No Filter Needed: Watch NYC Glow Against an Otherworldly Autumn Sunset

New York City experienced a surreal sunset last Sunday; one of the best in recent memory. The sky was dull and overcast for most of the afternoon but when the sun began to sink below the cloud-line, the city transitioned to a hue often reserved for sci-fi films and the outlandish renderings of our banal real estate developments. The tie-dye sky was so vivid that even the prosaic glass-walled rental towers on the Far West Side appeared majestic. During the sun’s 15-minute adieu, the sky transitioned from soft pink, to a ribbony purple, and then to an electric tangerine; ultimately billowing into a fiery blaze over New Jersey.

So what caused the city to be enveloped into this watercolor masterpiece? According to ABC News meteorologist Jeff Smith, a storm over Eastern Long Island created a situation that when the sun was going down, light caressed the high- and mid-level cloud bottoms resulting in the gorgeous sunset, which 6sqft captured in a gorgeous photo series.

The final structural beams are being put in place at Hudson Yards’ first skyscraper 15 Hudson Yards. It’s shingled skin designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF) and skyward-facing facets prove ideal in reflecting Hudson River sunsets. Space in the enigmatic tower is nearly fully accounted for with a roster of tenants that includes Coach, Boston Consulting Group, L’Oreal USA, SAP AG and VaynerMedia. A flock of cranes to the right of the tower mark where its taller twin 30 Hudson Yards will soar. Also rising into view is Brookfield Properties’ 64-story residential tower at 435 West 31st Street.

A relatively new cluster of mammoth apartment buildings tower over the Far West Side. The glassy rental developments include Silverstein’s Silver Towers, Moinian’s SKY, and Extell’s under construction 555 Tenth Avenue. The green-glass Olivia and The Orion rise towards the right.

FXFowle’s recently completed forward-looking condominium tower 35XV reflects the sunset. Toll Brothers’ 55 West 17th Street under construction condo-tower rises to the right.

Here, we’re looking south over Chelsea towards the spires of the Financial District. Across the Hudson River, the Jersey City skyline is giving west siders something worth looking at.

Rising 350 feet high, JDS Development and Property Markets Group’s Walker Tower at 212 West 18th Street is one of the tallest buildings in Chelsea and provides commanding views of the cityscape and harbor. In 2014, CetraRuddy crowned the telecom building with 47 condominium units and a design that pays homage to the Ralph Walker-designed classic below,

One World Trade Center soars into a painted sky. On the left, the core of 3 WTC climbs skyward and behind it the angled elevation of 4 WTC reflects the last bits of sunlight uptown.

A lucky evening to be atop the observation deck of the Empire State Building….

…or atop one of the city’s now-numerous rooftop hotel bars

Reflecting something meaningful is the most we can hope for many of the glass skyscrapers remaking the Far West Side.

A view over the the roofdeck of the Chelsea Mercantile condo building.

A Pennsylvania-based trio called SunsetWx provides regular sunset quality forecasts from coast to coast, and whose maps accurately predicted last Sunday’s sunset for the region.

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All photos via 6sqft