Tech

Apple showing its new campus to outsiders for the first time Tuesday

Key Points
  • Apple is inviting outsiders to Apple Park for the first time on Tuesday.
  • Press and other VIPs will attend for Apple's new iPhone announcements.
  • The event will be held in the new Steve Jobs Theater.
The Apple Campus 2 is seen under construction in Cupertino, California in this aerial photo taken January 13, 2017.
Noah Berger | Reuters

Apple will invite outsiders to its new campus — named Apple Park — for the first time on Tuesday as it unveils the new iPhone inside the Steve Jobs Theater, pictured below.

Apple Park, or the Spaceship Campus as it has been referred to by onlookers, is a massive circular campus in Cupertino, California, that opened in April of this year.

The Steve Jobs Theater at Apple Park
Courtesy of Apple

It was a project started by Apple founder Steve Jobs back in 2006 when he acquired the new land for the facility. Jobs presented his plans for Apple Park to Cupertino in 2011, months before he passed away. Cupertino officially approved it in October 2013.

The campus — referred to as "The Ring" by Apple employees, according to Wired — was designed by Jony Ive, the same Apple executive credited with designing Apple's best-known products. Ive included unique design details throughout the building, such as a four-story glass door and custom door handles.

Source: Apple

Apple Park sits on 175 acres of land, features a building with 2.8 million square feet of space, and is powered by 100 percent renewable energy, including 17 megawatts of rooftop solar power, according to the company. It's home to the new 1,000-seat Steve Jobs auditorium, which will be used for the first time Tuesday for an event unveiling the latest iPhones, Apple Watches and other products.

Visitors enter through a 20-foot-tall glass cylinder above the auditorium. Some reporters are already beginning to show up for the event. CNBC's Josh Lipton snapped this shot, among the first snapped by an outsider, earlier Tuesday morning:

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Later in the day, CNBC and other members of the press will get to walk through parts of the campus for the very first time.