World Trade Center Finally Gets Its Spire (Photos)

One World Trade Center, which will soon become the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, received one of its final pieces today: the spire that will sit atop the skyscraper.

A crane raised the 408-foot, 700-ton spire from the ground on Thursday, in a process watched by dozens at the Lower Manhattan site where the Twin Towers once stood. As of now, the spire is sitting near the top of the building as it awaits final implementation by iron workers at a later date.

The building, when finished, will stand 1,776 feet high, a height chosen when it was still going to be called the Freedom Tower. One World Trade Center will be the third-tallest in the world, behind Dubai's Burj Khalifa (2,717 feet) and Saudi Arabia's Makkah Royal Clock Tower Hotel (1,971 feet).

Here are some pictures from the event:

[NBC]