After Hours

Inside the glass Apple Store - New York's hottest high-tech hangout

By // October 5, 2006, 4:57 AM PST // jasonhiner

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  • <b>by Jason Hiner</b>

    The Apple Store on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 59th Street in Manhattan is a marvel of modern design. In fact, it is one of the most unique retail stores in the world. Above the ground it features only a glass cube with a glass staircase and glass elevator that lead downward to the underground store. The store serves as one of the most popular high-tech hangouts in New York City. It is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

    I got a chance to visit while I was in the Big Apple for Interop New York 2006 (see my separate gallery on Interop).

    Credit: CNET Networks

  • <b>by Jason Hiner</b>

    The Apple logos in the glass entrance light up the night along Fifth Avenue, New York's famous shopping district.

    Credit: CNET Networks

  • <b>by Jason Hiner</b>

    The entrance features a security guard (far left), a glass elevator (center), glass spiral staircase (right), and a constant stream of visitors going both directions.

    Credit: CNET Networks

  • <b>by Jason Hiner</b>

    The glass staircase spirals down to the store below.

    Credit: CNET Networks

  • <b>by Jason Hiner</b>

    This is at 7:30 PM on a Wednesday night and this place was still packed. Virtually every one of the many demo Macs in the store was in use, and whenever someone walked away from one of the demo Macs, someone else usually stepped right up to quickly take their place. It appeared that people were basically using these as public Internet terminals, albeit for the technophile crowd.

    Credit: CNET Networks

  • <b>by Jason Hiner</b>

    There are more demo Macs here on the right, some demo iPods with speakers on the left, and on the upper left hand side of the photo you can see the tail end of the long line to actually purchase something.

    Credit: CNET Networks

  • <b>by Jason Hiner</b>

    In the front are more iPod demo units and in the back is the rest of the long line to make a purchase.

    Credit: CNET Networks

  • <b>by Jason Hiner</b>

    On the other side of the store are more iPod demos with various iPod accessories.

    Credit: CNET Networks

  • <b>by Jason Hiner</b>

    Some of the few open machines in the store were at the Genius Bar. According Apple, "The Genius Bar is the place to go for advice, insight, and hands-on technical support for your Mac or iPod. Consultation at the Genius Bar works by reservation only."

    Credit: CNET Networks

  • <b>by Jason Hiner</b>

    These folks were trying out the knowledge of the geniuses at the Genius Bar.

    Credit: CNET Networks

  • <b>by Jason Hiner</b>

    A panorama of the inside of the store shows how truly crowded it was. In addition to the demo Macs, the Apple Store also provides free WiFi, both inside the store and in the plaza around the outside of the glass cube.

    Credit: CNET Networks

  • <b>by Jason Hiner</b>

    The Apple logo is suspended in mid air, as this photo shows from looking up into the glass cube from down in the store.

    Credit: CNET Networks

  • <b>by Jason Hiner</b>

    Nearly everyone uses the stairs, but the glass elevator is a bit of an engineering marvel to watch. Here it is on its way down.

    Credit: CNET Networks

  • <b>by Jason Hiner</b>

    The glass elevator has nearly reached the bottom here, as a lady and her daughter wait to get on and give it a ride.

    Credit: CNET Networks

  • <b>by Jason Hiner</b>

    As I exited the store by going back up the glass staircase I noticed that I was one of the only ones without an Apple bag.

    Credit: CNET Networks

  • <b>by Jason Hiner</b>

    From the plaza around the cube, here is the view looking back down into the store. You can also see that the elevator has made it's way back to the top.

    Credit: CNET Networks

by Jason Hiner

The Apple Store on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 59th Street in Manhattan is a marvel of modern design. In fact, it is one of the most unique retail stores in the world. Above the ground it features only a glass cube with a glass staircase and glass elevator that lead downward to the underground store. The store serves as one of the most popular high-tech hangouts in New York City. It is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

I got a chance to visit while I was in the Big Apple for Interop New York 2006 (see my separate gallery on Interop).

Credit: CNET Networks

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After Hours Innovation Hardware Tech & Work

About Jason Hiner

Jason Hiner is Global Editor in Chief of TechRepublic and Global Long Form Editor of ZDNet. He's co-author of the book, Follow the Geeks.