A Day at Trump Tower

Tourists walk by Trump Tower on 725 Fifth Avenue. The building’s five-level lobby is open to the public every day from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. (Lilly Maier/NYU)

A photo essay by Lilly Maier

The iconic Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue has been popular long before Donald Trump announced his presidential bid here. After all, it’s where “The Apprentice” was shot, and where brands like Gucci or Nike have big stores.

But now the golden and marble lobby attracts more people than ever.

The 68-story Trump Tower overlooks most of its neighboring buildings. More than half of the floors are residential, one of the tenants is Mr. Trump himself. (Lilly Maier/NYU)

Golden escalators lead visitors to a variety of different shops and restaurants. Ever since Donald Trump has announced his campaign, the number of people coming to the building has increased significantly, according to several employees. (Lilly Maier/NYU)

The 60 foot high indoor waterfall is a main attraction at Trump Tower. (Lilly Maier/NYU)

A barista makes coffee at the second-floor Starbucks. Following the “Red Cup Controversy,” Donald Trump has threatened to “boycott” and “end the lease” of the popular store at a recent campaign event in Springfield, Ill. (Lilly Maier/NYU)

A small army of doormen, lift boys and security guards makes sure everything runs smoothly, and nobody enters the non-public floors. In addition, police officers and Secret Service agents can be spotted in the building, since Donald Trump’s request for Secret Service protection has been granted in early November. (Lilly Maier/NYU)

Trump supporters can shop at a total of three Trump Gift Stores. Products include golden chocolate bars, all of Mr. Trump’s books, campaign merchandise and a clothing line that was previously sold at Macy’s. The department store has pulled all of Donald Trump’s products after he referred to immigrants from Mexico as “killers and rapists.” (Lilly Maier/NYU)

Johnny Gonzalez,27, is studying accounting while working full time at Trump Tower. He has been a doorman for over eight years, and appeared in a couple of shots in NBC’s “The Apprentice.” (Lilly Maier/NYU)

“I don’t feel like a doorman here,” said Gonzalez. “Everybody is really nice, and Mr. Trump knows all of us by name.” — “I was here when Mr. Trump announced his campaign. We were all hoping he would do it. We are all excited.” (Lilly Maier/NYU)

This teddy bear is on sale at the first-floor Trump Gift Store. All the proceeds from the “Make America Great Again”-merchandise go directly to the campaign. (Lilly Maier/NYU).

A man unloads chairs from an elevator that connects the lobby to Donald Trump’s campaign offices. (Lilly Maier/NYU)

A cleaning man swabs the marble floor in the Trump Tower lobby. Although the building is open until 10 p.m., all of the shops and many of the restaurants are already closed an hour before. (Lilly Maier/NYU)