Baltimore's Top of the World observation deck came within a hair of shutting down for good last year. Now the 27th-floor Inner Harbor attraction is plotting a renovation that CEO Robyn Murphy says will finally drag it into the 21st century, with new gallery walls, updated digital kiosks and an expanded gift shop planned for less than $5 million.
A Preview of What's Coming
Create Baltimore, the nonprofit that operates Top of the World for the city, held a private preview of the renovation plans Thursday at the attraction itself, according to The Baltimore Banner. Murphy told the outlet the renovation would cost under $5 million and that an updated version of the attraction could debut in less than three years if the plans proceed as intended. The proposed changes include new art gallery walls, flooring, ceiling finishes and lighting, along with interactive digital kiosks focused on Baltimore neighborhoods.
Top of the World sits on the 27th floor of the Baltimore World Trade Center at 401 E. Pratt St., a building the State of Maryland owns, per the Banner's reporting. Opened in 1979, the observation level offers 360-degree views of the city and houses the 9/11 Memorial of Maryland, which lists the names of Marylanders killed in the attacks, according to Capital Gazette. The deck sits 423 feet above the harbor's edge, the same outlet reported.
Stuck in an Earlier Era
Murphy didn't mince words about the attraction's current state, telling the Banner it has worn carpet and dated displays that leave out newer cultural milestones. The exhibits reportedly skip over the Ravens' 2013 Super Bowl win, Michael Phelps' record-breaking Olympic run and Wes Moore's election victories. They also don't mention television shows filmed in the city, including The Wire, Veep and House of Cards. Per Murphy, the displays haven't been updated since before Baltimore had a woman as mayor — the city has since had four.
The planned kiosks would replace that static signage with large touch screens and headphone jacks for supplemental audio, allowing information to be updated practically in real time, Murphy said. The attraction is currently open Wednesdays through Sundays, with admission ranging from $5 to $8 depending on age and free entry for children under 3.
A Lease That Nearly Ran Out
The renovation push comes after a tumultuous stretch for Top of the World's future. According to the Banner, Create Baltimore announced in January 2025 that the attraction would close that May at the end of a 20-year lease with Maryland — a closure separately confirmed by WBAL-TV, which reported the state was declining to renew the lease so it could free up office space for state agencies. The Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts had managed the attraction since 2005, Capital Gazette noted, hosting exhibitions, receptions and author talks in the space over two decades.
A temporary agreement in May 2025 extended that management arrangement through November, Capital Gazette reported. Create Baltimore reached an agreement with Maryland in October 2025 to continue operating the attraction, according to the Banner. Coverage of that deal has varied: The Baltimore Sun described it at the time as a new long-term agreement to keep the landmark open, while a Board of Estimates vote that November approved a separate lease extension allowing the attraction to remain through June 30, 2026, per Baltimore Fishbowl. Later reporting from the same outlet described a holdover month-to-month extension of up to three months while the Maryland Port Administration, which manages the building for the state, continued long-term lease discussions with the city.
Murphy told the Banner that Create Baltimore and Maryland have agreed to a long-term contract in principle, though final details remain to be worked out, and that the current operating agreement expires in January 2027. Create Baltimore signed short-term agreements in the meantime to keep the attraction running until that long-term contract is finalized, and Murphy said she is confident a long-term lease will soon be approved. Murphy, an Edmondson Village native, added that Maryland has been enthusiastic about preserving Top of the World as a public-good space.
What Was Almost Lost
Calvin Young, whom the Banner quoted as crediting Murphy with helping keep the attraction open, said Top of the World would have become a casualty of the earlier closure plans, with the site instead turned into office space had those plans proceeded. That near-miss is part of why the renovation preview carries extra weight for the people who run the attraction — a decades-old perch on the city's skyline that, as of this week, looks set to stick around.
