One World Trade Center has finally reached its peak, as the final pieces were hoisted onto the spire Thursday.
The pieces, draped in an American flag on their way up, will be installed at a later date closer to the completion of construction.
One World Trade Center is already the tallest building in New York City. Once it is finished, it will be the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, standing at 1,776 feet tall.
That height is no accident, referencing the year 1776, when the United States became a nation.
Ironically, the final pieces were lifted to the top of the building the day after the two-year anniversary of the death on May 1, 2011 of Osama bin Laden, the man responsible for the fall of the original World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
"(It's a) beacon that'll be seen for miles around and give a tremendous indication to people around the entire region, and the world, that we're back and we're better than ever," Director of Construction Steven Plate said.
The spire is divided up into 21 sections, 18 of which are steel, with three communication rings. The spire’s first section was installed in January. It was the heaviest part of the 408-foot spire, weighing over 67 tons.
The spire will be an antenna for television broadcasts somewhere in the building. As for the building itself, it will be 104 stories tall.
Wind and rain delayed the raising of the spire from Monday until Thursday.
Just over a week ago, a piece of 9/11 history was discovered in the form of a landing gear section that is likely to be from one of the planes involved in the attacks 12 years ago. The object was found wedged between a mosque site being scoped out for a possible Islamic community center and another building. This was just three blocks away from the former World Trade Center location.
