Apple's flagship Fifth Avenue store with its iconic glass cube entrance in Manhattan reopens to the public Friday following multi-year renovations, and ahead of time, the media was invited to the store for a preview.
The underground store has been nearly doubled in size with a higher ceiling and more natural light coming in from 62 skylights added to the store's plaza at ground level. The plaza has also been lined with 28 honey locust trees, linear fountains, and benches for the public to gather around.
Visitors enter by walking down a new stainless steel spiral staircase, or by riding a circular elevator. The staircase is designed with 43 cantilevered stair treads that support a floating cylinder of glass, and the backlit ceiling above combines natural and artificial light to match the sunlight throughout the day.
The store is now equipped with a Forum for Today at Apple sessions, which begin Saturday with a special series that "captures the creative spirit of New York." The area dedicated to Geniuses has also doubled, which will "dramatically increase" the store's ability to serve customers and service products.
Steve Jobs personally welcomed the first customers to Apple Fifth Avenue when the store opened in 2006. Since then, Apple says the location has had over 57 million visitors, and more visitors on an annual basis than other New York City landmarks like the Statue of Liberty and Empire State Building.
Apple CEO Tim Cook:
Our customers are at the center of everything we do, and Apple Fifth Avenue is for them, to inspire them, and to provide the very best place to discover our newest products. It's unique among Apple stores, and today it returns even more welcoming, and even more beautiful than ever. We're so proud to be a part of this great city where so much happens every day.
Apple Fifth Avenue reopens Friday at 8 a.m. local time and remains the company's only retail store open 24 hours per day and 365 days per year. Apple says the store will be staffed with 900 employees who speak over 30 languages.
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