Sky lobby

A sky lobby is a special floor inside very tall buildings called skyscrapers. It is a place where people can switch from fast elevators, which only stop at the sky lobby, to slower elevators that stop at some of the higher floors. This helps people reach their destinations more easily in huge buildings.

One of the first buildings to use a sky lobby was the original World Trade Center with its Twin Towers, and another was 875 North Michigan Avenue in Chicago. These special floors made it simpler for many people to move around such enormous structures.

Sadly, during a very difficult event, many people were in the sky lobby of the South Tower at the World Trade Center when it was hit by United Airlines Flight 175. Only a few people were able to leave safely before the building collapsed.

One World Trade Center (Manhattan)

One World Trade Center is the tallest skyscraper in New York City. It has a sky lobby on the 64th floor to help move people more efficiently. The sky lobby is a special floor where people can switch from fast express elevators to local elevators that stop at higher floors. The elevators that go to the sky lobby and the ones that go straight to the One World Observatory on the 100th floor are the fastest in the Western Hemisphere, taking less than a minute to reach the observatory from the ground floor.

875 North Michigan Avenue (Chicago)

The John Hancock Center has a sky lobby on the 44th floor for its residential part, which has floors 45 to 92. Three fast elevators go from the ground floor to the 44th floor, stopping at a parking level along the way. On the 44th floor, residents switch to two groups of elevators. One group serves floors 45 to 65, and the other serves floors 65 to 92. The 44th floor has many services like a pool, gym, store, mailboxes, and rooms for meetings.

Floors above 92 have their own direct elevators from the ground floor and two freight elevators serving floors 44 to 98.

Buildings with sky lobbies