The Elevated Acre / 55 Water Street

The Elevated Acre at 55 Water Street is one of the most remarkable Privately Owned Public Spaces in New York City: a one-acre rooftop park raised 40 feet above street level at the base of a massive Financial District office complex.

The Elevated Acre features a large lawn, a 145-foot-long wooden amphitheater overlooking the East River, gardens, trees, and some of the most spectacular harbor views in Lower Manhattan. The space feels like a secret garden floating above the Financial District streets.

The park is accessed via escalators from the Water Street sidewalk, and many New Yorkers have never discovered it despite its generous size. The Elevated Acre has become a popular venue for outdoor concerts, film screenings, and private events during warmer months.

55 Water Street is one of the largest office buildings in the world by floor area, housing tens of thousands of workers. The Elevated Acre provides these workers and the general public with a green oasis above the dense streetscape of Lower Manhattan.

The Elevated Acre demonstrates what POPS can achieve at their best: a genuinely beloved public space that provides beauty, recreation, and harbor views in a neighborhood where such amenities are extraordinarily scarce. It is arguably the finest POPS in all of New York City.