Meanwhile, the Financial District of Lower Manhattan was left out of the economic boom of financial industries there. Lower Manhattan also saw less economic growth than Midtown because many workers moved to the suburbs, and they found it easier to commute to midtown than to downtown. The writer Paul Goldberger states that the Financial District, in particular, was devoid of "almost any kind of urban amenity", including entertainment, cultural hubs, or housing. Commercial industries along the ports of Lower Manhattan were also being replaced with industries elsewhere. David Rockefeller, who led urban renewal efforts in Lower Manhattan, constructed the One Chase Manhattan Plaza in a bid to bring jobs back.
Original plans
Construction of the World Trade Center
Construction of the World Trade Center | Original plans
David Rockefeller suggested that the Port Authority would be a logical choice for taking on the project. Rockefeller argued that the Trade Center would provide great benefits in facilitating and increasing volume of international commerce coming through the Port of New York and New Jersey. In 1958, Rockefeller established the Downtown-Lower Manhattan Association (DLMA), which commissioned Skidmore, Owings and Merrill to draw up plans for revitalizing Lower Manhattan. The plans, made public in late June 1960, called for a World Trade Center to be built on a site along the East River, at the South Street Seaport, one of the Lower Manhattan ports that had seen a continuous decline in business over the past decade. The proposed complex included a exhibition hall, as well as a 50- to 70-story building with a hotel located on some of its upper floors. Other amenities would include a theater, shops, and restaurants. The plan also called for a new securities exchange building, which the Downtown-Lower Manhattan Association hoped would house the New York Stock Exchange. The Financial District of Lower Manhattan was left out of the economic boom of financial industries there, lower Manhattan also saw less economic growth than Midtown because many workers moved to the suburbs, and they found it easier to commute to midtown than to downtown
when did construction start on the twin towers
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August 1968
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what was the actual plan behind it?
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The original twin towers took less than three years from start of construction to be finished and five years from the beginning planning stages. However, given the complexity and highly political nature of the rebuilding efforts, they are often cited as an example of a successful public-private collaboration and are taught as a case study in successful negotiations.
World Trade Center site | Planning for the new World Trade Center
This had been considered a priority since restoring Con Edison's electrical substation in the building's lower floors was necessary to meet power demands of Lower Manhattan.
World Trade Center (2001–present) | Early construction and final planning
There was much debate regarding the future of Ground Zero following the destruction of the World Trade Center. Disagreement and controversy regarding who owned the property and what would be built there hindered construction at the site for several years. Many wanted the Twin Towers to be rebuilt, but at a taller height than before. The project for the new Twin Towers was called Twin Towers II, which was led by an informal organization called the Twin Towers Alliance. Others did not want anything built there at all or wanted the entire site to become a memorial. Finally, a master plan was agreed upon, which would feature a memorial and museum where the original Twin Towers stood and six new skyscrapers surrounding it.
World Trade Center (2001–present) | Controversy and criticism
The design for the World Trade Center was finalized in 2005, but was revised extensively after the NYPD raised security concerns regarding various sites in the complex, which delayed the start of the construction of the entire complex by two years. The new plans for the World Trade Center Transportation Hub, which involved doubling the number of support columns, pushed back the construction timeline. In the original plan, the construction of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum would have begun after the Transportation Hub had been completed because the roof of the Transportation Hub provided the foundation on which the memorial rested upon and the walls of the museum.
World Trade Center (2001–present) | Early construction and final planning
He favored the 80-story twin-tower plan, but found that it did not meet the Port Authority's requirements. At the time, it was not considered economical to build an office building with more than 80 floors.
Construction of the World Trade Center | Search for an architect
These architecture firms were then invited to compete to be the master plan architect for the World Trade Center:
World Trade Center (2001–present) | Planning
The initial planning of the project first surfaced in the media in 2004 with the group behind the project called Team Twin Towers, Inc., composed of activists and designers collaborating on the early design of the model. The team was initially led by television producer and co-founder of the team Randy Warner, and the design led by engineer Kenneth "Ken" Gardner and architect Herbert Belton, who was an architect for the original World Trade Center. Their spokesman was Jonathan Hakala, a venture capitalist who had been a tenant on the 77th floor of the original North Tower. The project design was called the "Plan of the People", and would be identical to the original Yamasaki design.
Twin Towers 2 | Initial emergence (2004)
Beside the towers, an above-ground memorial would have occupied the footprints of the original towers. The new site would also have featured three 12-story buildings, replacing the original 3, 4 and 5 World Trade Center. The complex was designed and developed by American architect Herbert Belton and American engineer Kenneth Gardner, and sponsored by Donald Trump.
Twin Towers 2 | Introduction
On , 1962, the Port Authority announced the selection of Minoru Yamasaki as lead architect and Emery Roth & Sons as associate architects. Yamasaki devised the plan to incorporate twin towers. His original plan called for the towers to be 80 stories tall, but to meet the Port Authority's requirement for of office space, the buildings would each have to be 110 stories tall. Yamasaki's design for the World Trade Center, unveiled to the public on , 1964, called for a square plan approximately in dimension on each side. The buildings were designed with narrow office windows wide, which reflected Yamasaki's fear of heights as well as his desire to make building occupants feel secure.
World Trade Center (1973–2001) | Design
Rockefeller believed that the area would lose its status as the nation's financial hub if it were not redeveloped. However, the skyscraper, which opened in 1960, attracted far fewer tenants than expected. In 1958, Rockefeller established the Downtown-Lower Manhattan Association (DLMA), which commissioned Skidmore, Owings and Merrill to draw up plans for revitalizing Lower Manhattan. The plans, made public in late June 1960, called for a World Trade Center to be built on a site along the East River, at the South Street Seaport, one of the Lower Manhattan ports that had seen a continuous decline in business over the past decade.
