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How Tall is One World Trade Center?

New York is known for its high-rise buildings, skyscrapers, and magnificent monuments, one such being one world trade center.

One world trade centre complex is one of the tallest buildings in America situated in New York city around the central plaza. This building was built by the port authority of New York and New Jersey.

But how tall is One World Trade Center?

How Tall is One World Trade Center?

One world trade centre has is a building that got attacked by terrorists in 2001 and has 110 stories. The building is located near the shore of the Hudson River at the southwestern point of Manhattan. 

The One world trade centre was built to accommodate government agencies and businesses that are involved in international trade.

This building was designed by the architect Minoru Yamasaki and was opened in 1972.

What is the Height of One World Trade Center?

So, how tall is one world trade center? The one world trade centre is 1776 feet or 517 meters high.

The original twin towers were 1368 feet or 417 meters high. During that time, it was the world’s tallest building. Later the crown of the tallest building was taken by the Willis Tower in Chicago.

how tall is one world trade center
Photo by John from Flickr

It is a huge building with 97 passenger elevators and a total of 21,800 windows. An observation deck is on the 100th floor.

A television broadcasting mast is also attached to the one world trade centre. A large underground garage for parking with direct access to the parking is also provided.

Original Height of the World Trade Center

As far as the architectural height of the world trade centre is concerned, it is about 517 meters high.

That is the tallest in New York City but still, one world trade centre is considered the third tallest building. The reason behind this is that there were other taller buildings developed after the one world trade centre.

Attack on One World Trade Centre

After knowing the answer about how tall is one world trade center, read along with the history of the center.

The world trade centre was under a terrorist attack in the year 2001 in September. The aeroplane crashed into the tower.

It caused much damage to the building and debris fell and destroyed other nearby buildings too. More than 2700 people were killed in this attack.

world trade center
Photo by Coast Guard News from Flickr

Removing Debris from One World Trade Center

The one world trade centre complex was so huge that it took almost one complete year to remove debris to recover dead bodies from inside.

The whole country was sobbing after the collapse of the complex and the death of so many people. Many people arose concerned to rebuild the building.

w t c 5
Photo by Loco from Flickr

The Rebuilding of One World Trade Center

Countrywide debates and discussions were held on how to rebuild the tower again to sustain the answer of how tall is one world trade center.

How tall is the one world trade centre and what should be the height of the new world trade center?

Design competitions were held to rebuild the building and the competitions were held in the mid of 2002, whose winner was selected in the year 2003.

The new world trade centre complex was built to raise to a height of 517 meters- this was 100 meters higher than the previous building.

The building was named one world trade centre which replaced seven buildings of the world trade centre in one building.

one world trade center
Photo by Bvi from Flickr

Modifications in Plan of One World Trade Center Complex

The plan for the building of one world trade centre complex went through changes. Keeping the height in mind, the plan for an advanced building was getting prepared.

The plan was shown to the general public in the year 2005. More changes including height were made in the upcoming years.

Inauguration of One World Trade Center

After going through a lot of changes in the one world trade centre complex plan, finally, the building construction started. People were dedicated to coming up with a better building plan for this site.

Considering how tall is one world trade center and how large will be the new building, it took a lot of time to rebuild.

The building became open to the public in the year 2014, November. It is currently the tallest building in New York City.

world trade center
Photo by John from Flickr

Memorial for the Victims of One World Trade Center Attack

The plan for the new world trade centre had space for two memorials for the victims of the terror attacks. One memorial for the victims was made for the victims of the 1993 attack and another memorial for the victims of the 2001 terror attacks.

The memorials were opened in September 2011 and 4 other buildings as the world trade centre were opened in the year 2013.

Given how tall is one world trade centre, the memorial is designed in a way that it is visible from the top of the one world trade centre.

View City from the Sky

World trade centre facilitates to have a sky view of New York City. How tall is one world trade center? You can see the city from the sky as the world trade centre is that tall.

There is an observation deck on the 100th floor of this tallest building in New York City from where you can view the complete story of the city.

World Trade Center Around The World

The world trade center association was established in the year 1970. Today, many buildings in the world are named World Trade Centers.

The world trade center in New York City is named the one world trade center. The other world trade center complex is also used for the same purpose all over.

One of the Peak 10 Tallest Buildings in The World

The one world trade center is among the top 10 tallest buildings in the whole world.

But, how tall is one world trade center compared to the other tallest buildings in the world? Well, it ranks 8th among the top 10 tallest buildings in the world.

Other buildings are as tall as the world trade centre or taller. For example, The Tianjin CTF Finance Tower is the 10th tallest building and the Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre is the 9th tallest building.

One world trade centre is in the 8th position, Shanghai Tower is placed 3rd among the top 10 buildings, Merdeka 118 is kept in 2nd position and Burj Khalifa is now the tallest building in the world.

