One World Trade Center Officially Ruled Tallest Building in America, Chicago's Willis Tower Comes In Second
Chicago had the tallest skyscraper in the United States before New York made the new One World Trade Center, which is taller - or is it?
After further review, an official arbiter of structural stature, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat ruled that One World Trade Center is the tallest building in the United States. It is measured at 1,776 feet while the Willis Tower in Chicago stands at 1,450.
Although the numbers do not even seem close, the dispute revolved around the One World Trade Center's mast that accounts for a significant portion of the building's top surface. The question that remained was whether or not the tower's mast should count in the true measurement of the building. Without the mast, New York's Trade Center would measure at 1,368 feet - nearly 100 feet below the height of the Willis Tower.
When it was all said and done, the group that determined whether the new World Trade Center or the Willis Tower should hold the mark for the nation's tallest building was a Chicago-based committee of 30 architects, according to the New York Daily News.
The roof on the top floor of the new One World Trade Center is 1,368, which was the same exact height as the North Tower, which was one of the "Twin Towers" that were destroyed on Sept. 11, 2001.
Construction started on the new World Trade Center in 2006 and it still is not yet open. The estimated opening date remains sometime in the beginning of 2014.