NOTE: The Terminal Tower Observation Deck is not open year-round. It’s usually open from spring through early fall, and then often opens again during the holidays.
The Terminal Tower rises up 771 feet above Public Square in downtown Cleveland, and is one of the most iconic and recognizable buildings in the city’s skyline.
Built during the “skyscraper boom” of the 1920s and ’30s, Terminal Tower opened as an office building in 1928 atop Cleveland’s new rail station, Cleveland Union Terminal (so now you know where the name comes from). The building was officially dedicated in 1930, which was also when it was first lit up with spotlights and topped with a strobe light.
The 52-story building was the second-tallest building in the entire world when it was built, and remained the tallest building outside of New York in the US until the mid-1960s.
The Terminal Tower’s Observation Deck is 668 feet up on the 42nd floor. It opened along with the tower in 1928, and offers 360-degree views out over Cleveland and Lake Erie.
The Observation Deck used to be open all the time, but was closed indefinitely in 1976 after a gunman took 13 hostages inside the building (thankfully no one was hurt). It re-opened eventually, but was closed again after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
About a decade ago, the Terminal Tower Observation Deck was restored to look as it had back around 1930. And today, the 42nd floor is once again open to visitors.
Getting Tickets for the Terminal Tower Observation Deck
The Observation Deck at Terminal Tower is usually open on Saturday and Sunday afternoons in the spring and summer. Opening dates tend to change every year, with the deck also being open during the holiday season in 2022.
In order to visit, you need to book a timed ticket online – currently you need to purchase tickets through Eventbrite*. Tickets ARE NOT sold on-site, so you cannot arrive at Terminal Tower and buy a ticket in-person. (And this is not a pandemic-related thing; this is how tickets for this attraction have worked for the last several years.)
Tickets are $5 per person, plus a $1.27 ticketing fee – making the full price for a ticket $6.27. Again, buying tickets here is the only way to book a visit to the Terminal Tower Observation Deck.
*If you get to the Eventbrite site and it says “Event ended,” it means the Observation Deck is currently closed.
Booking tickets in advance is recommended, as there are a limited number for each 30-minute time slot. During the season, they usually release tickets for upcoming weekends about a month in advance.
Visiting the Terminal Tower Observation Deck
Once you’ve chosen a time slot and purchased your tickets, you’ll want to arrive at Tower City a few minutes early in order to check in.
Enter Terminal Tower via the Public Square entrance, and check in at the round information desk in the lobby (it’s almost like a “second lobby,” as you need to pass through the entry space with the vaulted ceiling and all the Jack casino signs first).
After you check in (have your ticket with you, either printed out or on your smartphone), you’ll be buzzed through a set of secure doors by an employee, and pointed towards a line of elevators.
The ride to the Terminal Tower Observation deck requires two separate elevator rides. In the first elevator, you’ll ride up to the 32nd floor in about a minute. You’ll exit to the left, and follow signs for the second bank of elevators, where you’ll ride another up to the 42nd floor.
The Terminal Tower Observation Deck is completely enclosed, but a large amount of windows mean you can see everything on all sides. On a clear day, you can see at least 30 miles in any direction.
You can see Lake Erie, all the sports stadiums in the city, the Cuyahoga River and its bridges, The Flats, all the notable downtown buildings, and of course Public Square. (You cannot, however, see Canada – it’s a little too far.)
Your Terminal Tower ticket states you’re supposed to limit your visit to the Observation Deck to 25 minutes, but I’ve visited twice in the past two years and never ran into anyone up there policing this policy.
However, you can definitely see all the highlights and enjoy the view in half an hour.
Once you’re ready to head back down, take the gold elevators back to the 32nd floor, and then the other elevators back down to ground level.
This is a fun activity suitable for the whole family, and is definitely something you should put on your list of things to do in Cleveland this summer!
(Also, did you know that they usually open the Observation Deck on weekends around the holidays, too? It’s a great spot to visit and see the Christmas decorations in Public Square from above!)
Have you visited the Observation Deck at Terminal Tower?
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Amanda was born and raised in northeast Ohio, and has always been a fangirl of the state. Now, she wants to share her love of Cleveland with the world, highlighting all the best things to do, see, and eat in the CLE. She’s been running Cleveland Traveler since January 2019.
We lived in a small farm town (McComb)in northwester Ohio. I’m talking 1940’s and 1950’s here. As youths, dad would take my brother and me to Cleveland on the train, and we would arrive at the Terminal Tower building. We would go to the Blue Boar Cafeteria to eat and walk on up to the lakeshore stadium to see the Indians play. Of course we saw the world champion ’48 team with all those great players. I remember going up to the observation deck and using the binoculars. If I remember correctly you had to deposit a dime (or maybe only a nickel?) to use the binoculars. I think that at that time the Tower was the third tallest building in the United States. Great memories. Now there is the Rock & Roll Museum and all that other stuff,, but that very tall building created great memories for a kid from the farm land of Ohio.
Melvin Peterman
What great memories, Melvin! Those binoculars are still up there in the observation deck today.
Thank you for this great info! Bought tickets last week and are headed there now!
I hope you enjoyed your visit! The views should have been great these last few days.
OMG it was amazing!!! Really a great experience and I would have never heard about it without your article! Thank you!
My dad worked for the C&O railroad until they became the Chessie System. I was probably in the observation floor about a hundred times. One of my dad’s best friends was held hostage by Ashby Leach. After that Chessie closed the 42nd floor until they moved.
Is Terminal Tower open again for tours?
As of right now (late March 2022), no, the observation deck isn’t currently open. It usually opens in late spring, and then is open on weekends throughout the summer. They did re-open it during the holidays last year, but I believe it closed again after New Year’s. I’ll update this post when I hear about this year’s opening dates – or you can keep checking the Eventbrite ticket link, as they usually use the same link every year.
Hi Amanda, thank you for all the info. One question: is it wheelchair accessible? TYIA. (Love your newsletter!)
I believe it is, but I’m not 100% certain.
As of 09Sep2022 is there still viewings of the Terminal Tower UpperDeck going on?
No, the deck appears to be closed for the season now. (It may reopen around the holidays, but I don’t have details on that yet!)
It’s showing tickets available for tomorrow and other Saturdays & Sundays-so it must be open now.
Yes, if they are selling tickets, then it’s open! It closed in September (2022), but seems to have opened back up again now on weekends.
Hi. I would like if it will be open for the first weekend of December?
I’m not sure; you’ll have to keep an eye on the ticket sales site. Currently they are selling tickets through mid-November, so check back in a week or so to see if they’re going to stay open in December.
Are there stairs that go up, or is it elevator only?
I imagine there are stairs in the building, but when you visit it’s elevator-only. You use 2 different elevators to get to the top.
I was wondering if you know when you can do the terminal tower observation 2023? Well when they are starting the tours. Thanks Dee
It’s been open on and off throughout the winter, so I imagine it will be open again soon. (It used to only be open on weekends in summer, but in 2022 it was open a lot more.) I would just keep checking back on the ticketing site, as they always use the same URL when tickets are available. I would guess it should open back up in April.