The One World Trade Center tower is the tallest skyscraper in the southern hemisphere and the sixth tallest in the world. It is a long and elegant building; its upper part has an octagonal shape.
This building, which seems to be made exclusively of glass, is intended for office use. Considered one of the main symbols of New York and even of the United States, it attracts many tourists thanks in part to the breathtaking view that its panoramic balcony offers.
One World Trade Center, what you need to know
One World Observatory
The One World Observatory is located on the 102nd floor of the tower. The visit is open to the public with the purchase of a ticket.
The access to the terrace is located in the Global Welcome Center, a large room installed within the tower. While waiting in line, you can watch films about the construction of the building.
Then, you enter the high-speed elevators, the Sky Pods, to find yourself on the 102nd floor in less than 60 seconds!
It’s a very short time, but it allows you to watch a time-lapse video of the changing landscape of New York. Once out of the elevator, you will watch another video dedicated to New York.
It lasts for 2 minutes before the screen fades away to make room for the famous Skyline, the skyline on which New York’s tallest skyscrapers stand.
From this observation platform, you have a breathtaking view that extends from the bay where the Statue of Liberty stands to Central Park, passing by the Brooklyn Bridge and the Empire Stadium Building. Note that the visit is always indoors.
The 100th and 101st floors are part of the One World Observatory. The first one is part of the visual show while the second one is home to restaurants, bars, and souvenir stores.
World Trade Center and 1WTC specifics
In its entirety, the World Trade Center (WTC) complex occupies 6.5 hectares of Lower Manhattan. It is the main business center of New York.
It is bounded by Vesey Street to the north, Church Street to the east, Liberty Street to the south, and finally West Side Highway to the west. This last street runs along the banks of the Hudson.
The One World Trade Center tower is sometimes referred to as 1WTC, a number that indicates that the WTC neighborhood is home to several towers. The 1WTC tower is the largest building in the complex.
It stands at the corner of Vesey Street and West Side Highway, the same location as the small WTC6 building that was damaged in 2001 and demolished.
Indeed, most of the original towers collapsed or were irreparably damaged during the spectacular attacks of September 11, 2001. Since then, the WTC area has been undergoing a major renovation.
The One World Trade Center tower in figures
One World Trade Center was designed by David Childs, the architect associated with the firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill /New York. The antenna reaches 514 meters, while the roof of the building is located at 417 meters. The official height of the tower is 1776 feet.
This is a symbolic figure that corresponds to the year of the approval of the United States Declaration of Independence.
There are a total of 110 floors, some of which are exclusively dedicated to housing technical and security equipment.
The base of the tower has been reinforced to resist possible attacks. It rises to the 19th floor and also includes the 4 underground floors where the parking lots and the access to the subway are located. These floors house a huge lobby, a shopping center, and many unoccupied floors.
Almost 70 floors, or 270,000 m², are still available for rent and sale of offices. There are 54 high-speed elevators.
Construction of the building began in November 2006 and the final installation of the antenna was celebrated on May 10, 2013. The finishing touches took a few more months and finally, One World Trade Center was inaugurated on November 3, 2014.
To build One World Trade Center, it took 200,000 tons of concrete, 48,000 tons of steel, and 305,000 square meters of glass.
New York Observatories
A little history
The new World Trade Center complex is part of a plan to rebuild the site following the attacks of September 11, 2001. On that day, hijackers belonging to the terrorist group Al Qaeda crashed two airliners into each of the twin towers (1WTC and 2WTC).
A fire ensued which weakened the supporting structures and caused the collapse of both towers. In their fall, they destroyed and damaged the 7WTC and 6WTC. This terrorist attack killed 2996 people (2977 innocent victims and 19 hijackers).
Within days, President George Bush announced that the site and the towers would be rebuilt. The first building to go up was the museum that commemorates this dramatic historical event. It occupies the original location of 1WTC and 2WTC.
Many things attract tourists to the World Trade Center every day. The exterior beauty of the buildings, the commercial spaces located in the buildings, the restaurants, the 102nd-floor viewing balcony but also the WTC memorial area.
It is one of the major places in recent American history. It is therefore essential to visit the 9/11 Memorial & Museum to better understand the magnitude of the 9/11 attacks. You should also sit for a moment near the two pools.
Note that towers 3 and 4 of this vast project are completed. Towers 2 and 7 are still under construction.