Construction of the World Trade Center | Original plans
Excavation for 200 Greenwich Street commenced in 2008 and the building was originally scheduled to be completed sometime between 2011 and 2016. On May 11, 2009, however, it was announced that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey was seeking to reduce the tower to a "stump" building of approximately ten stories. The overall plan, which also calls for a similar reduction in height for 3 World Trade Center and the cancellation of 5 World Trade Center, would halve the amount of office space available in the fully reconstructed World Trade Center to 5 million square feet (465,000 square meters).
2 World Trade Center | Construction
Originally, Yamasaki submitted to the Port Authority a concept incorporating twin towers, but with each building only 80 stories tall. Yamasaki remarked that the "obvious alternative, a group of several large buildings, would have looked like a housing project." The Port Authority mandated that of office space be included in the new World Trade Center, but tasked Yamasaki with determining how to arrange that space. As a result, Yamasaki tested out different possible designs, including spreading out the space across three or four towers, as well as condensing the space within two 80-story towers. His other plans included a single, very large tower and ten moderately large buildings.
Construction of the World Trade Center | Search for an architect
Also included would be the World Trade Center Transportation Hub; the National September 11 Museum; a Performing Arts Center designed by Frank Gehry; and various parks and public spaces. The actual design (the one which is constructed) involves a different design and arrangement of buildings. The original plan aimed to fully replace the of office space lost on September 11, 2001, to memorialize the victims of the attacks, and to revive New York City's economy and skyline.
Memory Foundations | Introduction
The site would be bounded clockwise from the south by Old Slip, Water Street, Fulton Street, and South Street, and the complex itself would be located on "a two-story platform that would supersede and displace the conventional street grid". The proposed complex included a exhibition hall, as well as a 50- to 70-story building with a hotel located on some of its upper floors. Other amenities would include a theater, shops, and restaurants. The plan also called for a new securities exchange building, which the Downtown-Lower Manhattan Association hoped would house the New York Stock Exchange. David Rockefeller suggested that the Port Authority would be a logical choice for taking on the project because it had experience with similar large engineering projects, and also because the Port Authority, rather than Rockefeller, would be paying for the complex's construction.
Construction of the World Trade Center | Original plans
In the months following the attacks, architects and urban planning experts held meetings and forums to discuss ideas for rebuilding the site. Outgoing Mayor Giuliani advocated for a "soaring memorial" to be the only thing at the World Trade Center site during his final speech as mayor. Meanwhile, Larry Silverstein wanted to construct a new World Trade Center as soon as possible: the insurance documents for his lease on the old World Trade Center had not been finalized at the time of the attacks, so he could not receive insurance benefits from the attacks unless he rebuilt all the office space that had been destroyed.
World Trade Center (2001–present) | Planning
Rockefeller argued that the Trade Center would provide great benefits in facilitating and increasing volume of international commerce coming through the Port of New York and New Jersey. David's brother, New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, formally asked the Port Authority to investigate the feasibility of this proposal. Given the importance of New York City in global commerce, Port Authority director Austin J. Tobin remarked that the proposed project should be "the" World Trade Center, and not just a generic "world trade center". Tobin commissioned an aide, Richard Sullivan, to lead a study on the feasibility of building a World Trade Center.
Construction of the World Trade Center | Original plans
Plans for the World Trade Center rebuilding started in July 2002 which was headed by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. There were many proposals on how to build the World Trade Center back however many lacked creativity. Several architects were chosen throughout this construction process, but all of them ran into many problems with the design. The financial crisis in 2008 also forced the construction process over to the Port Authority; however, the Port Authority construction is not going as smoothly as planned. City officials are looking for better ways to lower the problems and delays. The World Trade Center completion of construction was scheduled for 2016.
Rescue and recovery effort after the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center | Reconstruction
At the time of their completion the "Twin Towers"—the original 1 World Trade Center (the North Tower), at 1,368 ft (417 metres), and 2 World Trade Center (the South Tower)—were the tallest buildings in the world. The other buildings in the complex included the Marriott World Trade Center (3 WTC), 4 WTC, 5 WTC, 6 WTC, and 7 WTC. All of these buildings were built between 1975 and 1985, with a construction cost of $400 million (equivalent to $ in dollars). The complex was located in New York City's Financial District and contained of office space. The World Trade Center experienced a fire on , 1975, a bombing on , 1993 and a robbery on , 1998.
World Trade Center site | Original buildings
The overall plan, which also called for a similar reduction in height for 2 World Trade Center and the indefinite postponement of 5 World Trade Center, would halve the amount of office space available in the fully reconstructed World Trade Center to . The agency cited the recession and disagreements with developer Larry Silverstein as reasons for the proposed reduction. Silverstein opposed the plan, filing a notice of dispute on July 7, 2009. By doing so, the development firm began a two-week period during which renegotiated settlements and a binding arbitration regarding the construction of the four World Trade Center towers could be made.
3 World Trade Center | Background
The construction of the World Trade Center, of which the Twin Towers (One and Two World Trade Center) were the centerpieces, was conceived as an urban renewal project and spearheaded by David Rockefeller. The project was intended to help revitalize Lower Manhattan. The project was planned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which hired architect Minoru Yamasaki. He came up with the idea of building twin towers. After extensive negotiations, the New Jersey and New York State governments, which supervise the Port Authority, consented to the construction of the World Trade Center at the Radio Row site, located in the lower-west area of Manhattan.
One World Trade Center | Construction
After a two-year stoppage in above-ground construction, the tower project itself started in August 2014, and the building opened on June 11, 2018.
World Trade Center (2001–present) | Towers
After extensive negotiations, the New Jersey and New York state governments agreed to support the World Trade Center project, which was built at the site of Radio Row in the Lower West Side of Manhattan, New York City. To make the agreement acceptable to New Jersey, the Port Authority agreed to take over the bankrupt Hudson & Manhattan Railroad, which brought commuters from New Jersey to the Lower Manhattan site and, upon the Port Authority's takeover of the railroad, was renamed PATH. The Port Authority hired architect Minoru Yamasaki, who came up with the specific idea for twin towers. The towers were designed as framed tube structures, which provided tenants with open floor plans, uninterrupted by columns or walls.
