New York’s tallest building is still under construction, but it’s already scraping the sky. At 76 stories, 1 World Trade Center, the crown jewel of what was once a bleak and dreary pit, is already the tallest building in downtown Manhattan.

“It’s the real thing,” said Julie Menin, president of Manhattan’s Community Board 1. “Now you really see it. People come downtown and see a gleaming building rising from the ashes.”

Once dubbed the “Freedom Tower,” the new superstructure will reach 105 floors and a symbolic height of 1,776 feet.