Thousands of New York City locals and tourists flooded One World Trade Center on Friday for the public opening of One World Observatory.
The line to soak in the panoramic views was like waiting to ride Space Mountain at Disney World.
But once you reach the top and remember what used to stand in the observatory's place, you forget about the hour or two it took to get there.
I arrived at the nation's tallest building — clocking in at 1,776 feet tall — about 40 minutes before the assigned time on my ticket.
After waiting outside for over 30 minutes, with people of all ages and nationalities, I went inside and stood in more lines.
Post-security check, I shuffled through media-walled rooms and learned about the construction of One World Trade. Then I entered a cave-like room made of Manhattan schist, the granite that serves as the building's foundation. Fun fact: The granite is 450 million years old.
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