10 years, 232 days, 3 hours and 44 minutes later, World Trade Center tower is back on top in NYC

By Steve Strunsky

NEW YORK — It was a memorable day for everyone at One World Trade Center, including Ed Peterson, a union carpenter who has worked there for three years.

A friend of his was among 37 Port Authority Police officers killed on 9/11, so working on the tower has been much more than just a job for Peterson, of Oceanside, N.Y.

At 2:12 p.m., Monday became a monumental day for him and his coworkers at the building formerly known as Freedom Tower.

At that moment, a crane lowered a 26-foot interior steel column into the hands of ironworkers on the 100th floor.

That brought the tower’s height to 1,271 feet, and raised it above the Empire State Building as New York City’s tallest skyscraper.


Later, on the ground, Peterson couldn’t contain his emotions as he talked about how the tower’s progress has helped him deal with the loss of his friend. Turning toward the sparkling glass building, he said, "How can’t you be proud of that."

Like the tower itself, pride soared to new heights. The technologically and emotionally complex structure’s crowning as New York’s tallest was hailed as a triumph of American ingenuity and commitment over the terrorists who destroyed the original Twin Towers more than 10 years ago.

At 1,368 feet, those towers had reigned as the city’s tallest buildings from 1972 until their destruction restored the title to the Empire State Building. That symbol of New York City was built in 1930-31 to a height of 1,250 feet, not including a 204-foot antenna.

"What you see here today is a tremendous determination to rebuild, even higher, what we lost," said Bill Baroni, deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the tower’s developer. He addressed reporters gathered on the tower’s 71st floor to watch video monitors showing the column’s lowering.

Baroni noted Monday also marked the 91st anniversary of the Port Authority’s creation, and was the first anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden.

When completed in late 2013 or early 2014, WTC 1 will top out at 104 floors, while standing 1,776 feet high, including a 408-foot antenna. This will make it the tallest building in the western hemisphere.

The tallest manmade structure in the Western Hemisphere will continue to be the 2,063-foot-tall KVLY-TV antenna in Blanchard, N.D. And the world’s tallest building is the Burj Khalifa, in Dubai, which opened in 2010 and reaches 2,717 feet.

Port Authority Executive Director Pat Foye said the three-million-square-foot, $3.8 billion tower would be among the safest buildings in the world. Its intended uses are highlighted by office space, a state-of-the-art broadcast facility, and public observation deck.

Jody Durst, president of the Durst Organization, which manages the property, said Monday’s milepost would enhance its already considerable appeal to tenants and tourists. Durst said he was confident the building, now 55 percent leased, would be fully occupied upon completion.

"When we start bringing prospective tenants up and they get a look at these views," he said, the building will lease itself.