Sept. 11 is a day that America will never forget, with more than 2,700 innocent Americans dead and the collapse of the World Trade Center. Our Nation’s invincibility had truly been tested, but now, 13 years later, we have made yet another comeback. A new World Trade Center has been opened, with one tower in the center of the 16 acre site where the original Twin Towers sat. Standing 104 stories tall, it is America’s tallest sky scraper.
After eight years of construction the “New York City skyline is whole again,” said Patrick Foye, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
To the northeast side of the sky scraper is the National September 11 Memorial and Museum. The resurrection of the World Trade Center is not meant to rid the terrible memories and lives lost on 9/11, but is meant to honor them, and show that nothing can hold America back.
The sky scraper stands 1,776 feet tall, representing the year America declared its independence. Without the spire on top the building is 1,368 feet tall, which was the height of the original World Trade Center. The tower represents the dominance and America’s ability to recover and never break our spirit.
Being the largest skyscraper in the western hemisphere, the new World Trade Center is one of the most desirable office locations in the world. It is not only one of the safest places, with an exclusive stairway for fire fighters, concrete-protected sprinklers, emergency risers ,and communications systems and so on, but it is also one of the most environmentally friendly, setting new standards for all sky scrapers of its kind. It exceeds its energy codes by more than 20 percent.
The reopening of the World Trade Center is truly something for Americans to remember and be proud of how we have once again proven to be resilient to anything and refuse to have our spirit broken. It is also a turning point for New York City, turning lower Manhattan into a true 24/7 work/live neighborhood.
Article by Olivia Polston
