The One World Trade Center or the Freedom Tower as it was formerly known is among the tallest buildings in the Western Hemisphere. This is the main building located within the new WTC complex in Lower Manhattan, New York. The original World Trade Center had the twin towers, which were unfortunately destroyed on account of the deadly 9/11 terrorist attacks.
This is among the most memorable NYC sightseeing tours that you just can’t afford to miss at any cost. There are NYC tour guides available who can take you on a guided walking tour around this place to the 9/11 Memorial Plaza and the Memorial Museum.
Get a great opportunity to hear real-life stories and acts of heroism and bravery of New Yorkers connected to this tragic event in American history. Catch a marvelous glimpse of the skyline of New York City through the Observation Deck which in itself is a spectacular engineering and architectural delight.
Brief history
The twin towers of the original World Trade Centers were destroyed during the September 11, 2001 attacks by a group of terrorist hijackers. This massive WTC structure collapsed along with five other buildings in this process, which left over 3000 people dead along with 350 rescue workers who lost their lives in this horrific incident. The rubbles remained for months together where search operations were been carried out and this site came to known as “Ground Zero”
9/11 Memorial
Local city private tour of the memorial monument consists of the areas and signs that create this location an appropriate hymn to the lives lost in the World Trade Center episodes. Here, you can witness the enormous artificial waterfall on the mainland, “Reflecting Absence,” loading the footmarks of the Twin Towers. In the distance, look at the new World Trade Center and Freedom Tower to show how New York was reconstructed after 2001.
Each local private tour guide's experience of that day is unique, and thus is each excursion. In addition to the visits above, you may stop at other spots linked to Ground Zero. These include the FDNY Memorial Wall, the Oculus at the WTC Transportation Hub, the famous Survivor Tree, the Brooks Brothers building that functioned as a temporary morgue, and the Millennium Hotel, where the FBI later thwarted another attack on the city.
As a result, New Yorkers decided to rebuild the site which was destroyed and dedicated a memorial to the victims of the 9/11 incident. Thus the base of the original WTC tower was converted into the 9/11 Memorial and after several years, the construction of the new One World Trade Center was officially started after delays resulting due to bureaucratic decisions, amidst other controversies.
Redefining the Urban Landscape and Architecture
The new World Trade Center is a 104-story building standing tall at 1,776 ft and is one of the finest examples of excellence in architecture, innovation, and technology-all combined together to define Lower Manhattan’s skyline.
It has been designed by the famous architect-David Childs (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) architecture firm) who has also designed world-class structures such as the Burj Khalifa and Willis Tower. This project is part of a joint venture between The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the Durst Company.
Main Highlights Of The New WTC Tower
- The One World Trade Center is known to be among the most renowned commercial business address in New York City and is regarded for its highest safety and environmental standards.
- It comprises over 3,000,000 square feet of office space that has attracted some of the world’s leading companies to start their operations from this prestigious address.
- The new climate-controlled corridors connect this center to the transportation hub along with the newly built PATH trains and 11 NYC Subway lines, Fulton Street Transit Center. This also provides connectivity with the ferry terminals and the World Financial Center with underground parking amenities.
Getting to this place
If you are planning to visit the World Trade Center along with the nearby attractions, then it may be a good idea to use any of the public transport available around New York City. The best way to get to the WTC is via the PATH train, if you are traveling from New Jersey that takes you to the WTC Tower.
There are also subway trains to Fulton Street as well as buses that can take you to Thames Street and other locations to reach the WTC tower.
9/11 Ground Zero and Memorial Tours
NYC sightseeing tours cannot be complete, without visiting this memorable place that was worst affected during the tragic 9/11 terrorist attacks. You will need a visitor’s pass, which is free but needs to be booked in advance to reserve your slot as there are only 1500 people who are allowed access at a time.
This historical walking tour of WTC starts from St Paul’s Chapel which magically survived the attacks, where tributes are still offered by the church to the victims who lost their lives in this tragic incident. Most of these tours are organized by people who are personally connected with this event and you can listen to their inspiring stories of the brave deeds of heroism they displayed during the incident.
