Twin Towers
world trade center
The original World Trade Center was an important financial and commercial center in Lower Manhattan, the southern part of the island in New York City.
It was a complex of seven buildings, but the Twin Towers (WTC 1 and WTC 2) were the main ones. They were designed by architect Yamasaki and their construction began in 1966. When they were inaugurated on 4th April 1973 each tower had 110 floors, but with its 417 meters high the North Tower became the tallest building in the world, until it was overcome by Sears Tower in Chicago a few months later.
September 11 attacks
During its existence, the World Trade Center suffered several incidents, including a bombing on 26th February 1993 that killed six people.
But the event that destroyed the center happened during the morning of 11th September 2001, when some Islamic terrorists hijacked two planes that had taken off in Boston, and they struck the Twin Towers twenty minutes apart. The first crash struck the North Tower between the 93rd and 99th floors, while the second one attacked the South Tower between 77th and 85th floors. After the crashes all the people who were above the impact areas remained trapped without means of escape. After burning for about an hour the South Tower collapsed and half an hour later also the other tower fell down.
These terrorist attacks caused the death of 2977 people and all the other buildings around the Twin Towers were badly damaged by debris, so after that they were demolished.
the reconstruction
The New World Trade Center arose from the reconstruction that was entrusted to the architect Libeskind. There the One World Trade Center is its main building and there is also the National September 11 Memorial & Museum composed of two square fountains and a museum built in the foundations of the towers, 21 meters underground.
fountains
The fountains, surrounded by a wooded park, are located where there were the Twin Towers and they have the same dimensions as the bases of the buildings.
This fountains were created as monuments in memory of the victims of the September 2001 and February 1993 attacks on the towers, in fact all their names are engraved on the bronze side panels.
9/11 museum
The 9/11 museum was built to pay homage to the victims of the terrorist attacks, but also to the surviving people and all those who risked their lives to save others.
In the museum you know the history of the World Trade Center but also the lives of the victims. In particular there is the Memorial Exhibition where all the photos of dead people are shown and the Historical Exhibition that tells the events that happened on September 11 through finds, images and audio testimonials.