The World Trade Center was a building complex located in the Financial District of New York City and made up of 7 buildings, the most noticeable being the Twin Towers. The twin towers were destroyed on September 11, 2001, as well as the other 5 buildings after the collapse of each tower. Now, the site has a 2 pool memorial, each pool in the footprint of where both towers once stood.
The original towers.
Timeline[]
- 1953 World Trade Center proposed at the 1953 New York World Fair
- 1966 Groundbreaking for the complex begins
- 1970 The North Tower is topped-out
- 1971 The South Tower is topped-out
- 1973 The World Trade Center is inaugurated
- 1974 French tightrope walker Philippe Petit walks on a high-wire between the two towers
- 1977 The famous 1977 blackout happens
- 1987 7 World Trade Center is Complete
- 1993 The underground parking garage is bombed in a terrorist attack, taking the lives of 6 people
- 2001 The complex is destroyed, taking the lives of 2,996 people
- 2006 The new 7 World Trade Center is complete
- 2011 The new Memorial opens on the 10th Anniversary
- 2013 Four World Trade Center is complete
- 2014 One World Trade Center is complete
- 2018 Three World Trade Center is complete
Features of the original towers[]
Before the attack, the Twin Towers were mostly office space, but there was a restaurant on the 107th floor of the North tower and an indoor and outdoor observation deck on the South tower.
Windows On the World[]
A restaurant on the 106th and 107th floors of the North Tower. It opened on April of 1976. The restaurant was developed by Joe Baum which cost more than $17 million. The restaurant was closed following the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and reopened in 1996. During 2000, the restaurant's last full year of operation, Windows On the World reported revenues of $37 million which made it the highest-grossing restaurant in the USA.
Top of the World[]
Was an observation deck on the 107th floor and roof of the South tower. After the 1993 terrorist bombing, visitors would have to pass through security checks, and then sent to the 107th floor indoor observatory. When the weather allows, visitors could ride two escalators up from the 107th floor to the outdoor observation deck on the roof. On a clear day, it is said that visitors could see up to 50 miles.
The lobby of the World Trade Center South tower
Lobbies[]
To get up to the 107th floor or any offices, a person would have to go through the lobby. After the 1993 bombing, turnstiles and extra security measures were installed, but that was not enough to stop another terrorist attack, since the next one involved hijacked planes. Elevators can be accessed from here.
Sky-lobbies[]
Because of how tall the towers are and how many elevators were required, engineers decided to use a system with two "sky lobbies", basically floors where people can switch from express elevators to local elevators. They were located on the 44th and 78th floors of the Twin Towers.
1993 World Trade Center bombing[]
On February 26, 1993, Al-Qaeda terrorists tried to destroy the World Trade Center Twin Towers by parking a Ryder van into the public parking garage on underground level B-2. The bomb opened a 30-m wide hole through four sublevels of concrete. The bomb explosion instantly cut of electricity to the World Trade Center.
Destruction[]
On September 11th 2001, terrorists from Al-Qaeda hijacked four planes, two of them were flown into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. They both collapsed within 2 hours of being hit. The collapse destroyed all the other buildings in the complex.
United Airlines Flight 175 crashes into the South Tower at 9:03 a.m.
Timeline of the attacks[]
- 8:46 a.m. American Airlines Flight 11 crashes into the North Tower, instantly killing dozens of people and trapping many others on the floors above.
- 9:03 a.m. United Airlines flight 175 crashes into the South Tower. Miraculously, Stairwell A of the South Tower survived the impact, leading people to safety.
- 9:59 a.m. The South Tower collapses after burning for 56 minutes, killing approximately 1,000 people inside of the tower.
South Tower collapses
- 10:28 a.m. The North Tower collapses after burning for 102 minutes, killing nearly 1,300 people inside of the tower with a handful of survivors.
North tower collapses
- 9:59 a.m. The South Tower collapses killing all who are still in the building.
- 10:28 a.m. The North Tower collapses, but unlike the South Tower, there was a pocket of survivors in a part of a stairwell that survived, they were eventually rescued. Flaming debris hit from the collapsing tower hit 7 World Trade Center, igniting a fire in there and causing the building to eventually fall.
- 5:20 p.m. 7 World Trade Center collapses, nobody was killed in 7 World Trade Center's collapse.
New World Trade Center[]
The site today
Today, all the debris has already been cleaned up. There are two memorial pools on where the Twin Towers once stood. The fountains are 31% smaller than the footprints of the towers. There is also a museum there dedicated to 9/11. There are 6 planned buildings going to be rebuilt, but only four of them are completed as of now but 2 of them is unfinished.