One World Trade Center Receives Final Spire Piece on Picturesque Day (PHOTO)
The final piece of the spire atop One World Trade Center was secured in place Friday 4,256 days after that fateful and unforgettable day.
The building, which has also been called the Freedom Tower, stands 1,776 feet (541 meters) making it the tallest building in the western hemisphere. It symbolizes American strength in the face of adversity and dominates the lower Manhattan skyline that has been empty since 9/11.
The tower will eclipse the Empire State Building. Currently standing at 1,250 feet, it cost just under $4 billion to construct, but the true value of what it means not only to New Yorkers, but to the rest of the nation, can never be measured.
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One World Trade, which is the lead building of the new World Trade Center complex, is being constructed on the same site where the original World Trade Center towers (the Twin Towers) once stood.
The Twin Towers were completely destroyed during the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, which left at least 3,000 people dead. A memorial was recently completed that includes two reflecting pools following the fallen towers footprints. Etched in stone surrounding the reflecting pools are the names of those lost on that day.
The 104-story skyscraper is specifically being built in the northwest corner of the 16-acre World Trade Center site where the original 8-story 6 World Trade Center previously stood.
One World Trade Center will be the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere but will remain surpassed by the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which stands at 2,716 feet.
Among the world's tallest buildings that were surpassed by One World Trade Center are the Taipei 101 located in Taipei, Taiwan standing at 1,670 feet, and the Shanghai World Financial Center in Shanghai, China which stands at 1,614 feet.
