The new One World Trade Center tower is one step closer to completion as the final spire is slated for installation today.
Construction on the final phases of the spire were scheduled for Monday, but was postponed due to weather conditions.
With the final installation, the towering skyscraper will reach a symbolic height of 1,776 feet.
There are 16 other sections of the spire that have already been installed and the spire itself is 408 feet tall, while the roof is the exact height of the original twin towers before their destruction on Sept. 11, 2001 - 1,368 feet.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said that 1 WTC will be the tallest building in the Western hemisphere. Despite the accolade, 1 WTC must still be judged by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat to make its title official as tallest building in the Western hemisphere.
"A tall building is a serious iconic symbol of the aspirations of whoever is constructing it, and that can extend to the developer, the architect, the city in which it's places and even the whole country," said Daniel Safarik, spokesman for the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
The spire is not just there for aesthetic purposes. It will also be used as antennae for a broadcast facility planned for inside the building, tenants of the 1 WTC and other companies.
The spire's functionality as an antenna may affect the ruling on whether 1 WTC is the tallest building. If the spire is considered by the Council to be an antenna and not part of the actual structure of the new tower, it will lose the honor to the two current tallest buildings - the Willis and Trump towers in Chicago.
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