Apple’s Latest Store on New York’s Upper West Side Is a “Temple”

Leander Kahney ()

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Gizmodo toured Apple’s just-opened retail store on the Upper West Side, and calls it a “temple” to the company’s products.

I call it a temple because the architecture conveys a nearly religious aesthetic, a place to worship Apple, beyond any other Apple store you’ve ever been to. The top floor’s a vast open space, enclosed by spartan stone walls which support a massive glass ceiling. The rows of tables in the main room feel like pews.

I can’t tell you – and the pictures can’t show you – how utterly open and expansive the room feels. Apple says it has more demo units than any other store in the world. To give you an idea of the space, the walls are 45 feet tall, and could fit 11 Apple 5th Avenue Cubes inside. It’s the spareness that’s breathtaking. It’s cold. Not literally, but the stone walls, the glass, the sheer space rob it of any sense of warmth or feeling. The only sense of life in room is the products. It’s a temple to them, really.

More pictures after the jump.

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Pic courtesy of Gizmodo reader, David.

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15 comments »

About the author

Leander Kahney

is the editor and publisher of Cult of Mac, and author of three books about technology culture: Inside Steve’s Brain, the New York Times bestseller about Steve Jobs; Cult of Mac; and Cult of iPod. Leander has written for Wired, MacWeek, Scientific American, and The Guardian in London. Follow Leander on Twitter @lkahney and Facebook.

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Posted in AppleTV, News, Retail Stores |

  • Jesusphone

    By “Gizmodo” you really mean “Apple,” right? Because Apple feeds Gizmodo hypey phrases and lines like “Apple temple” which it dutifully parrots back to readers for re-tweeting at sites like this.

  • bigpics

    A little fancier than my down-the-road Radio Shack fer shure!

    But do I detect a hint of hubris here? These shrines to the Cult of Mac could quickly become very expensive dead weight if Apple ever experiences another rough patch.

    And even now you and I are paying the heating and air conditioning bill to allow such fetishes while maintaining AAPL’s net margins……..

  • imajoebob

    Scariest is that you’ll be waiting in line to try one during Christmas shopping.

  • http://deoclicianocgiportfolio.wordpress.com Deocliciano Okssipin Vieira

    In a capitalist country people still do NOT understand capitalism?

    Apple does Bizz, not charity!

    Only people with Free-Will enter there to shop, otherwise you buy what the majority buy.

  • ged

    SUPER COOL, like the new iMac

  • Larry

    I suspect Apple is very careful to try to invest wisely.
    I would have to guess that a building like that is profitable to Apple, even though I don’t know in what way.
    How can I argue with 1.6 billion (profit) in last quarter on just iphone sales.

  • Temple

    What time are people going to be lining up?

  • emac2299

    Looks Beautiful. Just like my eglass theme on my iphone. But it does not look like Temple at all. Rather it looks like a Squash Playing Court. Anyway, Glass need lot or maintanance. Get ready….

  • Fuzzypig

    I do love those bouncy black ball-stools! My kids can’t resist ‘em, on the odd occasion we manage to get to the local store here in London!

    Betetr keep this page away from my Missus or she’ll be booking flights for a Xmas shopping trip to NY!

  • http://53degrees.wordpress.com Eoin O’Mahony

    The architecture of affluence. Where are Apple’s green credentials with all of that empty space?

  • iGenius

    “Where are Apple’s green credentials with all of that empty space?”

    They are floating 45 feet above the customer’s heads, up where the wasted heat accumulates.

    This friggin place is an iSore. The architects should be shot.

  • http://monasapple.blogspot.com mona

    well i’ll be…!!!! not two or three weeks ago i walked by the construction site and it was no more than a pile of rubble. how did they build this so quickly!? i’m still in shock.

  • CaryMG

    IT’S JUST AN ELECTRONICS STORE

    *YAWN*

    I can see it from my window.

  • Fuzzypig

    Looking at it again, half expect Bart Simpson to appear and start stirring up trouble, just like “that” episode! LOL!

  • Dan O.

    Sure it’s just an electronic store with an energy-wasting ceiling, but it fits well into the demographics of New York City. I believe it will be another hit in Apple’s conservative climb to success.
    Regards,
    Dan ~