Construction of the World Trade Center | Introduction
Details about proposals for the site, or construction timelines have yet to emerge.
5 World Trade Center | Introduction
Tozzoli dismissed the three planners who had worked on the original World Trade Center study, due to their lack of creative designs for the World Trade Center complex. He then went to Seattle to meet with architect Minoru Yamasaki. Tozzoli had a general idea of what should be in the trade center, but had not yet devised the specific details of the design. Prior to this meeting, Yamasaki's only high-rise construction project was the Michigan Consolidated Gas Company's 30-story tower in Detroit. As a result, Yamasaki initially thought that the offer for him to build a $280,000,000 world trade center in New York City was a typo.
Construction of the World Trade Center | Search for an architect
Phase 1 of construction was completed in 1990. Phase 2 was completed in 1999, and Phase 3 started in 2005. Phase 3A was completed in August 2010. The original construction was designed by architects Robert Sobel/Emery Roth & Sons with associate architect Nikken Sekkei. Phase 3 was designed by architects Skidmore, Owings and Merrill.
The China World Trade Center | Introduction
This marked the official start of construction of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, though not without controversy and concerns from some family members. In , the Port Authority and Larry Silverstein reached an agreement in which Silverstein ceded rights to develop Towers One and Five in exchange for financing with Liberty Bonds for Towers Two, Three, and Four. On , 2006, a ground-breaking ceremony was held for the Freedom Tower. The building was designed to be tall, the height of the original World Trade Center north tower, and its spire rises to the symbolic height of 1,776 feet (541 m), a reference to the year in which the United States Declaration of Independence was signed.
World Trade Center (2001–present) | Early construction and final planning
Since 2008, news of the project, as well as if it could still be built, had not been mentioned. Due to the completion of One World Trade Center and Four World Trade Center, as well as the National September 11 Memorial & Museum since then, it is unlikely that the project will ever be built at the World Trade Center site. Since the project had been considered moot, Ken Gardner, the engineer of the project, made a comment that he considered voting for Donald Trump, who is now the 45th President of the United States. Bjarke Ingels, who was selected as the architect for Two World Trade Center's new design, stated that he would have rebuilt the World Trade Center if it were up to him.
Twin Towers 2 | Project abandonment (2010)
After the release of the feasibility report for the new site, this figure increased to at least of floor space, making the World Trade Center about as large as the Pentagon, the world's largest office building at the time. However, after directing his staff to inspect the proposed trade center's new site at Radio Row, Tobin decided to increase the amount of floor space further, to at least . Fearing controversy, Tobin kept this plan secret from the public.
Construction of the World Trade Center | Design process
One World Trade Center and Two World Trade Center, commonly referred to as the Twin Towers, were designed by architect Minoru Yamasaki as framed tube structures, which provided tenants with open floor plans, uninterrupted by columns or walls. They were the main buildings of the World Trade Center. Construction of the North Tower at One World Trade Center began in 1966 with the South Tower at Two World Trade Center. When completed in 1972, 1 World Trade Center became the tallest building in the world for two years, surpassing the Empire State Building after its 40-year reign. The North Tower stood tall and featured a telecommunications antenna or mast that was built on the roof in 1978.
World Trade Center (1973–2001) | North and South Towers
Yamasaki's final design for the World Trade Center was unveiled to the public on January 18, 1964, with an eight-foot model. The towers had a square plan, approximately 207 feet (63 m) in dimension on each side. The buildings were designed with narrow office windows, only 18 inches (45 cm) wide, which reflected on Yamasaki's fear of heights and desire to make building occupants feel secure. The windows only covered 30% of the buildings' exteriors, making them look like solid metal slabs from a distance, though this was also a byproduct of the structural systems that held up the towers.
Construction of the World Trade Center | Design revealed
The complex would be completed by 2009 or 2010 under this plan.
World Trade Center station (PATH) | Redesign
By the end of 2007, the tower's footings and foundations were nearly complete.
Construction of One World Trade Center | 2004–2007
Six World Trade Center was first proposed in 1968 as part of the original World Trade Center complex. The building was designed by Emery Roth & Sons, along with Yamasaki Associates. Construction was completed in 1973. The original Six World Trade Center was home to the U.S. Customs Service for the state of New York, from 1974 to 2001. It was a 537,693-square-foot (49,953-square-meter), eight-story building, the shortest in the World Trade Center complex. From the Austin J. Tobin Plaza level, on which the main structure was built, it had a height of 92 feet (28 m) but was 105 feet (32 m) above the actual ground level.
Six World Trade Center | Original building (1973–2001)
That story was the basis for a book he would co-author with James Glanz, published in 2003, "City in the Sky, the Rise and Fall of the World Trade Center", which examined the conception, design, construction, life and ultimate destruction of the twin towers, tracing the story back to the 1950s when the project was first proposed by David Rockefeller. A second story, titled "Fighting to Live as the Towers Died", examined the fate of the unlucky individuals who were stuck above the point of impact in the two towers after the planes hit, a piece based on hundreds of hours or work collecting random emails, text messages and recollections of phone calls with those victims, all of which were assembled into a single narrative.
Eric Lipton | World Trade Center coverage
This trade center would increase New York City's role in transatlantic trade. The World Trade Corporation was founded, and a board was appointed by New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey to develop plans for the project. Less than four months after the board was named, plans for a "world trade center" were put on hold. By then, architect John Eberson and his son Drew had devised a plan that included 21 buildings over a ten-block area, at an estimated cost of $150 million. However, projections determined that such a complex would not be profitable due to a lack of demand; one estimated that the World Trade Center project would only be successful if at least 4,800 of the United States' largest 6,000 companies were involved.
Construction of the World Trade Center | Context
The tower was originally designed by Foster and Partners in 2006, then redesigned by the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), before finally being given back to Foster and Partners for a redesign of the original concept in 2020.
