Today In History: One World Trade Center Opens

Located in lower Manhattan, One World Trade Center, also called "Freedom Tower", officially opened its doors on November 3rd, 2014. This tallest building in the United States has a total height of 1,776 feet, with reference to the Declaration of Independence that was approved by the United States Continental Congress in 1776. 1 WTC was built on the site of the former Twin Towers, or original World Trade Center which was destroyed by terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001. It consists of a glass tower surrounded by memorial gardens to honor the thousands of lives lost -- a masterplan by Polish-American architect Daniel Libeskind who won the highly competitive international design competition in 2003. Construction began three years later, culminating in 2.6 million square feet of office space; conference and event spaces; restaurants and retail.

The following articles are drawn from Proquest Historical Newspapers, which informs and inspires classroom teaching and learning.

• Teather, D. (2005, Jun 30). Freedom Tower: New Design Unveiled. The Irish Times (1921-) 
• Dunlap, D. W. (2010, Sep 05). Up from Zero: 1 World Trade Center. New York Times (1923-) 
• Hajela, D. (2010, Sep 10). WTC Steel Column Installed at Ground Zero. Philadelphia Tribune (1912-) 
• Bagli, C. V. (2011, May 18). A Stylish Anchor for 1 World Trade Center. New York Times (1923-) 
• Kugel, S. (2011, Aug 21). Downtown Manhattan. New York Times (1923-) 
• Thomas, L. (2013, May 31). Heights of Fancy. New York Times (1923-) 
• Towering Construction One World Trade Center to Surpass Willis Tower as Tallest US Building. (2013, Nov 13). The Irish Times (1921-) 
• Bagli, C. V. (2014, Mar 17). Developer's Skyscraper Is Focus of Latest Dispute at Rebuilt Trade Center: Port Authority Board Is Split Over Decision to Provide Subsidies. New York Times (1923-) 
• Back in Business World Trade Center Turns New Page as Conde Nast Moves In. (2014, Nov 04). The Irish Times (1921-) 
• Chaban, M. A. V. (2016, Nov 20). The New Shapes of New York: Apartment Towers, an Arena, a Salt Shed: These Are Some Structures That Have Lately Altered the Cityscape. New York Times (1923-) 

Tips:

• Fanuzzi, Robert, and Michael Wolfe, eds. Recovering 9/11 in New York. Newcastle upon Tyne, England: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2014. e-book
• McCarthy, Cecilia Pinto, and Louis F. Geschwindner. Engineering One World Trade Center. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Core Library, An Imprint of Abdo Publishing, 2018. e-book
• Sagalyn, Lynne B. Power at Ground Zero: Politics, Money, and the Remaking of Lower Manhattan. New York: Oxford University Press, 2016. e-book

Images:

• Freedom Tower' -- One World Trade Center and the 9/11 Memorial at 285 Fulton Street New York (NY) April 2016, Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
• Special News Slide, Courtesy of Gottesman Libraries

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