One World Trade Center, America's tallest building, on Monday welcomed its first tenants, publishing group Conde Nast, in a symbolic moment 13 years after the 9/11 attacks that brought down the original Twin Towers. About 175 executives of the group that publishes magazines like The New Yorker and Vanity Fair, filed through the doors of the building on Vesey Street, just steps from the memorial and museums erected at the site where the Twin Towers once stood.
The iconic Manhattan landmark collapsed in fire and smoke on September 11, 2001 after being hit by hijacked airliners flown by al Qaeda militants. Nearly 3000 people were killed in the attacks, which also targeted the Pentagon. The new tower is the centerpiece of a five tower complex. It stands 104 stories and 1,776 feet (540 meters) tall, a height representing the year the United States declared its independence from Britain. "Some people are nervous, some people are just excited to move downtown and start a transformation for the company, to help revitalize lower Manhattan," said John Duffy, director of policies and controls at Conde Nast. Duffy, who worked in the old World Trade Center in the 1980s, acknowledged that "some people are gonna be nervous, feeling they could be potential targets again."
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