2 World Trade Center | Designs
Following the destruction of the original World Trade Center, there was debate regarding the future of the World Trade Center site. There were proposals for its reconstruction almost immediately, and by 2002, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation had organized a competition to determine how to use the site. The proposals were part of a larger plan to memorialize the September 11 attacks and rebuild the complex. When the public rejected the first round of designs, a second, more open competition took place in December 2002, in which a design by Daniel Libeskind was selected as the winner. This design underwent many revisions, mainly because of disagreements with developer Larry Silverstein, who held the lease to the World Trade Center site at that time.
One World Trade Center | Planning and early development
The original World Trade Center was a large complex of seven buildings in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. It opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. At the time of their completion, the Twin Towers—the original 1 World Trade Center (the North Tower), at ; and 2 World Trade Center (the South Tower), at —were the tallest buildings in the world. Other buildings in the complex included the Marriott World Trade Center (3 WTC), 4 WTC, 5 WTC, 6 WTC, and 7 WTC. The complex contained of office space.
World Trade Center (1973–2001) | Introduction
Libeskind later denied a request to place the tower in a more rentable location next to the PATH station. He instead placed it another block west, as it would then line up with, and resemble, the Statue of Liberty. Most of Libeskind's original designs were later scrapped, and other architects were chosen to design the other WTC buildings. However, one element of Libeskind's initial plan was included in the final design – the tower's symbolic height of . Daniel R. Tishman – along with his father John Tishman, builder of the original World Trade Center – led the construction team from Tishman Realty & Construction, the selected builder for One World Trade Center.
One World Trade Center | Key project coordinators
George Pataki, the then-Governor of New York, controlled the Port Authority alongside the Governor of New Jersey and so was entitled to make the final decision regarding the site. He wished to balance the desires of people like Giuliani, who did not want any future development on the site, with those of people like Silverstein, who wanted a new World Trade Center as soon as possible. In January 2002, New York City art dealer Max Protetch solicited 50 concepts and renderings from artists and architects, which were put on exhibit in his art gallery in Chelsea. With the World Trade Center site, numerous stakeholders were involved, including Silverstein and the Port Authority.
World Trade Center (2001–present) | Planning
In a subsequent design, the highest occupiable floor became comparable to the original World Trade Center, and the open-air lattice was removed from the plans. In 2002, former New York Governor George Pataki faced accusations of cronyism for supposedly using his influence to get the winning architect's design picked as a personal favor for his friend and campaign contributor, Ronald Lauder. A final design for the "Freedom Tower" was formally unveiled on June 28, 2005. To address security issues raised by the New York City Police Department, a concrete base was added to the design in April of that year.
One World Trade Center | Planning and early development
Six towers, a 9/11 memorial and museum, a mall, a transportation hub, a parking lot, a park, a church, and a performing arts venue are to eventually occupy the new World Trade Center. As of March 2020, progress on the construction of the redesigned site was as follows:
World Trade Center (2001–present) | Structures
A seventh building was built in the mid-1980s.
One World Trade Center | Construction
When the World Trade Center twin towers were completed, the total costs to the Port Authority had reached $900 million. The ribbon cutting ceremony took place on , 1973.
World Trade Center (1973–2001) | Construction
3 World Trade Center was originally planned for a podium of seven stories for trading floors, with a 73-floor office tower rising from it. The diamond braces initially planned for the front and rear faces of the building have been dropped from the design and the tower is to be built without them. However, the diagonal bracing on the sides would remain. The four spires in the original design gave the tower a pinnacle height of 1,240 feet (378 m), meaning it would have become the third-tallest building in New York City by pinnacle height, but the spires were later removed from the design, thus reducing the height by about 88 feet (approximately 26.8 m).
3 World Trade Center | Background
Construction resumed in August 2014, and the building opened on June 11, 2018.
World Trade Center site | Towers
Lewis Mumford, author of "The City in History" and other works on urban planning, criticized the project, describing it and other new skyscrapers as "just glass-and-metal filing cabinets". The Twin Towers were described as looking similar to "the boxes that the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building came in". Many disliked the twin towers' narrow office windows, which were only wide and framed by pillars that restricted views on each side to narrow slots. Activist and sociologist Jane Jacobs argued the waterfront should be kept open for New Yorkers to enjoy.
World Trade Center (1973–2001) | Criticism
Even once the agreement between the states of New Jersey, New York, and the Port Authority had been finalized in 1962, the World Trade Center plan faced continued controversy. New York City Mayor Robert F. Wagner Jr. did not like that the city had a very small stake in the trade center's planning process. Wagner had heard of the revised West Side site through the "Newark Evening News", and he stated that the Port Authority had regarded the city as an "outsider rather than the central figure" during the planning process. Wagner wanted the agreement to be delayed until the city could express its opinion regarding the deal.
Construction of the World Trade Center | Controversies during design process
Tishman Realty & Construction was hired in February 1967 to oversee construction of the project. Extensive use of prefabricated parts for the perimeter framing and floor truss systems helped speed up the construction process and reduce costs, while providing greater quality control. Steel components were freighted into a Penn Central (later Conrail) yard in Jersey City. From there, they were brought in the early morning hours through the Holland Tunnel to the construction site, then lifted into place by a crane. Larger pieces were brought to the construction site by tugboats. A special type of crane, suitable for constructing such tall buildings, that used hydraulics to lift components and provided its own power was used in construction of the World Trade Center.
Construction of the World Trade Center | Twin Towers
The Linnaean Society of the American Museum of Natural History also opposed the Trade Center project, citing hazards the buildings would impose on migrating birds.
Construction of the World Trade Center | Design revealed
The World Trade Center design brought criticism of its aesthetics from the American Institute of Architects and other groups. Lewis Mumford, author of "The City in History" and other works on urban planning, criticized the project and described it and other new skyscrapers as "just glass-and-metal filing cabinets." Television broadcasters raised concerns that the World Trade Center twin towers would cause interference in television reception for viewers in the New York City area, who were getting their broadcasts from the Empire State Building at that time. In response to these concerns, the Port Authority offered to provide new television transmission facilities at the World Trade Center.
