The 16-acre site in Lower Manhattan once known as Ground Zero is now a fully functioning neighborhood of skyscrapers, a memorial, a performing arts center, a major transit hub, and public green space. More than two decades after September 11, 2001, the World Trade Center campus is one of the most visited places in New York City, blending commemoration with everyday urban life.
One World Trade Center
The tallest building in the Western Hemisphere stands at the northwest corner of the site. One World Trade Center rises 1,776 feet, a deliberate nod to the year of American independence. The tower has 94 stories and serves primarily as office space, but its main public draw is the One World Observatory, which opened in 2015 on floors 100 through 102. From there, visitors get panoramic views stretching across all five boroughs and into New Jersey.
The 9/11 Memorial and Museum
At the center of the campus sit two enormous reflecting pools, each nearly an acre in size, set within the footprints of the original Twin Towers. Water cascades down the sides and disappears into a square void at the center. The names of every person killed in the 2001 attacks and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing are inscribed on bronze parapets surrounding the pools.
Below ground, the 9/11 Memorial Museum holds artifacts recovered from the site, including an FDNY Ladder 3 firetruck and two 80-foot-tall steel columns known as the Tridents, which formed part of the original towers’ facade. The museum tells the story of the attacks through personal objects, audio recordings, and remnants of the buildings themselves.
Near the pools, the Survivor Tree offers a quieter symbol. A Callery pear tree pulled from the rubble, nursed back to health, and replanted on the plaza, it blooms each spring. The 9/11 Memorial Glade, added later, honors those who became sick or died from exposure to toxins during rescue and recovery work.
The Other Towers
One World Trade Center gets the most attention, but it shares the campus with several other skyscrapers. 3 World Trade Center, opened in 2018, is the second tallest on site at 1,079 feet and 80 stories. It holds 2.5 million square feet of office space with tenants including the media company GroupM, trading firm Hudson River Trading, and software company Asana, among others. 4 World Trade Center and 7 World Trade Center are also completed and occupied.
The last major office tower, 2 World Trade Center, is still to come. The northeastern corner of the site currently holds a low placeholder building covered with colorful murals and a beer garden. A 55-story tower designed by Norman Foster, featuring glassy sections interspersed with landscaped terraces, is planned for the spot. American Express will serve as the anchor tenant, occupying the entire building. Completion is expected in 2031.
The Oculus and Transit Hub
One of the most visually striking structures on the campus is the Oculus, a white, wing-shaped transit hall designed by architect Santiago Calatrava. Inside, the ribbed ceiling soars over a marble concourse that connects PATH train service to New Jersey with a dozen New York City subway lines, including the A, C, E, J, R, W, Z, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 trains. The building also houses a large shopping and dining concourse spread across multiple levels, making it both a commuter hub and a retail destination.
Perelman Performing Arts Center
The newest major addition to the site is the Perelman Performing Arts Center, which opened in 2023. Its cubic exterior is clad in translucent marble that appears cream-colored during the day and glows amber at night when lit from within. Inside are three flexible theater spaces that can be reconfigured for different types of performances, from classical music to hip-hop. A lobby stage hosts free programming, and a ground-floor restaurant and terrace are open to the public.
Liberty Park and Public Spaces
Liberty Park is an elevated, one-acre green space that sits atop the vehicle security center on the south side of the campus. It offers wide views of the memorial pools and surrounding towers. A living wall along the park’s northern edge contains a variety of plant species growing vertically.
On the park’s western side stands the Koenig Sphere, a large bronze sculpture that originally sat at the center of the plaza between the Twin Towers. It was recovered from the rubble after September 11, damaged but intact, and spent years in Battery Park before returning to the World Trade Center site in 2017. Next to it is the America’s Response Monument, a statue of a Special Forces soldier on horseback honoring the first military responders sent to Afghanistan after the attacks.
Taken together, the campus today is a place where tens of thousands of people work in office towers, commuters pass through one of the busiest transit hubs in the city, tourists visit the memorial, and neighbors walk their dogs through a park built on top of a security garage. It functions less like a monument and more like a living piece of New York City, which was always the stated goal of the rebuilding effort.