New Orleans OGs will remember the 33rd floor of the World Trade Center as Club 360, a short-lived nightclub that tried to bring the club scene to New Orleans from 2002 until it was ultimately damaged by Hurricane Katrina. It mostly became the setting for fraternity parties and a certain set who tried to make nightclubs happen before going out almost became entirely extinct. But, let’s call it what it was: 360 was a Bourbon Street bar with pricier drinks and an Ed Hardy shirt.
Nearly two decades later, the World Trade Center underwent a massive makeover and reopened late last year as the Four Seasons Hotel. With the makeover, the hotel’s revolving pinnacle resurrected shortly after with a new purpose: an indoor/outdoor observation deck and exhibit space called Vue Orleans.
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Offering visitors a unique 360-degree birds-eye perspective of the city, which includes views of the Mississippi River and the New Orleans skyline, the attraction is now open. Besides offering the panoramic view, Vue Orleans also features exhibits and interactive experiences that take you back through three hundred years of New Orleans history, depicting the moments, people, and cultures that shaped the city into what it is today.
The observatory features touch-less interactive exhibits starring some of the city’s most iconic figures, cultural landmarks, and significant moments that have made an impact on the city and its music, food, and culture.
The ground floor exhibit highlights important historical figures through a visual and artistically stimulating experience. Other features include a music exhibit, featuring listening stations shaped like trumpets playing selections of blues, jazz, classical, and other music that have contributed to the explosive music scene in New Orleans; a virtual river-piloting demonstration that puts you in the captain’s seat steering through the Mississippi River’s meandering currents; a look (and taste!) of the city’s culinary history at Story Café; an elevator ride that takes you through the city’s 300-year history in 60 seconds; and a digital festival outfit creator station a la Cher’s closet in Clueless that allows you to leave with a souvenir selfie (how else would you capture the moment?)
Vue Orleans is now open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the 33rd floor of the Four Season’s Hotel at 2 Canal Street. Timed tickets to Vue Orleans are currently available for purchase for $30 at www.VueOrleans.com.