A small tour of the World Trade Center

For those who never visited the World Trade Center, here is a small tour of the towers

Constructed in the 1970s, the WTC were among the tallest buildings in the world until their destruction in 2001. They were visible from most of NYC and were as iconic of the skyline as the Empire State Building and Statue of Liberty.

The two 110 story towers towered over all of the nearby buildings.

A view from the Marriott (known as 3WTC)

The Marriott was the perfect hotel for travelers to Manhattan with prime location for shopping, tourism, and business.

A view of the plaza

The courtyard of the WTC complex. A great meeting place for friends and coworkers. Located in the center of the complex.

An aerial view of the WTC complex

The twin towers stood above the rest, with the other WTC buildings making a ring around the plaza in the center.

looking up

Looking up at the towers from the plaza, they were so tall the iconic antennae on the North Tower was not visible.

The lobby

Entering into either tower, this was the basic lobby

Elevators

There were many elevators to transport people up the tower. None made the whole 110 story trip. You would have to start at ground floor, get off on a different floor (somewhere between 50 and 75), and catch the next group of elevators up.

Average working space

The WTC was a business-based skyscraper, with many firms operating inside.

Looking down

If you worked on the upper floors of the WTC, this would be your view looking out the window.

On September 11, this was the view outside (taken 3 minutes after the first plane hit the building): http://i.imgur.com/O4d7TLJ.jpg

Windows of the World

If you were in the North Tower, one would check out the Windows of the World. Considered by many to be the best restaurant in America, it offered spectacular views of New York because of it's location on the 107th floor. Many people would have special occasions and weddings here.

Windows of the World

The restaurant was a formal setting. A jacket and tie were required. If you didn't have this, you would have to wait at the bar.

Note: on September 11, it is believed that most of the jumpers from the upper floors of the WTC came from Windows of the World. They were believed to be workers from the restaurant and business people there for a morning conference.

The observation deck

Located in the South Tower (WTC2) , the observation deck was extremely popular with tourists (even making an appearance in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York).

The view

On a clear day, a visitor at the observation deck could see more than 50 miles in any direction.

September 11, 2001

On September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked commercial airliners and flew them intentionally into both of the towers. Roughly an hour later, both towers collapsed, destroying the complex and killing almost 3000 people (employees, tourists, firefighters, police, the passengers on the planes, etc)

Ground Zero

By that night, the area was known as Ground Zero and took months to clean up. Cleanup was completed in May 2002

The new World Trade Center

In 2006, construction started on the new World Trade Center. Instead of having two twin towers, there would be one flagship tower and several slightly shorter towers around the new complex.

One World Trade Center

At 1776 feet tall, the new One World Trade Center is the tallest structure in North America. There will be a new restaurant, a new observation deck, a museum, and more.

Here is what office space in the new 1WTC will look like: http://i.imgur.com/QshcUsA.jpg

The new complex

A rendering of what the new World Trade Center will look like. Memorial ponds (with the names of all the victims of the attack around each of the ponds) for the previous two towers lay in the center of this new complex with the new buildings towering over the area.

One World Trade Center is scheduled to be completed in late 2014, with the rest of the towers and gardens to be finished in the next two years.