METRO Magazine Logo
MenuMENU
SearchSEARCH

Port Authority lights up World Trade Center tower for holidays

The tower, which can now be seen from points in all five New York City boroughs and in New Jersey — has reached the 90th floor, leaving 14 floors remaining.

December 14, 2011
Port Authority lights up World Trade Center tower for holidays

Photo courtesy Port Authority New York and New Jersey.

2 min to read


Photo courtesy Port Authority New York and New Jersey.

To mark the upcoming holiday season, the still-under-construction One World Trade Center tower was illuminated with colored lights on Tuesday.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates many of the busiest and most important transportation links in the region, owns the 16-acre World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan.

Ad Loading...

Construction workers from Five Star Electric — the tower’s electrical contractor — volunteered their time to place colored cellophane wrapping around the existing interior lights to create the holiday look.

One World Trade Center — which can now be seen from points in all five New York City boroughs and in New Jersey — has reached the 90th floor, leaving 14 floors remaining.

The tower’s glass façade has reached the 65th floor and the concrete floors have been built to the 82nd floor.

The building steel is scheduled to top out in the first quarter of 2012, and the building is scheduled for completion by the end of 2013. Approximately half of the tower’s 3 million square feet of office space has been leased.

With an antenna tower rising 1,776 feet high, One World Trade Center will become the Western Hemisphere's tallest building upon completion.

The property will consist of 3 million square feet of Class-A office space on 71 office floors, a grand public lobby graced with 50-foot ceilings, and an observation deck 1,241 feet above ground, among other amenities. Designed by world-renowned architect David Childs of Skidmore Owings & Merrill, One World Trade Center is expected to be the most environmentally sustainable project of its size in the world. The project incorporates a range of environmentally sensitive features based on LEED Gold criteria established by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Workers commuting to and from One World Trade Center will enjoy seamless access to an unprecedented confluence of mass transit services. Ultra-modern, climate-controlled corridors will connect the tower to The World Trade Center Transportation Hub — designed by architect Santiago Calatrava — and the new PATH terminal, 11 NYC Transit subway lines and the new Fulton Street Transit Center, the World Financial Center and ferry terminal, and at least 360,000 square feet of world-class shopping and dining.

Image of One World Trade Center tower taken November 2011. Photo credit: Joe Woolhead.

 

World Trade Center Transportation Hall - Transit Hall Level Rendering. Credit: Santiago Calatrava Courtesy: Silverstein Properties

 

More Rail

Graphic from Amtrak promoting the B&P Tunnel Replacement and Frederick Douglass Tunnel project, featuring the Amtrak logo, project title and an illustration of a high-speed train near the West Baltimore MARC Station.
Railby News/Media ReleaseMarch 17, 2026

Amtrak Announces Community Grants for Projects Near Baltimore’s New Frederick Douglass Tunnel

Amtrak will open grant applications March 23 for community projects near the Frederick Douglass Tunnel alignment in Baltimore as part of a $50 million investment tied to the B&P Tunnel Replacement Program.

Read More →
Amtrak train with logo
Railby StaffMarch 16, 2026

Amtrak Marks Restoration of Two South Carolina Stations

The Denmark Station $2.3 million construction investment project includes a new 280-foot concrete boarding platform, built eight inches above the top of rail, for improved accessibility for passengers with disabilities and families with small children and much more.

Read More →
A view looking down the rail across the new Portal North Bridge.
Railby Staff and News ReportsMarch 13, 2026

NJ Transit, Amtrak Prepare to Open First Track on New Portal North Bridge

The new bridge will begin carrying passenger trains on March 16, replacing a 116-year-old swing bridge that has long caused delays.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
Caltrain trains on tracks
Railby StaffMarch 6, 2026

Caltrain Adopts Corridor-Wide Right-of-Way Safety Strategy

Caltrain and its partners have implemented safety improvements at specific locations in response to known risk conditions, operational needs, and available funding since the agency’s founding.

Read More →
A photo of rail tracks in Ottawa, Canada

Building a National Framework for Transit Safety and Consistency

On a recent episode of METROspectives, METRO Magazine’s Executive Editor Alex Roman sat down with Ana-Maria Tomlinson, Director of Strategic & Cross-Sector Programs at the CSA Group, to explore a bold initiative aimed at addressing those challenges: the development of a National Code for Transit and Passenger Rail Systems in Canada.

Read More →
Stairs in a New York rail station with text reading "USDOT Invests $686 Million to Modernize Aging Rail Stations."
Railby StaffMarch 2, 2026

FTA Invests $686M to Modernize Aging Rail Stations

Competitive FTA grants will support accessibility upgrades, family-friendly improvements, and cost-efficient capital projects at some of the nation’s oldest and busiest transit hubs.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
A purple MBTA train at a Mansfield Station platform.
Railby StaffFebruary 27, 2026

MBTA Updates Rail Modernization Plan to Expand Reliability and Accessibility

The strategy outlines near- and long-term upgrades to ease congestion, support housing growth, and advance statewide climate goals.

Read More →
LA Metro underground station with vehicle
Railby StaffFebruary 27, 2026

LA Metro Sets D Line Subway Extension Launch Date

The 3.92-mile addition will soon take riders west beyond its current Wilshire and Western station in Koreatown, continuing under Wilshire Boulevard through neighborhoods and communities including Hancock Park, Windsor Square, the Fairfax District, and Carthay Circle into Beverly Hills.

Read More →
MBTA railcars
Railby StaffFebruary 26, 2026

Boston's MBTA Marks Progress in Regional Rail Modernization

The procurement advances the agency's broader efforts to modernize its rail fleet and position Regional Rail for long-term improvement.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
An Amtrak Acela
Railby StaffFebruary 26, 2026

Amtrak Sets New Course for Long-Distance Fleet Renewal

Under the plan, all long-distance routes will transition to a universal single-level fleet, replacing today’s mix of bi-level and single-level equipment.

Read More →