Event · City Hall Area
Centre 360 in NYC's Civic Center: Free Cupola Visits Atop the Dinkins Municipal Building
The cupola of the David N. Dinkins Municipal Building at 1 Centre Street is open to the public for the first time since 1914. Centre 360 offers free, reserved 15-minute visits to a balcony about 580 feet up, with 360-degree views, Monday through Friday.
By NBT Editors · 2026-10-14
Centre 360 is a free visit program that puts the public on the cupola of the David N. Dinkins Municipal Building, the Beaux-Arts tower at 1 Centre Street in Lower Manhattan's Civic Center. The cupola had not been open to visitors since 1914. The city's Department of Citywide Administrative Services runs the program, which began on June 11, 2026. Press reports say it followed a $6 million restoration that repaired the cupola, added glass safety barriers and restored the rotunda landing.
Each visit takes eight people and lasts about 15 minutes, ascent included. Groups gather at the CityStore entrance on Centre Street, show photo ID to building security and hear a short welcome. An elevator takes them to the 24th floor, where they transfer to the tower elevator for the final climb. The balcony sits about 580 feet above the street, and the city says it is the only place a visitor can stand directly beneath Civic Fame, the 25-foot gilded statue by Adolph Weinman, installed in 1914. Its five-pointed crown stands for the five boroughs; the figure also holds a laurel branch and a shield.
The balcony lets you walk a full circle. North brings Midtown and the Empire State Building, east the East River and the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg Bridges, south the harbor, and west the courthouses, City Hall and the Hudson. A phone-based Landmark Hunt asks guests to find ten landmarks, including the Woolworth Building, One World Trade Center and the Chrysler Building.
The building was designed by McKim, Mead and White as a single seat for 40 agencies and was the first U.S. government building constructed directly over a working subway line. It was renamed for New York's first Black mayor, David N. Dinkins, in 2015.
Reservations are free through the official site, and a party can have up to five people. Visits leave hourly, on the hour, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; the cupola is closed on weekends. Children under 18 need an adult and must be at least 42 inches tall. Closed-toe shoes are required, cameras and phones are welcome, and tripods and drones are not allowed. Access depends on the weather.
The building faces City Hall Park. Trains stop at Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall (4, 5, 6, J, Z) and City Hall (R, W).
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