Groundbreaking Set July 4 for Tower at WTC Site
Saying New Yorkers can “begin to reclaim our skyline,” Gov. George E. Pataki on Wednesday set a July 4 date to break ground on the 1,776-foot Freedom Tower at the World Trade Center site.
“On July 4, as we commemorate the founding of our nation, we lay the foundation for our resurgence,” Pataki said.
The date is ahead of the Republican governor’s stated goal of breaking ground by late summer on the project. Organizers say the tower will be the world’s tallest building, with a spire meant to evoke images of the Statue of Liberty. It will be built on the northwest side of the trade center site, not the footprints of the twin towers that were destroyed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York and the Pentagon.
The plan calls for a cable suspension structure that creates an open area above the building’s 70 floors of office space.
Freedom Tower is expected to be finished in 2009, and the full trade center site by 2013.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
