenna top), the 
Empire State Building, owned by Empire State Realty Trust, Inc., is the 
"World's Most Famous Building." With new investments in energy efficiency, 
infrastructure, public areas and amenities, the Empire State Building has 
attracted first-rate tenants in a diverse array of industries from around the 
world. The Empire State Building was named the world's most popular travel 
destination in a study conducted by Uber and was named America's favorite 
building in a poll conducted by the American Institute of Architects. For more 
information on the Empire State Building, please visit 
www.empirestatebuilding.com, www.facebook.com/empirestatebuilding, 
@EmpireStateBldg, www.instagram.com/empirestatebldg, 
http://weibo.com/empirestatebuilding, www.youtube.com/esbnyc, or 
www.pinterest.com/empirestatebldg. 

About Empire State Realty Trust 
Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: ESRT), a leading real estate investment 
trust (REIT), owns, manages, operates, acquires and repositions office and 
retail properties in Manhattan and the greater New York metropolitan area, 
including the Empire State Building, the "World's Most Famous Building." 
Headquartered in New York, New York, the Company's office and retail portfolio 
covers 10.1 million rentable square feet, as of September 30, 2019, consisting 
of 9.4 million rentable square feet in 14 office properties, including nine in 
Manhattan, three in Fairfield County, Connecticut, and two in Westchester 
County, New York; and approximately 700,000 rentable square feet in the retail 
portfolio.  

SOURCE: Empire State Realty Trust, Inc.

CONTACT: Heather Muhleman, +1-914-299-5533, heather@thedooronline.com