Tallest Building in Western Hemisphere

How tall is one world trade center among the buildings of the western hemisphere? As it happens, one world trade center is the tallest building in the western hemisphere.

It is sustainable, safe and a piece of artistically dynamic building. 

Skidmore, Childs and Owings are the architects of the world trade center complex. One world trade centre is also the tallest among the new world trade centre buildings. 

Features of One World Trade Center

How tall is one world trade center and what are its other features? One world trade centre is 110 stories high with approximately 3 million square feet of office space available for rent, out of which 55% of total space has been leased to tenants.

It has a 55-foot high office lobby, and life safety systems put in one world trade center far exceeded the New York city building code.

It is surrounded by West Street, Fulton Street, Washington Street and Vesey Street. 

Get to know some fun facts about the twin towers and other important information about the original world trade center. Here you will also get the answer of how tall WTC is.

1. Design of World Trade Center

one world trade centre
Photo by Alison Day on Flickr

The world trade center is an occupied building that hundreds of thousands of people visit daily. So, the design has to be able to handle the crowd efficiently. That is why the ground floor has entrances on all four sides.

How tall is one world trade center and how does it affects the design? The One world trade center has a very wide base to support its height. The cubic base is similar to the original twin tower and its base is clad in 2000 pieces of glass.

The edge of the tower chamfered back from 69 stories and form 8 isosceles triangles forming a perfect octagon at the centre culminating in a glass parapet at the top of the building.

The buildings in a crystallized form keep refracting the light changing shades throughout the day.

To save the flights from getting crashed in the building, there is a beacon at the top that sends out horizontal light signals at night that can be seen from miles away.

2. World Trade Center and Declaration of Independence

How tall is one world trade center in feet and what is the relationship between the height and the declaration of independence?

It is not just a coincidence that the height of the world trade centre i.e. 1776 feet and the united states declaration which was signed in the year 1776 are the same.

There is a purpose behind keeping the height of the world trade centre similar to the year declaration of independence was signed i.e. they connect the world trade centre as a figuration of independence.

3. Location of One World Trade Center

One world trade centre is located near lower Manhattan in New York City. It is 90 feet apart from the site of the original world trade centre for security reasons. It stands on the northwest corner of the original twin towers and is situated in the place of the north tower.

The building replaces all the seven towers that were destroyed in September 11 attacks. Hence, the address of one world trade centre is 285, Fulton Street, Manhattan.

How to Get to One World Trade Center from Airport?

So, how tall is one world trade center and how to get there? If you are visiting New York City to view the 517 meters high one world trade centre then you can directly visit the building from the airport.

It will take nearly 47 minutes from the New York JFK airport to reach the one world trade centre via the metro.

You can reach the world trade centre in New York LA Guardia airport in 59 minutes via bus and metro.

It will take approximately 2 hours to get there from White Plains airport. It is nearest to the New York Skyports Seaplane Base where it takes 13 minutes to reach one world trade centre.

4. Places to Stay Near World Trade Center New York City

If you are to visit the world trade centre then you must spend some days here and relax before you plan a visit to the building. There are many hotels in New York City and some of them are closest to the world trade centre.

You can stay at World Trade Center Hotel, only the name resembles but, it is also a mere 300 meters away from the building with direct access to the world trade centre.

You can also stay at the club quarters hotel, New York- it is 400 meters far from the building complex.

Courtyard by Marriot is another place to stay in New York. It is also a mere 400 meters away from the building.

The Frederick Hotel is also close to the building and it is a nice place to stay. The distance from this hotel to the world trade centre site is half kilometre.

5. Attractions to View from World Trade Center

one world trade centre
Photo by Daniel on Flickr

If you are visiting the one world trade centre, then you must visit the observation deck on the top of the centre because the whole city can be viewed from the top of this skyscraper.

Here you can also have a view of the major attractions of New York City, thereby, given below is a list of major attractions to view from the world trade centre complex.

(a) Statue of Liberty

You can easily view the statue of liberty from the top of the world trade centre. It is a symbol of the freedom tower and has an iconic sight of 152 feet that can be easily viewed from the 1776 feet tall one world trade centre.

It is amazing how tall is one world trade center and the monuments you can see from the top.

The Statue of Liberty is in the top five priorities of visitors to visit New York City. Built in the year 1886, this statue is a gift from France to America.

It is one of the largest statues in the world weighing around 250,000 pounds. 

(b) Central Park

Central Park is another major tourist destination in New York City. Since the center is very tall, central park is visible from the top of the one world trade center building.

Central Park is a huge park and every year thousands of visitors from across the globe come to visit this park in New York City. 

Central park is half-mile wide and 2.5 miles long. There is space for walking, peddling and carriage riding through crisscrossing pathways, hence it is a great place to experience nature a little bit. 

