The Empire State Building was famous long before King Kong ever scaled its Art Deco heights. It was once the tallest building in the world and even though it lost that claim a long time ago, it's still mighty impressive. The Empire State Building is still tall enough to offer a pretty insane view of the Manhattan skyline and people crowd the 86th floor observation deck day and night.

But it turns out that a select few - mostly famous celebrities and New York power brokers - get to ascend even higher up the building, to a special VIP aerie that's something else.

Accessible by little more than a yellow ladder, the 103rd floor observation deck overlooks an expansive view of Manhattan, and looms above the public observation floor.

Take a look at a few highlights below and check out much more here!