World Trade Centre deck opens to public

Testament to the regeneration of New York, 15 years after the 9/11 attacks, is the new observation deck at the World Trade Centre, offering spectacular views across the city.

“We are back, 100 per cent,” New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a special televised broadcast atop the observation deck that covers the 100th, 101st and 102nd floors of the gleaming glass tower.

“It’s a great moment. It really says that we have turned the corner once and for all, and those that sought to attack us, lost once again.”

The observation deck opens to the general public next Friday.

The tallest office building in the Western hemisphere, the Trade Center, also known as Freedom Tower, welcomed its first tenants last year.

Built on the site of buildings destroyed in the September 11, 2001 attacks, it was constructed to a total height, antenna included, of 1776 feet (541.3 metres), to honour the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

Operators expect three to four million visitors a year will take in the 360-degree views at 380 metres from the Statue of Liberty, to Central Park, Brooklyn Bridge and New Jersey to the west.

On a clear day, you can see for 80 kilometres says David Checketts, chairman and chief executive officer of Legends, the company which operates the observatory.

“We can start to see the curve of the earth on a clear day,” he said during a visit to the deck on Wednesday.

The elevator – one of the quickest in the world – takes 47 seconds to reach the 102nd floor and is a journey in itself.

Floor-to-ceiling LED technology provides visitors with a virtual time-lapse that recreates the development of the city’s s skyline from the 1600s to present day.

Once in the observatory, visitors are welcomed with a two-minute video that combines time-lapse shots with abstract textures and patterns to present the rhythm and pulse of the city in 3D.

Those who don’t get queasy with vertigo can step out onto a sky portal – a 4.3-metre wide disc that uses real-time, high-definition footage to give a view of the streets below.

Visitors are subject to tough security measures similar to those at airports.

In total 2753 people were killed at the World Trade Center site when Al-Qaeda hijacked two passenger jets and flew them into the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001.

Image: AFP

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