One WTC Construction Complete as Tallest Building in the Western Hemisphere

Towering 1,776 feet above the ground, in honor of the year that began the American revolution against British rule and what is considered the start of the modern United States, New York's One World Trade Center met the end of its construction as a tall, heavy spire was hoisted into place today. Installation of the final two sections of the 408-foot, 758-ton spire was completed after pieces of it had been transported to the roof of the building last week. It will serve as a world-class broadcast antenna. The spire makes the building the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, 47 feet taller than Chicago's Willis Tower, though it is substantially shorter than towers in the Middle East and Asia.

"It's a culmination of a tremendous amount of team work ... rebuilding the New York City skyline once again," said Juan Estevez, a project manager for Tishman Construction, from a temporary platform on the roof of the tower where he and other workers watched the milestone.

"It's going to have a light that you can see from tens of miles away," said Port Authority Vice Chairman Scott Rechler. "And that light will change colors and in the next few months we are going to be activating that light, and it will be a beacon of hope just like the Statue of Liberty."

9/11 Memorial President Joe Daniels watched the spire piece rise Thursday morning from the memorial's office windows overlooking the World Trade Center site. "It's a big milestone in the history of the rebirth of the site," Daniels told NBC News. "This renewal of spirit, to see spring here and this beautiful weather, the memorial fountains and the flag on the spire piece going up. It was one of those things that you won't forget."

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