Penobscot Observation Deck To Reopen?

**davewindsor** · January-30-15, 06:52 PM

Originally Posted by animatedmartian

And what if people would rather not buy a drink? What if they're not even open? [[They're literally closed half the day and on Sundays) You still can't go up there without being forced to patronize the restaurant and it's not worth going up there to buy something I don't want just so I can do something else. It needs to be a real observation deck.

Are you telling me you don't drink fluids? Are you an alien? I forgot, apparently your martian physiology doesn't allow for it. Hell, why don't you just hover your spaceship above the city and take pictures?

I bought a coffee and they let me sit up there and take pictures. A lot cheaper than the twenty bucks i'd have to pay to go up the Penobscot if it ever came to fruition.

PS Why do you think it's closed half the day? This is an observation area without competition and you want to add another observation area to downtown to compete with the Ren Centre? Perhaps, there's just not enough tourist traffic to sustain one of them. So what sense does it make to add another one??

**Hypestyles** · January-30-15, 07:17 PM

What is available for people to do in that building anyway, as of now.. ?

**animatedmartian** · January-30-15, 07:42 PM

Originally Posted by davewindsor

Are you telling me you don't drink fluids? Are you an alien? I forgot, apparently your martian physiology doesn't allow for it. Hell, why don't you just hover your spaceship above the city and take pictures?

I bought a coffee and they let me sit up there and take pictures. A lot cheaper than the twenty bucks i'd have to pay to go up the Penobscot if it ever came to fruition.

PS Why do you think it's closed half the day? This is an observation area without competition and you want to add another observation area to downtown to compete with the Ren Centre? Perhaps, there's just not enough tourist traffic to sustain one of them. So what sense does it make to add another one??

It's closed because it's a restaurant, not an observation deck. Completely two different operations. I don't have to patronize a restaurant if I don't want to.

Tourist traffic has nothing to do with it. If it did, then you wouldn't have to buy a drink when you go up there. Real observation decks might have a cafe off to the side along with souvenirs and other touristy merchandise, but you're never required to buy any of it.

**davewindsor** · January-30-15, 07:53 PM

Originally Posted by animatedmartian

It's closed because it's a restaurant, not an observation deck. Completely two different operations. I don't have to patronize a restaurant if I don't want to.

The reason I went up there was to get a view of the city, not patronize a restaurant. Patronizing a restaurant was simply the admission price to accomplish my objective.

Originally Posted by animatedmartian

Tourist traffic has nothing to do with it. If it did, then you wouldn't have to buy a drink when you go up there. Real observation decks might have a cafe off to the side along with souvenirs and other touristy merchandise, but you're never required to buy any of it.

Tourist traffic has everything to do with it. I'm a tourist and that's why I went up there. I know a lot of other "tourists" that did the same thing.

All that matters at the end of the day is how much money came out of my wallet. If it's cheaper to buy a drink to get the highest view of downtown than to pay a cover, why wouldn't any reasonable person do that? I don't get your point.

**animatedmartian** · January-30-15, 08:55 PM

Originally Posted by davewindsor

The reason I went up there was to get a view of the city, not patronize a restaurant. Patronizing a restaurant was simply the admission price to accomplish my objective.

You're still forced to patronize the restaurant.

Tourist traffic has everything to do with it. I'm a tourist and that's why I went up there. I know a lot of other "tourists" that did the same thing.

All that matters at the end of the day is how much money came out of my wallet. If it's cheaper to buy a drink to get the highest view of downtown than to pay a cover, why wouldn't any reasonable person do that? I don't get your point.

Because what's the point of buying something that you don't want? Why should I have to spend a single dollar at that restaurant when I can just go to other observatories to get what I want with nothing else?

**Detroit** · January-30-15, 10:09 PM

Originally Posted by animatedmartian

Because the Ren Cen doesn't have an observation deck. You can't go into Couch Insignia unless you're a customer and you can't take pictures.

There are tours offered of the RenCen including a trip up to the restaurant and you are allowed to take photos. I'm sure if you google it you can find information or you can inquire at the information desk in the winter garden.

**animatedmartian** · January-30-15, 10:25 PM

Originally Posted by Detroit

There are tours offered of the RenCen including a trip up to the restaurant and you are allowed to take photos. I'm sure if you google it you can find information or you can inquire at the information desk in the winter garden.

Yea, they're at 12 noon and 2 pm.

But still, the point is that dedicated observation decks are open all day and year round and all I have to do a pay a ticket and go in. In Detroit, there's no official observation deck so you have to go through all these unnecessary hoops to achieve the same thing.

**old guy** · January-31-15, 01:20 AM

I'm just tossing this out there but, I don't see any reason why, if they're even a reasonably competent company, they couldn't figure out a way to open an observation/sky deck, make a few bucks, lose a few bucks but draw attention to their property.

