The Empire State Building will light up with fall colors for Thanksgiving

The Empire State Building lit in autumn hues for #Thanksgiving tonight. We're thankful to share this holiday with you! 📷: @isardasorensen pic.twitter.com/JcXNKkL4zz

— Good Morning America (@GMA) November 25, 2016

If you’re not brave enough to venture outside NYC for Thanksgiving, don’t worry—there are plenty of things to do right here over the holiday weekend. You can volunteer, attend the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade or escape the tedium of family gatherings and step outside into the eerily peaceful city streets to peer up at the Empire State Building’s autumnal light show. 

RECOMMENDED: A full guide to Thanksgiving in NYC

The Empire State Building has lit up for most monumental occasions this year, including the Fourth of July, Halloween and the solar eclipse. This Thursday and Friday, the Fifth Avenue tower will be lit with festive fall lights—the warm oranges and reds that were missing from the fall foliage this year. (Blame the record-breaking heat wave earlier this fall for that one.) 

The building itself remains open throughout the entire holiday weekend, from 8am to 2am daily, and it will likely be less crowded with tourists than usual if you go right around dinnertime on Thursday. 

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