The World Trade Center is a complex of buildings under construction in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States, replacing an earlier complex of seven buildings with the same name on the same site. The original World Trade Center featured landmark twin towers, which opened on April 4, 1973 and were destroyed in the September 11 attacks of 2001, along with 7 World Trade Center. The other buildings in the complex were damaged in the attacks, and their ruins were eventually demolished. The site is being rebuilt with five new skyscrapers and a memorial to the casualties of the attacks. As of November 2011[update], only one skyscraper has been completed; the other four are expected to be completed before 2020. One World Trade Center will be the lead building for the new complex, reaching more than 100 stories at its completion. It became the tallest building in New York City on April 30, 2012, and is expected to be finished by 2013. A sixth tower is awaiting confirmation.
At the time of their completion, the original 1 World Trade Center (the North Tower) and 2 World Trade Center (the South Tower), known collectively as the "Twin Towers", were the tallest buildings in the world. The other buildings included 3 WTC (the Marriott World Trade Center), 4 WTC, 5 WTC, 6 WTC, and 7 WTC. All of these buildings were built between 1975 and 1985. The cost for the construction was $400 million ($2,300,000,000 in 2013 dollars). The complex was located in the heart of New York City's downtown financial district and contained 13.4 million square feet (1.24 million m2) of office space.
One World Trade Center (1 WTC) is the main building of the new World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan, New York City, New York. The 104-story supertall skyscraper is being constructed in the northwest corner of the 16-acre World Trade Center site, occupying the location where the original 8-story 6 World Trade Center once stood. The building is bounded to the west by West Street, to the north by Vesey Street, to the south by Fulton Street, and to the east by Washington Street. Construction on below-ground utility relocations, footings, and foundations for the building began on April 27, 2006. The tower's steel structure topped out on August 30, 2012, and work is currently underway on its spire.
By the time of its scheduled completion in late 2013, One World Trade Center will be the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere and the third-tallest building in the world by pinnacle height, with its spire reaching a symbolic 1,776 feet (541.3 m) in commemoration of the year of American independence. It has been the tallest building in New York City since April 30, 2012. On March 30, 2009, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey confirmed that the building will be known by its legal name, One World Trade Center, rather than the colloquial name, Freedom Tower. The new World Trade Center complex will also feature three other high-rise office buildings, located along Greenwich Street, and the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, located just south of One World Trade Center, where the Twin Towers once stood. The construction is part of an effort to memorialize and rebuild following the destruction of the original World Trade Center complex during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.