Well, at least in name. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the site, says the signature 1,776-foot skyscraper replacing the towers destroyed on Sept. 11, 2001, will now be officially be known as “One World Trade Center” and the building will be marketed under that name. Port Authority Chairman Anthony Coscia says the building’s legal name is “the one that’s easiest for people to identify with.” Hmmm.
Perhaps adding to the deeply ironic symbolism involved here, the change came after board members voted to sign a 21-year lease deal with Vantone, a Chinese real estate giant closely affiliated with the PRC’s Communist government, which will become the first commercial tenant at Ground Zero.
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The NY Times is saying that the fight isn’t over.
The ‘Freedom Tower’ Name Roars Back
Every New Yorker I know thinks the name sounds Orwellian.
Sorry, you’ll have to scroll up for the actual story.
I always thought “Freedom Tower” was rather creepy sounding, but then I suppose some people might think the same about the “One World…” aspect of the preferred name.
Every NYer I know hates the building’s design too. It may fit in the skyline for a sunbelt city like Atlanta, Houston or Dallas, but it’s completely out of place for southern Manhattan.
(But so were the original WTC buildings…)
At this point “Freedom” anything is going to sound a little ridiculous.
There are plenty of other slightly sinister names they could use, like Liberty Citadel.
How about the Tower of Debt?
Only if it casts an inky black shadow over Wall Street every day.