• Nov-Dec 2001

    The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation is formed to plan the reconstruction of the World Trade Center site.

  • July 2002
    The first round of designs for a new WTC site are put on display for public comment.
  • August 2002

    The LMDC invites architects from around the world to submit ideas for the World Trade Center site.

  • February 2003

    Architect Daniel Libeskind’s 'Memory Foundations' is selected as the new design plan for the World Trade Center site.

  • July 2003

    Architect David Childs, of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, is selected to design Freedom Tower, which will be the tallest of the four towers planned for the WTC site.

  • December 19, 2003

    Plans for Freedom Tower are revealed. The skyscraper will occupy the northwest corner of ground zero.

  • July 4, 2004

    During a special ceremony, a 20-tonne slab of granite, inscribed with 'the enduring spirit of freedom' is laid as the cornerstone of Freedom Tower.

  • May 4, 2005

    Announcement of a redesign of the Freedom Tower is made.

  • June 29, 2005

    The revised plans for Freedom Tower are released.

  • April 27, 2006

    Construction begins on Freedom Tower.

  • March 26, 2009

    The announcement is made that the skyscraper will no longer be referred to as Freedom Tower. It will be called by its legal name and address, One World Trade Center.

  • May 10, 2013

    Construction workers bolt the last pieces of a 408-foot spire into place atop One World Trade Center, bringing the building to a height of 1,776 feet.

  • November 3, 2014

    One World Trade Center opens when the first tenant, Conde Nast, moves in.

  • May 29, 2015

    The One World Observatory opens in three upper floors of the tower.