1 World Trade Center, a/k/a The Freedom Tower

By Jack Brummet, NYC/Metro Editor (reporting from NYC)

1 World Trade Center as it looks today - click to enlarge

What was once known as The Freedom Tower, and recently renamed 1 World Trade Center, is looking good.  I was not thrilled with the early sketches and concepts, but seeing it live, I think it is going to be impressive.  And thank God they changed the name.  The earlier name evoked the silly pathos of America's rampant jingoism in the face of the 9/11 attacks, reminding us of the "Freedom Fries" silliness.

The World Trade Center buildings were, to me, the real totems of New York City.  When I lived here, sure, I went to the top of the Chrysler Building once, and to the top of the Empire State Building a couple of times.  But whenever anyone I knew from the West Coast came to visit, I would haul them to the "observation deck" of the World Trade Center every time.  I even went to a couple of meetings there, for my work.  I loved those towers.  I remember going to the Avant Garde Fair there in the late 70's, when John Lennon and Yoko Ono had skywriting planes put their messages in the air, over the fair.  Those towers, clad in white, reminded me (when I saw it much later) of the Getty Museum's (in the Santa Monica Mountains near Los Angeles) gorgeous travertine stone.   Even more than the Statue of Liberty, the Twin Towers were my ultimate New York touchstone.

Me, in front of the original World Trade Center, 31 years ago

Up close and personal, the new building (which will rise to 1,776 feet high, with its mast) is going to be a great addition to downtown Manhattan.  Bring it on.

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