The skyscraper constructed to replace the twin towers destroyed in the September 11 attacks has become New York’s tallest building now that a final steel column has been lifted into place.
One World Trade Center is again the tallest building in New York, and third tallest in the world, extending more than 1,250 feet into the air (with the goal of standing 1776 feet tall when finished, commemorating the year the Declaration of Independence was signed).
It is still a work in progress: The hulking steel structure known as the Freedom Tower is still 500 feet shorter than it will be when complete. But One World Trade Center, dubbed Freedom Tower, is already a tribute to American resilience, a reminder that whatever devastation we face, we can still come back bigger and better than before.
(READ the inspiring opinion column at CNN.com)
See a time lapse film of WTC rising below…