World Trade Center Gets Spire

Construction crews at the World Trade Center hoisted a flag-bedecked spire to the top of the site's signature One World Trade Center building Thursday. Workers raised the spire to a temporary work platform, where ironworkers can permanently attach it to the roof in coming weeks, said Steven Plate, head of construction at the site. "It's a 22-ton structure that will house a state of the art lighting facility as well as a beacon that will be seen for miles around," Plate said. It will "give a tremendous indication to people around the entire region and the world that we are back and we are better than ever." When the spire is fully installed, One World Trade Center will stand a symbolic 1,776 feet high, making it the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. The 408-foot spire will serve as a broadcast antenna.