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In a banner day for Lower Manhattan,
Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Governor George
Pataki, New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine,
and other rebuilding officials joined
developer Larry Silverstein on April 27,
2006, to welcome construction crews to
the World Trade Center site, marking the
official start of construction for the
Freedom Tower.
"If you listen in the background, you
can hear the heavy equipment … the
builders here at the World Trade Center
site beginning their work," Pataki
announced triumphantly at the early
morning press conference. "The Freedom
Tower is going to be a symbol of our
freedom and our independence," he said,
adding that a plan is now in place for
development of the entire World Trade
Center site.
In June 2005, the Lower Manhattan
Development Corporation unveiled a
revised design for the Freedom Tower
incorporating important modifications
intended to alleviate security concerns
raised about the earlier design. The new
design retains essential elements of the
original -- soaring 1,776 feet into the
sky, its illuminated mast evoking
the Statue of Liberty's torch -- but
features a smaller, cubic base set back
further from West Street to protect the
building against any future terrorist
attempts.
Rising from its square base -- which
will be constructed of impermeable
concrete and steel -- the redesigned
Freedom Tower will taper into eight tall
isosceles triangles, forming a perfect
octagon at its center. An observation
deck will be located 1,362 feet above
ground and there will be a square glass
parapet at 1,368 feet, the heights of
the original Twin Towers. From these, an
illuminated spire containing a
television antenna will rise to a final
height of 1,776 feet.
Other key elements of the original
design will be retained, including 2.6
million square feet of office space,
tenant amenity spaces, world-class
restaurants, below-grade retail, and
access to the PATH, subway, and World
Financial Center.
To learn more about this project,
please click here.
To view a slide show of the latest
Freedom Tower renderings, click
here.
View animations of the Revised
Freedom Tower:
For details about the earlier stages
of this project, click
here.
Locate this project on the Interactive
Transportation Map. |