Visit the 9/11 Memorial where you can pay your respects to those who lost their lives in this unfortunate event in history. You can also see the man-made waterfall inside the WTC memorial where 3,000 victims have been named, aside from their family members and friends. From here, you can watch the new WTC tower right from the ground level rising up to the sky spread across 8 acres of lush greenery.
New York City Fire Museum
Take a tour of the New York City Fire Museum, where you can find the 911 exhibit which is permanent that has been placed in honor of the 343 New York Fire Department members, who lost their lives fighting during the tragic WTC attacks. You can also visit the New York City Police Museum which also has exhibits dedicated to the 9/11 incident.
Enjoy the panoramic view from the Observation decks
You need to get admission tickets to visit the One World Observatory and the New World Trade Center. The observation deck itself is one of the best examples of world-class architecture and engineering which features a program called “Voices” dedicated to both men and women from the New World Trade center. Take the Sky Pod elevator that can take you instantly to a height of 1,250 feet.
On the 102nd floor, you can find the observation deck along with the See Forever Theatre from where you can come down to the 100th floor to find the main observation deck. You can find interactive touch screens and LED displays to get all the possible information with plenty of leisure and dining facilities available here for visitors.
Great focus on safety
Safety measures in particular are naturally very much on the minds of the architects, and therefore the most stable skyscrapers in the entire United States will be discussed.
"How many skyscrapers have you heard of that make the entire core of the building in concrete?" asks Danny Forster.
"All the lifts are behind concrete, and extra strong glass is used in the construction. There are major challenges with security when the place has been exposed to two attacks. Even the welders have to have so many certifications that there are only 20 of them in all of New York,' he says.
In order for the construction to be both beautiful and safe, a concrete foundation was cast, which can withstand the force of a 680-kilogram bomb and rises a whole 20 floors into the air, on which the rest of the building is erected. Precisely, iCrete concrete is used, which, according to program director Lynda Tollner, provides the strongest construction in all of New York.
According to the Discovery Channel, the concrete on the sidewalks of New York streets can withstand 3,000 psi, while high-rise concrete can withstand 5,000 psi. iCrete should be able to handle 14,000 psi. It is the same concrete that envelops the elevators in the center of the buildings in a meter-thick layer so that not even compressed air drills can hammer through it. In this way, it is not up to 25 tonnes of steel girders alone to keep the tower safely upright. Even the sprinklers and ventilation shafts are protected by concrete.
The elevators must also break all records in the United States. On speed. 71 elevators are being installed by Thyssen Krupp Elevator Corporation in the large tower, each of which shoots at a speed of 610 meters per minute. The passengers then use an identification card in the elevator to be set off at the right place, so that no one gets the opportunity to choose floors themselves.
Antenna with Morse code
At the top of the tower, a 124-meter-high antenna will be installed, which forms the top of the 541 meters that the tower rises. It will also be secured and held strong by strong cables. As an additional feature, the flashing signal light at the top of the antenna is set to flash continuously to flash the Morse code for the letter N - ie. a long followed by a short blink - which stands for New York.
The large American media group Condé Nast, which i.a. the publisher of the fashion magazines Vanity Fair and Vogue has already rented a third of the first tower's area - however, they have chosen the bottom area.
The World Trade Center Transportation Hub is the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's formal name for the unique transport station and the connected transit and retail complex. It was created by Spanish designer Santiago Calatrava and consists of a train depot with an extensive and airy mezzanine beneath the National September 11 Memorial plaza. This mezzanine is linked to an aboveground dome place installation called the Oculus - settled between 3 World Trade Center and 2 World Trade Center - as well as to commune concourses under the different edifices in the World Trade Center complex.
However, Danny Forster does not believe that the height of the buildings will scare away future tenants for the upper floors, precisely because of all the extra measures.
In addition, work is underway on a large underground hub for rail and metro traffic with a huge transit hall.
The transit hall on the site for pedestrians who need to get around the area will be located between towers 2 and 3. It has been built to be able to fivefold the capacity of pedestrians to and from the area from 50,000 to 250,000 per day. Many people can use this hub to get around the WTC grounds or catch nearby subway stations.
"It will be more influential than Grand Central Station," predicts Danny Forster.
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