One World Trade Center, Supertall skyscraper in Lower Manhattan, United States
One World Trade Center is an office tower in the Financial District of the United States that stands 1,776 feet (541 meters) tall and features a prismatic glass facade reflecting light across the skyline. The architecture by David Childs combines a square base with a form that tapers upward into an octagon, with a reinforced concrete podium reaching to the 20th floor and steel and glass construction above.
Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, planning began for a new structure at Ground Zero under architect David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, with the cornerstone laid in 2006 after years of debate over design and security. Construction spanned eight years with the steel framework completed in 2012, before the building opened in November 2014 for its first tenants and the observatory began operations in May 2015.
The name continues that of the original North Tower, destroyed on September 11, 2001; the building was called Freedom Tower until March 26, 2009, when the Port Authority confirmed the legal name One World Trade Center. The address is 285 Fulton Street, and the tower holds 70 office floors above the podium.
Access to the One World Observatory on floors 100 through 102 is via high-speed elevators that travel from ground level to the top in 47 seconds, with tickets best purchased online in advance, especially during summer months and holidays. The clearest views happen in early morning or at sunset, and the entrance is located at West Street with subway access via lines E, 2, 3, 4, and 5, as well as accessible facilities and audio guides in multiple languages.
The roof of the office floors sits at 417 metres, matching the roof height of the destroyed North Tower, and a ring above it carries steel cables that hold the spire. The spire adds 124 metres, bringing the total to 541 metres, or 1,776 feet, a figure tied to the year of the Declaration of Independence.
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