Construction of the World Trade Center | Design revealed
At the time, the World Trade Center only had a few notable tenants, and Silverstein wanted to improve the complex to make it more attractive to potential tenants. These plans for improvement were never realized. On the morning of September 11, 2001, Al-Qaeda-affiliated hijackers flew two Boeing 767 jets into the Twin Towers in a coordinated act of terrorism. At 8:46 a.m. Eastern Time (ET), a team of five hijackers intentionally crashed American Airlines Flight 11 into the northern facade of the North Tower. At 9:03 a.m. ET, a second team of five hijackers intentionally crashed United Airlines Flight 175 into the southern facade of the South Tower.
World Trade Center (2001–present) | Original complex and 9/11
After years of delay and controversy, reconstruction at the World Trade Center site started. The new complex includes One World Trade Center, 3 World Trade Center, 4 World Trade Center, 7 World Trade Center, and one other high-rise office building being planned at 2 World Trade Center. The new World Trade Center complex also includes a museum and memorial, and a transportation hub building that is similar in size to Grand Central Terminal. 7 World Trade Center opened on May 23, 2006, making it the first of five skyscrapers to have been completed in the World Trade Center complex. 4 World Trade Center, the first building completed as part of the site's master plan, opened on November 12, 2013.
World Trade Center (2001–present) | Introduction
The construction phase of the new 7 World Trade Center began on May 7, 2002, with the installation of a fence around the construction site. Tishman Construction Corporation of New York began work at the new 7 World Trade Center in 2002, soon after the site was cleared of debris. Restoring the Con Ed electrical substation was an urgent priority to meet power demands of Lower Manhattan. Because 7 World Trade Center is separate from the main World Trade Center site, Larry Silverstein required approval from only the Port Authority, and rebuilding was able to proceed quickly. Building Seven was not included in the original World Trade Center master plan by Daniel Libeskind, but was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill under the leadership of David Childs, who largely redesigned One World Trade Center.
7 World Trade Center | Construction
The States of New York and New Jersey also needed to approve the project, given their control and oversight role of the Port Authority. Objections to the plan came from New Jersey Governor Robert B. Meyner, who resented that New York would be getting the $355 million project. Meyner would only agree if his own state were able to benefit. He was particularly concerned about ridership on New Jersey's Hudson and Manhattan Railroad (H&M). The H&M's ridership had declined substantially from a high of 113 million riders in 1927 to 26 million in 1958, after new automobile tunnels and bridges opened across the Hudson River.
Construction of the World Trade Center | Agreement
I. M. Pei was involved in the plan.
Johnson and Johnson Plaza | History
The cross remained during reconstruction, but in the 2004 and 2005 filings of its site plan, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey indicated that "additional remnants" of the original World Trade Center might require removal and storage during construction of the World Trade Center Transportation Hub. Father Brian Jordan OFM, a Roman Catholic Franciscan priest, has been trying to preserve the cross since April 2006. St. Peter's Church, which faces the World Trade Center site, was proposed as a temporary spot for relocation during construction of the new PATH World Trade Center Transportation Hub and office tower at the site.
World Trade Center cross | Location during construction
After the September 11 attacks in 2001, several ideas about building new twin towers were discussed online and in the media. After the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) launched the World Trade Center Site Memorial Competition in 2002, seven architectural groups were commissioned by the organization to create a proposal to restore the Manhattan skyline. Out of the seven, four groups proposed building twin towers though they were not identical to the original design by Minoru Yamasaki. After Daniel Libeskind's Memory Foundations design was favored and then chosen by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation in 2003, the proposed twin-towered designs were rejected.
Twin Towers 2 | Background (2001–2003)
The 47-story building was designed by Emery, Roth & Sons, and constructed on top of a Con Edison power substation.
Construction of the World Trade Center | Other buildings
The buildings are among many created by the World Trade Centers Association. The original World Trade Center comprised the Twin Towers, which opened in 1973 and were the tallest buildings in the world at the time of their completion. They were destroyed on the morning of September 11, 2001, when al-Qaeda-affiliated hijackers flew two Boeing 767 jets into the complex in a coordinated act of terrorism. The attacks on the World Trade Center killed 2,753 people. The resulting collapse of the World Trade Center caused structural failure in the surrounding buildings as well. The process of cleaning up and recovery at the World Trade Center site took eight months, after which rebuilding of the site commenced.
World Trade Center (2001–present) | Introduction
The agency, citing the recession and disagreements with developer Larry Silverstein, also proposed the reduction of 200 Greenwich Street and 175 Greenwich Street to "stump" buildings of approximately four-stories. It was proposed in July 2009 to move the planned construction site for the Performing Arts Center to the 130 Liberty Street location, but these plans were later rejected. The Performing Arts Center was planned to be constructed near the center of the World Trade Center site as part of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. At that location, construction would not begin until 2015. The proposal did not specify whether the Performing Arts Center would occupy the entire site, thereby ending plans for 5 World Trade Center, or if the center would become integrated into a new mixed-use skyscraper on the site.
5 World Trade Center | Construction history
The following month, the LMDC selected Beyer Blinder Belle as planner for the redesign of the World Trade Center site. The new 7 World Trade Center, which was not part of the new plan, began construction on May 7, 2002. On July 16, 2002, Beyer Blinder Belle unveiled six concepts for redesigning the World Trade Center site. The roughly 5,000 New Yorkers that submitted feedback deemed all six designs to be "poor", so the LDMC announced a new international, open-design study. In an August 2002 press release, the LMDC announced a design study for the World Trade Center site. The following month, the LMDC, along with New York New Visions – a coalition of 21 architecture, engineering, planning, landscape architecture and design organizations – announced seven semifinalists.
