One World Trade Center
One World Trade Center, also known as One World Trade, One WTC, and formerly called the Freedom Tower during initial planning stages,[note 1] is the main building of the rebuilt World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Designed by David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, One World Trade Center is the tallest building in the United States, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, and the seventh-tallest in the world. The supertall structure has the same name as the North Tower of the original World Trade Center, which was destroyed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The new skyscraper stands on the northwest corner of the 16-acre (6.5 ha) World Trade Center site, on the site of the original 6 World Trade Center. It is bounded by West Street to the west, Vesey Street to the north, Fulton Street to the south, and Washington Street to the east.
"Freedom Tower" redirects here. For other uses of "Freedom Tower" and "One World Trade Center", see Freedom Tower (disambiguation) and One World Trade Center (disambiguation).One World Trade Center
- 1 WTC
- Freedom Tower (pre-2009)[1]
Completed
- Office
- Observation
- Communication
285 Fulton Street
Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
April 27, 2006
May 10, 2013[12]
1,792 ft (546.2 m)[5]
407.9 ft (124.3 m)
1,368 ft (417.0 m)[9]
1,268 ft (386.5 m)[5]
1,268 ft (386.5 m)[5]
3,501,274 sq ft (325,279 m2)[5]
73[5] made by ThyssenKrupp[10]
Jaros, Baum & Bolles (MEP)[5]
Hill International, The Louis Berger Group[11]
The construction of below-ground utility relocations, footings, and foundations for the new building began on April 27, 2006. One World Trade Center became the tallest structure in New York City on April 30, 2012, when it surpassed the height of the Empire State Building. The tower's steel structure was topped out on August 30, 2012. On May 10, 2013, the final component of the skyscraper's spire was installed, making the building, including its spire, reach a total height of 1,776 feet (541 m). Its height in feet is a deliberate reference to the year when the United States Declaration of Independence was signed. The building opened on November 3, 2014;[14] the One World Observatory opened on May 29, 2015.[15]
On March 26, 2009, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) confirmed that the building would be officially known by its legal name of "One World Trade Center", rather than its colloquial name of "Freedom Tower".[16][17][18] The building has 94 stories, with the top floor numbered 104.
The new World Trade Center complex will eventually include five high-rise office buildings built along Greenwich Street, as well as the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, located just south of One World Trade Center where the original Twin Towers stood. The construction of the new building is part of an effort to memorialize and rebuild following the destruction of the original World Trade Center complex.
Incidents
In September 2013, three BASE jumpers parachuted off the then-under-construction tower. The three men and one accomplice on the ground surrendered to authorities in March 2014.[192] They were convicted of several misdemeanors in June 2015[193] and sentenced to community service and a fine.[194][195]
In March 2014, tower security was breached by 16-year-old Weehawken, New Jersey resident Justin Casquejo, who entered the site through a hole in a fence. He was arrested on trespassing charges.[196] He allegedly dressed like a construction worker, sneaked in, and convinced an elevator operator to lift him to the tower's 88th floor, according to news sources. He then used stairways to get to the 104th floor, walked past a sleeping security guard, and climbed up a ladder to get to the antenna, where he took pictures for two hours.[197] The elevator operator was reassigned, and the guard was fired.[198][199] It was then revealed that officials had failed to install security cameras in the tower, which facilitated Casquejo's entry to the site.[200][201] Casquejo was sentenced to 23 days of community service as a result.[202]
Reception
The social center of the previous One World Trade Center included a restaurant on the 107th floor, called Windows on the World, and The Greatest Bar on Earth; these were tourist attractions in their own right, and a gathering spot for people who worked in the towers.[203][204] This restaurant also housed one of the most prestigious wine schools in the United States, called "Windows on the World Wine School", run by wine personality Kevin Zraly.[205] Despite numerous assurances that these attractions would be rebuilt,[206] the Port Authority scrapped plans to rebuild them, which has outraged some observers.[207]
The fortified base of the tower has also been a source of controversy. Some critics, including Deroy Murdock of the National Review,[208] have said that it is alienating and dull, and reflects a sense of fear rather than freedom, leading them to dub the building "the Fear Tower".[209] Nicolai Ouroussoff, the architecture critic for The New York Times, calls the tower base a "grotesque attempt to disguise its underlying paranoia".[210]
Key figures
Developer
Larry Silverstein of Silverstein Properties, the leaseholder and developer of the complex, retains control of the surrounding buildings, while the Port Authority has full control of the tower itself. Silverstein signed a 99-year lease for the World Trade Center site in July 2001, and remains actively involved in most aspects of the site's redevelopment process.[235]
Before construction of the new tower began, Silverstein was involved in an insurance dispute regarding the tower. The terms of the lease agreement signed in 2001, a $3.22 billion bid to lease-purchase the World Trade Center,[236] of which Silverstein personally put up $14 million,[237] gave Silverstein, as leaseholder, the right and obligation to rebuild the structures if they were destroyed.[238] After the September 11 attacks, there were a series of disputes between Silverstein and insurance companies concerning the insurance policies that covered the original towers; this resulted in the construction of One World Trade Center being delayed. After a trial, a verdict was rendered on April 29, 2004. The verdict was that ten of the insurers involved in the dispute were subject to the "one occurrence" interpretation, so their liability was limited to the face value of those policies. Three insurers were added to the second trial group.[239][240] At that time, the jury was unable to reach a verdict on one insurer, Swiss Reinsurance, but it did so several days later on May 3, 2004, finding that this company was also subject to the "one occurrence" interpretation.[241] Silverstein appealed the Swiss Reinsurance decision, but the appeal failed on October 19, 2006.[242] The second trial resulted in a verdict on December 6, 2004. The jury determined that nine insurers were subject to the "two occurrences" interpretation, referring to the fact that two different planes had destroyed the towers during the September 11 attacks. They were therefore liable for a maximum of double the face value of those particular policies ($2.2 billion).[243] The highest potential payout was $4.577 billion, for buildings 1, 2, 4, and 5.[244]
In March 2007, Silverstein appeared at a rally of construction workers and public officials outside an insurance industry conference. He highlighted what he described as the failures of insurers Allianz and Royal & Sun Alliance to pay $800 million in claims related to the attacks. Insurers state that an agreement to split payments between Silverstein and the Port Authority is a cause for concern.[245]
Key project coordinators
David Childs, one of Silverstein's favorite architects, joined the project after being urged by him. Childs developed a design for One World Trade Center, initially collaborating with Daniel Libeskind. In May 2005, Childs revised the design to address security concerns. He is the architect of the tower, and is responsible for overseeing its day-to-day design and development.[246]