You own a building that size with a view like that. Why wouldn't you utilize it.

Other people have. It seems to be a popular urban thing.

dwindsor, maybe you're like me, lay on the couch and watch football, maybe some trout fishing. But there are people that enjoy other things.

Attachment 25709

Trust me, there are safe ways to do this. It's an investment, it's probably a decent return. One more reason to visit Detroit or enjoy it while you're visiting.

Some people don't want to ride donkey's down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

**Gistok** · January-31-15, 01:27 AM

I agree with you old guy.... [[you can cancel me from that donkey ride). At least half of all the buildings downtown have windows that open [[as was seen many years ago by that guy who jumped out of the window at the Buhl Building)... so the concern of falling objects [[pennies, marbles, people) would be no worse for the Penobscot Observation Deck than it is in much of downtown....

**davewindsor** · January-31-15, 01:34 PM

Originally Posted by animatedmartian

Because what's the point of buying something that you don't want? Why should I have to spend a single dollar at that restaurant when I can just go to other observatories to get what I want with nothing else?

You are buying admission when you buy the drink. If you don't want to pay to get in, go during the free hours or pay for admission elsewhere. It's that simple. It's not gonna be free at the Penobscot either.

**animatedmartian** · January-31-15, 02:02 PM

Originally Posted by davewindsor

You are buying admission when you buy the drink. If you don't want to pay to get in, go during the free hours or pay for admission elsewhere. It's that simple. It's not gonna be free at the Penobscot either.

I don't want to pay for an expensive drink when they are cheaper drinks elsewhere. They are charging you for the drink, not for being up there.

I would rather pay $10 for the Penosbcot Observatory than $4 for a coffee that I could go somewhere else to get cheaper. Doesn't matter if it's a taller building or whatever, it's still overspending money on something that I don't want.

DetroitBoy · January-31-15, 02:03 PM

The Empire State building is a huge attraction with an entire theme built around 'the experience'. They have made it about more than just the view. A concept like this could work in Detroit one day when we begin to attract volumes of tourists. It really is a possibilty. Look at the light show they do with the building also. At $29 or more for each visitor a lot can happen.

http://www.esbnyc.com/explore

http://www.esbnyc.com

**iheartthed** · January-31-15, 02:16 PM

Originally Posted by davewindsor

You are buying admission when you buy the drink. If you don't want to pay to get in, go during the free hours or pay for admission elsewhere. It's that simple. It's not gonna be free at the Penobscot either.

Dude, do you work for Coach Insignia or something? If you don't like the idea then don't go. They wouldn't be targeting you as a customer anyway since it's a tourist draw, not for someone who lives a 10 minute drive across the river.

**davewindsor** · January-31-15, 06:48 PM

Originally Posted by iheartthed

Dude, do you work for Coach Insignia or something? If you don't like the idea then don't go. They wouldn't be targeting you as a customer anyway since it's a tourist draw, not for someone who lives a 10 minute drive across the river.

Are you making a commitment to pay $20 to go up to the Penobscot Observation Deck if it opens as well? We'll see how well it does if they do a trial run. I think it'll be a bust. A lot of people love to talk the talk here, but I get the feeling that when it comes down to shelling out 20 bucks to go up there most won't--they'll just b==ch about how expensive it was in the next post after it closes a month after it opens because it didn't break even.

**davewindsor** · January-31-15, 06:51 PM

Originally Posted by animatedmartian

I don't want to pay for an expensive drink when they are cheaper drinks elsewhere. They are charging you for the drink, not for being up there.

I would rather pay $10 for the Penosbcot Observatory than $4 for a coffee that I could go somewhere else to get cheaper. Doesn't matter if it's a taller building or whatever, it's still overspending money on something that I don't want.

You'd rather pay $10 admission than $4 for coffee as admission. Yeah that makes a whole lot of sense.

Not that it'd be $10 anyway, more like $20.

**Gistok** · January-31-15, 08:23 PM

Originally Posted by davewindsor

You'd rather pay $10 admission than $4 for coffee as admission. Yeah that makes a whole lot of sense.

Not that it'd be $10 anyway, more like $20.

Where do you keep coming up with this $20 figure.... besides you, no reference source has mentioned an amount? That's not logic... that's just making up a number and then using it as part of an argument....

**davewindsor** · January-31-15, 09:37 PM

Originally Posted by Gistok

Where do you keep coming up with this $20 figure.... besides you, no reference source has mentioned an amount? That's not logic... that's just making up a number and then using it as part of an argument....

$20 is my minimum guestimate. It may even be higher like $29 like someone posted was the cost of the Empire State Building. I already broke it down how. There's employees that have to be paid, there's insurance, etc.