One World Trade Center rises above the New York City skyline.

JOHN KELLERMAN/Alamy Stock Photo

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Standing Tall

September 2, 2024
By Alicia Green

On November 3, 2014, the tallest skyscraper in the U.S. opened in New York City. For many Americans, the 104-story One World Trade Center is more than a skyscraper. It represents hope after one of the darkest days in our nation’s history.

The building is close to where the Twin Towers of the original World Trade Center once stood. On September 11, 2001, the towers collapsed after terrorists flew two planes into them. (Terrorists are people who use violence to spread fear or gain power.) 

That same morning, another plane crashed into the Pentagon, the U.S. military headquarters near Washington, D.C. A fourth plane crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. 

Nearly 3,000 people were killed that day, now known as 9/11. That includes more than 400 firefighters and other first responders. It was the deadliest attack ever on American soil. Still, the country vowed to rebuild after the tragedy.

Alex Cunningham/Alamy Stock Photo

Each of the Twin Towers stood more than 1,360 feet tall.

A Symbol of Hope

Planning for a skyscraper to replace the Twin Towers began soon after 9/11. A company called Skidmore, Owings & Merrill came up with the design: a massive concrete and steel building covered with glass. 

Construction began in 2006. It took more than 10,000 people eight years to build One World Trade Center. The skyscraper soars 1,776 feet high—a nod to the year America declared independence from Great Britain. 

Ten years after it opened, One World Trade Center remains a symbol of how New York City, and the nation, recovered after 9/11.

“It symbolizes hope and optimism,” says Frank Mahan, one of the architects who worked on the design. “Even when we get knocked down, we get back up again and keep moving forward.”

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