World Trade Center (2001–present) | Planning
A large transit station was not part of the 2003 Memory Foundations master plan for the site by Daniel Libeskind, which called for a smaller station along the lines of the original subterranean station that existed beneath the World Trade Center. Libeskind's design proposed that the current station house's site be left as an open plaza, forming a "Wedge of Light" so that sun rays around the autumnal equinox would hit the World Trade Center footprints each September. The plaza would have included a wedge whose lines showed the sun's rays at 8:46 a.m. and 10:28 a.m. on September 11 of each year.
World Trade Center station (PATH) | Background
Over the following years, plans were created for the reconstruction of the World Trade Center. The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC), established in to oversee the rebuilding process, organized competitions to select a site plan and memorial design. Memory Foundations, designed by Daniel Libeskind, was selected as the master plan; however, substantial changes were made to the design. The first new building at the site was 7 WTC, which opened on . The memorial section of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum opened on September 11, 2011, and the museum opened on May 21, 2014. 1 WTC opened on , 2014; 4 WTC opened on , 2013; and 3 WTC opened on June 11, 2018.
World Trade Center (1973–2001) | New World Trade Center
In 1961, the same year that Helmsley, Wien, and Malkin had purchased the Empire State Building, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey formally backed plans for a new World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan. The plan originally included 66-story twin towers with column-free open spaces. The Empire State's owners and real estate speculators were worried that the twin towers' of office space would create a glut of rentable space in Manhattan as well as take away the Empire State Building's profits from lessees. A revision in the World Trade Center's plan brought the twin towers to each or 110 stories, taller than the Empire State.
Empire State Building | Loss of "tallest building" title
The design and construction of the towers involved many other innovative techniques, such as wind tunnel experiments and the slurry wall for digging the foundation. Yamasaki also incorporated elements of Islamic architecture in the building's design, having previously designed Saudi Arabia's Dhahran International Airport with the Saudi Binladin Group. Construction of the North Tower (One World Trade Center) began in August 1966; extensive use of prefabricated components sped up the construction process. The first tenants moved into the North Tower in October 1971. In the 1970s, four other low-level buildings were built as part of the World Trade Center complex.
One World Trade Center | Construction
Soon after the September 11 attacks, Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Governor George Pataki, and President George W. Bush vowed to rebuild the World Trade Center site. On the day of the attacks, Giuliani proclaimed, "We will rebuild. We're going to come out of this stronger than before, politically stronger, economically stronger. The skyline will be made whole again." During a visit to the site on September 14, 2001, Bush spoke to a crowd of cleanup workers through a megaphone. An individual in the crowd shouted, "We can't hear you," to which Bush replied, "I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you.
World Trade Center site | Planning for the new World Trade Center
In December 2002, he headed a team that designed a proposal for the rebuilt World Trade Center in New York City. The group developed a complex, intertwined complex of nine bent buildings, interspersed vertically with small pocket parks. It was not well-received, worsened by the fact that Duffy barely spoke about his idea at the general presentation on the 15th of that month, suggesting that he did not have much to say about it. Duffy withdrew SOM from the competition in late January 2003, so that the firm could focus on its other project, 7 World Trade Center.
Roger Duffy | World Trade Center plans
Criticism arose in 2008 that the rebuilding of the World Trade Center was taking longer than expected. Though now-renamed One World Trade Center (formerly Freedom Tower) was under construction as well as the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, it was still proposed to halt One World Trade Center and build the Twin Towers II project. "Seeing them go up could be as powerful as seeing them go down." Ken Gardner stated, engineer of the project. Members of the Twin Towers Alliance, an organization supporting the rebuilding of new twin towers, gathered in July 2008 in Central Park to rally for the cause.
Twin Towers 2 | Later development (2008–2009)
Construction work began on the North Tower in August 1968 with construction beginning on the South Tower by January 1969. In January 1967, $74 million in contracts were awarded to the Pacific Car and Foundry Company, Laclede Steel Company, Granite City Steel Company, and Karl Koch Erecting Company to supply steel for the project. The Port Authority chose to use many different steel suppliers, bidding on smaller portions of steel, rather than buy larger amounts from a single source such as Bethlehem Steel or U.S. Steel as a cost-saving measure. Karl Koch was also hired to do all the work of erecting the steel, and a contract for work on the aluminum facade was awarded to the Aluminum Company of America.
Construction of the World Trade Center | Twin Towers
The plan roughly corresponds to what was ultimately built.
Ellis Island | Structures
One World Trade Center (previously coined the "Freedom Tower" by Governor Pataki) is the centerpiece of Daniel Libeskind's design. The building rises to , the height of the original 1 World Trade Center (The North Tower), and its spire rises to the symbolic height of 1,776 feet (541 m). This height refers to 1776, the year in which the United States Declaration of Independence was signed. The tower was a collaboration between Studio Daniel Libeskind and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill architect David Childs. Childs acted as the design architect and project manager for the tower, and Daniel Libeskind collaborated on the concept and schematic design.
World Trade Center (2001–present) | Towers
He ordered chemicals from his hospital room when injured in a car crash – one of three accidents caused by Salameh in late 1992 and early in 1993.
1993 World Trade Center bombing | Planning and organization
In 1949, the World Trade Corporation was dissolved by the New York State Legislature.
Construction of the World Trade Center | Context
The strength of the steel and thickness of the steel plates decreased with height because they were required to support lesser amounts of building mass on higher floors. The tube-frame design required 40 percent less structural steel than conventional building designs. From the 7th floor to the ground level, and down to the foundation, the columns were spaced 10 feet (3 m) apart to accommodate doorways. All columns were placed on bedrock, which, unlike that in Midtown Manhattan, where the bedrock is shallow, is at 65–85 feet (20–26 m) below the surface.
