What's the story behind its hight?
Along with Edge NYC Observation Deck, Rockefeller Center - Top of the Rock und Empire State Building, the One World Trade Center observation deck is the highest in New York and provides a 360-degree panorama of the Big Apple. However, the height of 541m (1,776 ft) was not chosen by chance. In 1776, the US Declaration of Independence was adopted, releasing the country from British rule. Freedom Tower
For the Ground Zero site, where the first World Trade Center stood before the attacks, the construction of a new skyscraper was planned as early as 2002. Initially, the skyscraper, which was already under construction since 2004’s Independence Day, was also called Freedom Tower, and this name is still used in the vernacular. The architectural firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill based its design on an initial draft by architect Daniel Libeskind, who also designed the Jewish Museum in Berlin, among other things.
Brooklyn Bridge infront of the One World Trade Center | Photo: Unsplash, Ana Lanza11 years of construction
After 11 years of construction, the new One World Trade Center with its 541m (1,776 ft) height was finally completed in 2015. This ultra-modern skyscraper, the seventh tallest in the world, houses mainly offices in addition to the observation deck and restaurant on a total of 104 floors. As an office building, it is actually the tallest in the world.
9/11 Memorial | Photo: Unsplash, jesper blijdesteinThe World Trade Center is bigger than you think
One World Trade Center is merely the centerpiece of a much larger World Trade Center complex. Before and after the completion of the gigantic skyscraper in downtown, a memorial, a museum and five other office buildings, numbered from two to five and seven, were also built, in addition to a park (Liberty Park) and a new Greek Orthodox church, after the previous building did not survive the attack.