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The Sky Tower, at 328 meters, was the tallest freestanding structure in the Southern Hemisphere from 1996 to 2022 and still dominates the Auckland skyline since it opened in 1997. An observation deck near the top offers views out over the harbor and, on a clear day, as far as Rangitoto Island and the Hauraki Gulf, with glass floor panels for those who want the view straight down. The tower also hosts SkyJump and SkyWalk, two of the city's better-known adrenaline activities, for visitors who want more than the standard viewing deck.
Visitor guide
The Sky Tower is a telecommunications and observation tower in the central business district of Auckland, New Zealand. Standing 328 metres tall from ground level to the top of its mast, it is part of the SkyCity Auckland complex and is a defining landmark of the city skyline.
According to Wikipedia, the Sky Tower is now the second-tallest freestanding structure in the Southern Hemisphere, behind a tower in Jakarta, and the 28th tallest tower in the world. It held the title of tallest freestanding structure in the Southern Hemisphere from 1996 to 2022. It sits at the corner of Victoria and Federal Streets and is a central part of Auckland's identity.
The tower was built between 1994 and 1997 for Harrah's Entertainment and opened on 3 August 1997, after two years and nine months of construction. Gordon Moller of Craig Craig Moller Architects designed it, with Les Dykstra as project architect, and Fletcher Construction was the main contractor. Wikipedia gives the total cost as NZ$85 million. An earlier proposal for a site on Upper Symonds Street was rejected over viewshaft concerns, and an early design clad in stainless steel was dropped because of cost.
The structure is high-performance reinforced concrete. A 12-metre diameter shaft holds four lifts and an emergency stairwell and sits on eight legs resting on 16 foundation piles drilled more than 15 metres into local sandstone. The mast weighs more than 170 tonnes; it was too heavy for a helicopter and was lifted by a crane attached to the structure itself. The tower is designed to withstand winds above 200 km/h and to sway up to about 1 metre in extreme conditions, and it is also designed to withstand an 8.0-magnitude earthquake within 20 kilometres.
The public levels include a bar on Level 50, the main observation deck on Level 51, and a revolving restaurant on Level 52 that turns once an hour and sits 190 metres up. Wikipedia says this is the only revolving restaurant in New Zealand. Level 53 holds The Lookout, plus the SkyWalk and SkyJump, while Level 60 is the Sky Deck, just below the main antenna at 220 metres, with views of up to 82 kilometres. The main observation level has glass floor sections 38 millimetres thick that give a view straight down. The SkyJump is a 192-metre jump from the observation deck, reaching speeds of around 75 to 85 km/h depending on the source, and a guide cable controls the descent. The tower attracts about 1,150 visitors a day.
The tower is also a working communications site. The antenna hosts what is described as the largest FM combiner in the world and supports television, wireless internet, radio and weather measurement; 23 FM radio stations and six digital terrestrial television multiplexes broadcast from it. The upper half of the tower switched to LED lighting in May 2009 and the lower half in 2019, allowing it to be lit in many colours for charity causes, holidays, cultural events and national milestones. It is also the launch point for Auckland's New Year's fireworks, fired from three platforms around the tower.
A private guided tour of Auckland can place the tower alongside the harbour and nearby waterfront, with the city views as a natural first or last stop.
See every tour and attraction we cover in Auckland.
