World Trade Center - April 15, 2011

46 photos HERE at Flickr.

In April of 2011 I had the extreme fortune of being able to tour the construction site of the new World Trade Center in downtown Manhattan. This happened thanks to MIT, the Transportation Diversity Council, the Port Authority, and the 3rd annual MIT Distinguished Speaker Series in New York City. It was a once in a lifetime sort of opportunity, and I am very grateful to those parties for making it happen.



The tour was quite extensive and revealed a rare glimpse into both the construction of a skyscraper and the most well known redevelopment project in the country if not world.



The World Trade Center site is being reveloped into six new skyscrapers, the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, and a transportation hub that will connect the New York Subway to PATH.



One World Trade Center was the first building to break ground at the site, and will be the tallest. When complete in 2013 it will be 1,776 feet tall, thanks to a 400 foot spire at the top. The actual roof height will be the same as the original World Trade Center towers.



Below grade level in the future location of the museum (set to open on the 10th anniversary of the attacks) lies an exposed portion of the slurry wall which holds back the Hudson River. The holding up of this "bathtub" structure surrounding the base of the entire site during the attacks and in the days following prevented what could have been catastrophic flooding of PATH and Subway tunnels in addition to many other below grade structures in lower Manhattan.



The "Survivors' Staircase" will be displayed prominently when the museum is complete. It is the only remaining above ground piece of the original World Trade Center complex.



The glass going into place here is on the ground level part of the museum building, which will house the iconic "tridents" from the original towers.



Next was the real unexpected treat...



Welcome to One World Trade Center.



When complete, the tower will have 105 floors. At this point in construction, steel was rising just above the 60th floor, with the 55th being the highest completed floor.



The concrete core of the skyscraper will be remarkably strong when complete, and will contain a very wide staircase and state of the art ventilation system for emergency purposes. The building will sit on a 70 foot high reinforced concrete pedestal to protect against the potential of a street-level bomb.



Like its predecessor, there will be an observation deck, which is great because the views are already magnificent from just halfway up.



Looking down into lower Manhattan with Liberty Island and the Verrazno Narrows in the background.



Looking across the Hudson into Jersey City.



Not a picture of myself that I ever would have expected to have.



Being on this structure had a very surreal feel to it. It was a lot to take in at once. I had never been up that high on an under construction building of any sort, and the fact that it was One World Trade Center made it even more incredible.



In a few years I hope to be standing at 105.



The north side of the tower reveals an even more amazing view. It is always said that the worst part about the view from the Empire State Building is that you cannot see the Empire State Building. This makes for a great shot of midtown.



Back at ground level, the bases of the original towers will make up the focal point of the memorial.



Giant waterfalls will splash down into the memorial pools once the project is complete in September.



The only other tower at this point that has progressed to above ground level construction is Four World Trade Center, which will stand nearly 1,000 feet tall with 72 floors when complete in 2013.



It will be an impressive project when complete, as it absolutely must be.



It was moving and awe inspiring to be able to visit the site during construction. The redevelopment has been a very long time coming, but it certainly appears as though the end result will be something that transforms lower Manhattan and is functional and secure while still remaining open as a great public space.

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Content copyright Jonathan Hawkins