The World Trade Center, as any ambitious piece of architecture, began as a dream, a simple idea. The 1939 New York World’s Fair, an event designed to showcase achievements of New York, included an exhibit called the World Trade Center which promoted the idea of world peace through trade. A big idea conceived in the height of a deep depression, the theme of this fair was “The World of Tomorrow.” Around twenty years later that David Rockefeller, grandson of John D. Rockefeller, suggested building a World Trade Center to re-stimulate urban renewal and economic growth in Lower Manhattan. In addition to reviving Lower Manhattan, Rockefeller hoped building a World Trade Center in New York would begin to promote the idea of NYC as the trade and finance center of the world.This is Radio Row, a six-block radius of radio shops that used to exist where the Freedom Tower now stands. Its residents were evicted to clear the area of the World Trade Center.At the peak of its status as an NYC icon, the Twin Towers dominated both the culture and skyline of Manhatten. As you can see in the picture on the left, no other building came close to reaching the height or grandeur of the Towers.
The Attacks
It was a sunny Tuesday morning and the thousands of businessmen and women who worked in the World Trade Center were just beginning their day, rushing onto elevator queue lines, coffee in-hand, when a Boeing 767 plane crashed into the North Tower. The plane, loaded with over 20,000 gallons of jet fuel, started a massive fire. In just a couple of minutes, a burning hole was left on the 80th floor and the chaos, fear, and devastation that would have a profound impact on the physical and psychological landscape of New York commenced. Just 18 minutes later a second Boeing 767 hit the South Tower. It took just 56 minutes for the South Tower to crumble to the ground, and less than a half hour later, at 10:28, the Twin Towers ceased to exist. The heroic efforts of New York City’s emergency services helped 25,000 people escape from the site, yet 2,996 lives were lost and over 6,000 people were injured.
World Trade Center Today
On the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, the public got its first view of the 9/11 memorial. The memorial covers about 8 acres of Ground Zero and contains two large waterfalls, two reflecting pools, a forest of swamp white oak trees, and benches to sit and reflect. The bronze panels surrounding the pools are inscribed with the names of the 2,996 people who were killed in the attacks. The memorial is a safe haven amidst the incessant hums of concrete mixers, beeps of half a dozen cranes, and the general sounds of a Financial District constantly improving and under construction.The Freedom Tower stands tall today, a symbol of hope for New York City.
9/11 Memorial
The 9/11 museum, mostly underground, presents the grief and sorrow of the tragic day – with no censors. To get into the museum, visitors must descend downwards past the large glass windows of the Freedom Tower. Once inside, the displays trigger viewers’ emotions through all senses. A video of the planes crashing into the towers plays on a loop, the sounds of destruction and screams of fear and helplessness play over and over again. The museum, over 110,000 square feet, is separated into distinct rooms and cavernous spaces, each adding a layer of tragedy to the emotions from the previous displays.
This exhibit had three “walls” of faces, which contained a total of ~2900 faces of victims of the attacks. There were also electronic podiums that allowed people to select any person and learn some biographical information and where they were on that day.This was the 9/11 specific cover of the New Yorker, which was starkly different in tone compared to the more playful depictions of the towers in previous issues.
St. Paul’s Chapel
On our first visit, we walked through the cemetery around St. Paul’s Chapel (which is directly outside of the Chambers street train station and just a few blocks away from the freedom tower).The cemetery also includes the Bell of Hope, which was installed on the one-year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. It is rung every September 11th as a way of commemorating what happened.
Oculus
The Oculus is a futuristic-looking building across from the World Trade Center and the memorials/museum. The building also connects to the Freedom Tower.Inside of the building is a number of shops and the Fulton Street train station.
Going Foward
This picture is the current skyline. The Freedom Towers are surrounded by competition and the contrast between the Freedom Towers and the surrounding buildings is nowhere as stark as the contrast in the picture with the Twin Towers above. Furthermore, if you look closely at the picture on the right, you can see the cranes and construction as other buildings inch towards the staggering height of the One World Trade Center. At the time of its fruition, the construction of the Twin Towers was a risk. Lower Manhatten was underdeveloped and success was uncertain thus, the Twin Towers were at odds with the neighborhood in which it existed. Now, however, progress is promised and inevitable as the entirely of Lower Manhatten strives to scratch the skyThis is a picture of the future Lower Manhatten skyline, projected by Silverstein Properties. In the next couple of years, several prominent projects such as 125 Greenwich Street and 101 Murray are on their way to transforming the verticle profile of Lower Manhatten drastically.
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