(c) Rockefeller Plaza

How tall is one world trade center and how tall buildings are visible from its top? The Rockefeller Plaza is a 70-story building that is at the top of the visitor attraction list.

The building is visible from the 1776 feet top of the world trade center. The Rockefeller Plaza is a huge entertainment and shopping complex.

It is an Art Deco Skyscraper with awesome views from the top observation deck. The popular deck includes three floors, the 70th floor, the 69th floor and the 67th floor. You must visit Rockefeller plaza.

Not as great as one world trade center, still the view from the top of this building is amazing.

(d) Metropolitan Museum of Art

 Well, the Metropolitan Museum of Art is another popular destination in New York city that is visible from the top of the One world trade center. The museum looks beautiful from the outside and the top of the world trade center as well.

This museum was founded in the year 1870. The permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum contains two million of artwork that dates back up to 5000 years. 

(e) Empire State Building

How tall is one world trade center and is the key tourist attraction visible from its top? Well, one of New York’s key tourist attractions and most popular buildings is the Empire state building.

The building is visible from the top of the One world trade center complex.

This building was opened in 1931 and it was at that time, the tallest building in New York until the World trade centre was built.

Nonetheless, even today, the Empire state building remains one of the major tourist attractions. Airships can land on the top of the Empire state building and that is one of the major strong points of this building.

(f) The 9/11 Memorial

The memorial is built on the space where the two world trade center was once built. The two world trade center are replaced by two equal sizes of pools on one acre each.

The memorial area is a tribute to 3000 people killed in the terrorist attacks that took place on 11 September.

That day was in memory of people when the twin towers collapsed. The two buildings of twins tower are known as a south tower and the north tower.

Twin tower’s heights vary with these different buildings but the estimated height is 415 meters. 

It also holds the name of six people who were killed earlier in the bomb explosion in the year 1993. The memorial features pictures, artifacts and videos representing the story of the 9/11 attack incident.

(g) High Line

 High Line is a public park that is visible from the 110 stories on top of the One world trade center.

The high line has many plants and trees planted in the park and it is a recently extended former rail line that is now an urban walking trail above the street level of New York City.

The park has a natural feel with glass railings to make it look beautiful. The height of the High Line offers a nice view of the city too. You can also access an oasis on Manhattan’s west side that runs parallel to the High Line at some points.

(h) Times Square

 If you are in New York City then Times Square is the place to see and it is visible from the 517-meter-high observation deck of the world trade center. Times Square is filled with billboards and large-size screens that are great to look at. 

Times Square is the place where the new year’s celebration takes place in New York City. Every year a whole lot of crowd of people comes to Times Square for a celebration. 

Times Square was named after the Times tower in the year 1904. If you are looking for more fun to do in Times Square, then visit Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum- the museum has wax figures of popular personalities.

(i) Brooklyn Bridge

Brooklyn Bridge
Photo by Tomasz on Flickr

Brooklyn Bridge is one of the most recognizable landmarks in New York City. The bridge has been an inspiration for poets, singers, painters and artists for centuries.

The bridge connects Manhattan to Brooklyn crossing the East River and is a spectacular monument to look out for. 

People have explored many ways to experience the Brooklyn bridge- some get on ferries to feel the magnanimity of the Brooklyn bridge from beneath the bridge.

However, the best way to experience Brooklyn is to walk on the bridge, though it will take an hour but give you an experience of a lifetime.

(j) Lincoln Center

The Architecture of Lincoln centre will take your breath away. It is the centre for performing arts. Here you will watch stunning performances of all kinds of artists including musicians, singers, and other artists.

They scatter their magic in all kinds of 30-plus indoor and outdoor stages in the Lincoln Center.

Plan a Visit to New York City 

One world trade center is a tall building but earlier it was the tallest building in New York, the Western hemisphere and the United States of America.

Today, the world trade center is the world’s 8th tallest building, showcasing the beautiful view of the whole of New York City.

Though the one world trade center was destroyed in the past, you can still walk through the building, embrace its beauty and observe different tourist attractions from the top of the centre because now you know how tall is one world trade center.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why is it called the One World Trade Center?

The building’s authorized name was changed from “Freedom Tower” to “One World Trade Center” by the Port Authority in 2009, which claimed that this moniker was the “easiest for people to identify with.”

2. What does the One World Trade Center do?

It is a one-stop marketplace gateway that unites companies and government organizations engaged in international trade and consolidates all the services related to international trade under one roof, along with being a tourist attraction.

3. What replaced the twin towers?

On November 3, 2014, One World Trade Center in Manhattan formally reopened.

The Twin Towers and adjoining facility, which were demolished by terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, were supplanted by the present tower and the remainder of the World Trade Center facility.

Also read: How Big is Central Park?

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Last Updated on March 6, 2023 by Juhi Bansal