Construction of the World Trade Center | Structural design
The original World Trade Center contained the Twin Towers, which were the tallest buildings in the world after they opened on April 4, 1973. The other buildings in the complex included the Marriott World Trade Center (3 WTC), as well as 4 WTC, 5 WTC, 6 WTC, and 7 WTC. Despite high financial expectations for the original complex, it did not become profitable until the 1980s. On July 24, 2001, the Port Authority finalized an agreement that leased the complex to Larry Silverstein, who already owned 7 WTC. For $3.2 billion, Silverstein received the legal right to operate the complex and site for 99 years.
World Trade Center (2001–present) | Original complex and 9/11
The original World Trade Center had a massive, five-acre plaza which all other buildings, including the Twin Towers centered around. In 1982, the immense plaza between the twin towers was renamed after the man who authorized the construction of the original World Trade Center. Port Authority's late chairman, Austin J. Tobin. During the summer, the Port Authority installed a portable stage, typically backed up against the North Tower within Tobin Plaza for performers. The odd layout for performances was due to the installation of a sculpture in the center of the plaza, which only allowed for about 6,000 fans. For many years, the Plaza was often beset by brisk winds at ground level owing to the Venturi effect between the two towers.
World Trade Center (1973–2001) | Austin J. Tobin Plaza
The original 7 World Trade Center was a 47-story building, designed by Emery Roth & Sons, with a red granite facade. The building was tall, with a trapezoidal footprint that was long and wide. Tishman Realty & Construction managed construction of the building. The ground-breaking ceremony was hosted on October 2, 1984. The building opened in May 1987, becoming the seventh structure of the World Trade Center. 7 World Trade Center was constructed above a two-story Con Edison substation that had been located on the site since 1967. The substation had a caisson foundation designed to carry the weight of a future building of 25 stories containing .
7 World Trade Center | Design and layout
The design was finalized in 2004, but was revised extensively after the NYPD raised security concerns, which delayed the start of the construction by two years. In 2006, the Port Authority took over from Silverstein Properties. The project's developer Tishman Construction Corporation was the construction manager at the time. Construction began in April 2006. Digging the foundation and installing tower-foundation steel columns, concrete, and rebar took twice as long as it normally would due to the existence of the subway line under West Broadway nearby. The building reached grade level by 2010, progressed at a pace of one floor a week, topped out in August 2012, and was structurally completed in May 2013.
World Trade Center site | Towers
The ship, believed to be a Hudson River sloop, was found just south of where the Twin Towers used to stand, about 20 feet below the surface. The area that was cleared for construction of the original World Trade Center complex was previously occupied by various electronics stores in what was called Radio Row. These streets and stores were demolished in the 1960s to make way for the World Trade Center.
World Trade Center site | Before the World Trade Center
Memory Foundations is the name given by Daniel Libeskind to his site plan for the World Trade Center, which was originally selected by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) to be the master plan for rebuilding at the World Trade Center site in New York City in February 2003. Memory Foundations placed a large memorial to the victims of the September 11, 2001, attacks at the center of the World Trade Center. Surrounding the memorial was to be five large office buildings arranged in an ascending spiral upward from the southeast of the site. The spiral would culminate in the complex's tallest building, the One World Trade Center, a spire.
Memory Foundations | Introduction
In 1942, Austin J. Tobin became the Executive Director of the Port Authority, beginning a 30-year career during which he oversaw the planning and development of the World Trade Center. The concept of establishing a "world trade center" was conceived during the post–World War II period, when the United States thrived economically and international trade was increasing. At the time, economic growth was concentrated in Midtown Manhattan, in part stimulated by Rockefeller Center, which had been developed in the 1930s. In 1946, a year after the war formally ended, the New York State Legislature passed a bill that called for a "world trade center" to be established.
Construction of the World Trade Center | Context
The plan was to provide office space for both the Justice and State departments. The legislation also provided that although the U.S. government would finance the building, a private developer would construct it. The federal government would lease space from the private developer for 30 years, after which ownership of the building would revert to the government. The bill also required the building to be financially self-supporting within two years of its completion. The rental prices throughout the lease's term would remain stable. It was only the fifth time the government had signed a "lease-to-own" agreement. With of office space and of space for trade center activities, the planned trade center would be larger than any other federally owned building except for The Pentagon.
Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center | Context
According to one "New York Times" account, the shops in the Metropolitan Opera development would be laid out in a way similar to that of the retail center in the English city of Chester.
Construction of Rockefeller Center | Original plan and failure
In all, 60 workers were killed in construction accidents while the World Trade Center was being built.
Construction of the World Trade Center | Twin Towers
However, the Met was unsure about moving there, and the Wall Street Crash of 1929 put an end to the plans. Rockefeller instead entered into negotiations with the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) to create a mass-media complex on the site. A new plan was released in January 1930, and an update to the plan was presented after Rockefeller obtained a lease for the land along Sixth Avenue. Revisions continued until March 1931, when the current site design was unveiled. A late change to the proposal included a complex of internationally themed structures along Fifth Avenue.
Construction of Rockefeller Center | Introduction
The World Trade Center complex included four other smaller buildings constructed during the 1970s. 3 World Trade Center was a 22-story building, which was home to the Marriott World Trade Center. It was designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill in 1978–79. 4 World Trade Center, 5 World Trade Center, and 6 World Trade Center were all 8–9 story buildings that were designed by the same team as the Twin Towers, including Minoru Yamasaki; Emery Roth & Sons; and Skilling, Helle, Christiansen, Robertson. 7 World Trade Center was built in the mid-1980s, just north of the main World Trade Center site.
Construction of the World Trade Center | Other buildings
The Twin Towers II (also known as Twin Towers 2, New Twin Towers, Trump Twin Towers and World Trade Center Phoenix) was a proposed twin-towered skyscraper complex which would have been located at the World Trade Center site in Manhattan, New York City. The proposed complex would have replaced the former Twin Towers of the World Trade Center destroyed in the September 11 attacks, restoring the skyline of the city to its former state. The main design for the proposed complex would feature new landmark twin towers, nearly identical to the originals designed by Minoru Yamasaki, though it would feature 115 stories—5 floors taller than the originals, among other differences.
