New World Trade Center Now Officially Tallest Building In Lower Manhattan
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The centerpiece of the new World Trade Center complex is taking shape as we get closer to the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The steel of number one World Trade Center now pokes above the skyline. It's the tallest building in lower Manhattan, now up to the 76th floor with concrete decked boards up to the 68th story and glass curtain walls installed to the 49th floor.
Port Authority executive director Chris Ward says on 9/11, the family members of the victims will find some solace in the memorial plaza.
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"They will be able to place their hands on the bronze parapets with the names of those who were lost," said Ward. "They will be able to see the fountains rushing into the voids of the original World Trade Center site."
As crews conduct daily tests of the north pool waterfall, artifacts and symbols that came out Ground Zero are being moved back to the memorial site.
Last week, a 20-foot tall cross that was found by a construction worker standing upright in the rubble of the Twin Towers was moved to the National September 11th Memorial and Museum. The cross has been on display at St. Peter's Church and has become a symbol of solace and peace.
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A fire truck used during the World Trade Center evacuation after the September 11th attacks was also returned to Ground Zero last week. The Ladder Company 3 truck helped people escape from the north tower. Eleven firefighters on the truck were killed when the towers collapsed.
Among other features at the memorial, Ward says family members will be able to walk among American oaks planted on the plaza. The trees are expected to be dressed in their brilliant fall foliage for the 10th anniversary.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Friday that this year's observance will be more solemn than years past. The names of victims from the Pentagon attacks and of United Flight 93 that crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, will also be read.
Bloomberg said both President Barack Obama and former president George W. Bush will be at this year's ceremony as well as former mayor Rudy Giuliani and other dignitaries.
Reservations for the first two weeks of the memorial's opening are already sold out. There is currently availability from September 27 and beyond.
The memorial plaza can comfortably hold about 1,500 people at a time and officially opens to the public on September 12.
For more information about the memorial, visit http://www.911memorial.org.
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