Spire of New World Trade Center Permanently Installed - East Idaho News
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Spire of New World Trade Center Permanently Installed

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Getty 040213 1WorldTradeCenter?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1368196537031STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — In the morning sun against a pale blue sky, construction workers installed the final pieces of the spire atop 1 World Trade Center.

The spire was brought to the top of the building informally known as the “Freedom Tower” last Thursday, and was permanently installed during the Friday morning commute.

The installation of the spire brings the building up to its final symbolic height of 1,776 feet, — the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. Without the spire, the buildings final height is second to Chicago’s Willis Tower.

There is some ongoing debate over whether the new addition is a spire or actually an antenna, which would not count towards official building height, but that did not seem to matter to the construction workers and bystanders who applauded as they gazed up at the finished spire, towering over a bustling city.

“If you strain your neck and arch your back and look way up there,” ABC News’ Aaron Katersky reported, “you can see the American flag fluttering in the wind.”

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

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