Twin Towers 2 | Introduction
Upon completion, the Twin Towers were briefly the tallest buildings in the world, and at the time of the terrorist attacks they were still in the top five. One World Trade Center (WTC 1) the "North Tower" was, at , six feet taller than Two World Trade Center (WTC 2) the "South Tower", which stood tall. At the time of the attacks only the then recently completed Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and the Willis Tower (known then as the Sears Tower) in Chicago were taller. Built with a novel design that maximized interior space, the towers had a high strength to weight ratio as they utilized a new "framed tube" design that required 40 percent less steel than more traditional steel framed skyscrapers.
Collapse of the World Trade Center | Background
After a series of delays, a new building designed by the architectural firm Pei Cobb Freed & Partners broke ground in December 2009 and was completed in 2012.
World Trade Center (2001–present) | Fiterman Hall
That story formed the basis of a 2004 book called "102 Minutes: The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers", written by Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn, who were co-authors on the original "New York Times" story. Archival materials from the Lipton and Glanz research effort—the most comprehensive history ever written about the World Trade Center—are now maintained at the New York Public Library. The materials are separated into five chronological categories: Conception (1945-1970), Construction (1966-1973), Life in the Towers (1972-2001), 9/11, and Post 9/11 (2001-2003) The research was also featured in an episode of the documentary series "American Experience", "New York: The Center of the World".
Eric Lipton | World Trade Center coverage
There was criticism concerning the limited number of floors that were designated for office space and other amenities in an early plan. Only 82 floors would have been habitable, and the total office space of the rebuilt World Trade Center complex would have been reduced by more than in comparison with the original complex. The floor limit was imposed by Silverstein, who expressed concern that higher floors would be a liability in the event of a future terrorist attack or other incident. Much of the building's height would have consisted of a large, open-air steel lattice structure on the roof of the tower, containing wind turbines and "sky gardens".
One World Trade Center | Planning and early development
The building opened on November 3, 2014. 2 World Trade Center, also known as 200 Greenwich Street, was designed by Danish architect Bjarke Ingels. The building's gardens connect the adjacent neighborhood of Tribeca with the financial district at the World Trade Center. Construction of everything up to street level was completed in mid-2013, but the rest of the building has yet to be built until tenants for 2 WTC can be found. 3 World Trade Center, located at 175 Greenwich Street, was designed by Richard Rogers Partnership. It stands across Greenwich Street from the Memorial's two reflecting pools. The below-grade foundations and the ground-level podium was completed by October 2013.
World Trade Center (2001–present) | Towers
These trusses were installed in each building to support future transmission towers but only the north tower was ultimately fitted with one.
Collapse of the World Trade Center | Structural design
In June 1975 a coalition of labor unions distributed a pamphlet to arriving visitors, warning them to stay away. The opening of the mammoth World Trade Center complex in 1972, however, was one of the few high points of the city's history at that time. Conceived by David Rockefeller and built by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey on the site of the Radio Row electronics district in Lower Manhattan, the Twin Towers displaced the Empire State Building in Midtown as the world's tallest building; it was displaced in turn by Chicago's Sears Tower in 1973.
History of New York City (1946–1977) | 1970s
Reagan administration officials favored the plan, and in October 1986 the proposal received the backing of the General Services Administration. The idea received support from Democrats in Congress as well, especially from Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a former Kennedy administration aide who had long championed completion of the Federal Triangle. There was some opposition to the idea from planning officials and others, who were dismayed at the loss of parking in the downtown area and who feared that the trade center's proposed 1,300 to 2,600 underground parking slots would not be built due to poor soil conditions. A bill was passed (almost unanimously) by Congress on August 7, 1987, to provide $362 million for the construction of an "International Cultural and Trade Center" on the parking lot at Federal Triangle.
Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center | Context
One World Trade Center (previously coined the "Freedom Tower" by Governor Pataki) is the centerpiece of Libeskind's design. The building rises to , the height of the original World Trade Center north tower, and its antenna rises to the symbolic height of 1,776 feet (541 m). This height refers to 1776, the year in which the United States Declaration of Independence was signed. The tower was a collaboration between Studio Daniel Libeskind and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill architect David Childs. Childs acted as the design architect and project manager for the tower, and Daniel Libeskind collaborated on the concept and schematic design.
World Trade Center site | Towers
All the remaining floors were free for open-plan offices. Each floor of the towers had of space for occupancy. The original Two World Trade Center had 95 express and local elevators. The tower had of office space. Initially conceived as a complex dedicated to companies and organizations directly taking part in "world trade", the South Tower, along with 1 World Trade Center (also known as the North Tower) at first failed to attract the expected clientele. During the early years, various governmental organizations became key tenants of the World Trade Center towers including the State of New York. It was not until the 1980s that the city's perilous financial state eased, after which an increasing number of private companies – mostly financial firms tied to Wall Street — became tenants.
2 World Trade Center | Original building (1973–2001)
Although "The New York Times" later said that Owings "claimed credit for the idea of placing a skyscraper on a small part of a downtown lot", Rockefeller stated that Zeckendorf was the person responsible for the tower-and-plaza scheme. In September 1955, Guiton presented at least two of these plans to Chase's board of directors. While the tower-and-plaza plan had marginally less interior space than two separate buildings, it was the proposal ultimately selected.
28 Liberty Street | Initial planning
Once construction of the power substation was completed in October 2003, work proceeded on building the office tower. An unusual approach was used in constructing the building; erecting the steel frame before adding the concrete core. This approach allowed the construction schedule to be shortened by a few months. Construction was completed in 2006 at a cost of $700 million. Though Silverstein received $861 million from insurance on the old building, he owed more than $400 million on its mortgage. Costs to rebuild were covered by $475 million in Liberty Bonds, which provide tax-exempt financing to help stimulate rebuilding in Lower Manhattan and insurance money that remained after other expenses.
7 World Trade Center | Construction