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| The One World Trade Center and Manhattan skyline is seen from New Jersey. A steel column was hoisted atop the tower yesterday, making it New York’s tallest building. The first column of the 100th floor of One World Trade Center brought the tower to a height of 1,271ft (387m), making it 21ft (6m) higher than the Empire State Building. Inset: The Empire State Building is illuminated with cherry blossom colours on Sunday. The colours were used in honour of the centennial of Japan’s gift of cherry blossom trees to the US |
The World Trade Center tower built to replace the destroyed Twin Towers became New York’s tallest skyscraper yesterday, surpassing the iconic Empire State Building.
Workers gently manoeuvered a steel column into its base atop the skyscraper’s skeletal top, bringing the total height to just beyond the 1,250ft (381m) of the Empire State Building’s observation deck.
The Port Authority, which owns the site, announced “a major milestone in the construction of One World Trade Center,” certifying that the building would now “surpass the height of the Empire State Building, which currently is the tallest structure in New York City.”
One World Trade Center, also known as Freedom Tower, is already a gleaming, angular landmark on the city’s skyline. It will get still taller as construction winds up late next year, finally reaching 1,776ft (541.3m) and 104 floors, with architectural and security designs that US authorities believe would withstand terrorist attacks. The symbolic figure 1776 represents the year in which the US Declaration of Independence was signed.
Not only will that dwarf the 1930s masterpiece of the Empire State Building, but it will be higher than the old Twin Towers, which both collapsed, killing almost 3,000 people, during the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Once completed, it will be the tallest building in the United States, taking over the current Sears Tower in Chicago (1,451ft).
The tallest building in the world will remain Burj Khalifa in Dubai, measuring 2,717ft (828.1m), but One World Trade Center will be the highest in the western hemisphere.
Although the mammoth construction work to resurrect the Ground Zero area is at last nearing fruition, the project has been plagued by billions of dollars in cost overruns, as well as delays, bickering over designs, and worries over whether the office space will be profitable.
However, Mayor Michael Bloomberg stressed the positive, underlining the city’s relationship with ambitious architecture.
“The New York City skyline is, once again, stretching to new heights,” Bloomberg said. “The latest progress at the World Trade Center is a testament to New Yorkers’ strength and resolve - and to our belief in a city that is always reaching upward.”
“Today our city has a new tallest building and a new sense of how bright our future is,” Bloomberg said.
At least four other skyscrapers are being built on the site of the September 11 attacks, which is being developed as a new commercial and cultural centre.