Photos: The rise of the new 1 World Trade Center, from 2009 to today

The humble beginnings of 1 World Trade Center

After so many years of confusion and paralysis at Ground Zero, I was amazed to see the above on March 1, 2009: Steel from 1 World Trade Center visible at sidewalk level.

Thirty-eight months later, shortly after 2 p.m. Monday April 30, 1 World Trade Center reclaimed the title of New York’s tallest tower from the Empire State Building. The ESB is 1,250 feet high (not including the antenna) and a piece of steel thrust the World Trade Center to 1,271 feet.

This isn’t the first time a building by the name of 1 World Trade Center has accomplished the same feat. The original North Tower of the first World Trade Center eclipsed the ESB in height on Oct. 19, 1970, by a mere four feet on that day, the NYT’s David Dunlap explains in a nice overview of today’s milestone.

Once the tower is complete, it will have reached a height of 1,368 feet, the same as its lost Twin Tower namesake. And, once the broadcasting mast/spire is attached, 1 World Trade Center will reach the patriotic height of 1,776 feet. (Whether that makes it the tallest in the U.S. is part of a complicated debate.)

This blog post will show 1 WTC’s rise through pictures I have been taking during the past three years.

MARCH 1, 2009