The silver spire topping One World Trade Center in New York is lifted as it is fully installed on the building's roof, bringing the structure to its full, symbolic height of 1,776 feet on May 10, 2013 .
Installation of a silver spire atop New York's new One World Trade Center skyscraper has been completed, a symbolic rebirth of America's biggest city after terrorists destroyed twin towers at the same site in 2001.
With the last work on the spire Friday, the new building reaches a height of 1,776 feet or 541 meters, a figure meant to recall the year the United States declared its independence from England in 1776.
The 124-meter spire weighs 758 tons and was installed over several months. It houses an antenna for a broadcast facility planned for the building.
The new trade center, set to open for business next year, is one of several mammoth office buildings being constructed at the site where al-Qaida terrorists flew jetliners into the twin World Trade Center buildings on September 11, 2001, collapsing the structures and killing nearly 3,000 people.
The new One World Trade Center could be the tallest building in the United States and the third tallest in the world.
The distinction depends on whether one considers the spire part of the building's architectural design and counted as part of its height, or whether the spire's primary purpose is to house the antenna, with the actual official height substantially lower at the rooftop level.
One World Trade Center
1/11One World Trade Center in New York is reflected in the Hudson River as seen from Jersey City, New Jersey, May 10, 2013.
Images of the One World Trade Center, where crane operators hoisted the final pieces of the spire atop
on May 10, helping to fill the void in the New York City skyline left by the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
2/11The silver spire topping One World Trade Center is lifted as it is fully installed on the building's roof, bringing the structure to its full, symbolic height of 1,776 feet (541 meters), May 10, 2013 in New York.
Images of the One World Trade Center, where crane operators hoisted the final pieces of the spire atop
on May 10, helping to fill the void in the New York City skyline left by the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
3/11Iron workers gather on the roof of One World Trade Center to watch as the final piece of spire is hoisted in place.
Images of the One World Trade Center, where crane operators hoisted the final pieces of the spire atop
on May 10, helping to fill the void in the New York City skyline left by the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
4/11Iron workers wait for the final piece of the One World Trade Center spire to be brought to them for attachment to the building, in New York, May 10, 2013.
Images of the One World Trade Center, where crane operators hoisted the final pieces of the spire atop
on May 10, helping to fill the void in the New York City skyline left by the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
5/11Members of the media and workers at the Ground Zero site watch as one of the last two segments of the silver spire is lifted to the top of One World Trade Center, May 2, 2013.
Images of the One World Trade Center, where crane operators hoisted the final pieces of the spire atop
on May 10, helping to fill the void in the New York City skyline left by the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
6/11One of the last two segments of the spire is hoisted to the top of One World Trade Center, May 2, 2013.
Images of the One World Trade Center, where crane operators hoisted the final pieces of the spire atop
on May 10, helping to fill the void in the New York City skyline left by the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
7/11June 29, 2005: This artist rendering shows an aerial view from the New York Harbor of the proposed design for the Freedom Tower for the World Trade Center Site.
Images of the One World Trade Center, where crane operators hoisted the final pieces of the spire atop
on May 10, helping to fill the void in the New York City skyline left by the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
8/11The One World Trade Center building above the skyline of Manhattan, June 18, 2012.
Images of the One World Trade Center, where crane operators hoisted the final pieces of the spire atop
on May 10, helping to fill the void in the New York City skyline left by the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
9/11The under-construction One World Trade Center (bottom), August 24, 2011.
Images of the One World Trade Center, where crane operators hoisted the final pieces of the spire atop
on May 10, helping to fill the void in the New York City skyline left by the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
10/11The World Trade Center construction site and the National September 11th Memorial and Museum, August 24, 2011.
Images of the One World Trade Center, where crane operators hoisted the final pieces of the spire atop
on May 10, helping to fill the void in the New York City skyline left by the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
11/11The World Trade Center construction site, September 8, 2009.
Images of the One World Trade Center, where crane operators hoisted the final pieces of the spire atop
on May 10, helping to fill the void in the New York City skyline left by the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
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