Difference between revisions of "World Trade Center"

Revision as of 15:28, May 17, 2013

The World Trade Center included two 110-story towers at the southern tip of Manhattan constructed in the late 1960s and early 1970s by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey,^[1] at the insistence of Nelson and David Rockefeller. They were unique in their government ownership for the purpose of leasing to private companies engaging in world trade. Yet few of the tenants were actually trade organizations, and instead the offices were filled mostly with investment banks and large law firms.

Damage Done By 1993 Truck Bombing

The WTC was a government project that was supposed to cost $350 million, but by its completion more than a decade later actually cost at least double that. It lost money through the 1970s and probably never recouped the value of its investment and expenses. It never became fully occupied until the dot-com boom of the 1990s, and it was the internet industry, not world trade, that filled it. Promoted to the public as government-promoted export-import, only 5 percent of the WTC leases were held by trade service and export-import tenants.

By comparison, the privately developed Sears Tower was built around the same time at a cost of only about $150 million -- only one-fifth the cost of the WTC -- and took only three years to complete compared to the ten years for the WTC.

1993 Bombing Attack

The WTC became a symbol of American capitalism and economic dominance, and therefore a vulnerable target for Islamic terrorists. In 1993, Muslim terrorists detonated a massive truck bomb in an underground parking lot with the goal of knocking the towers over and killing its capacity of 25,000 workers. This attempt failed, killing only a few, but caused smoke and evacuation of the building.

9/11

On the morning of September 11, 2001 (9-11), Islamic terrorists hijacked airplanes from Boston and flew one airplane into each tower killing everyone aboard the airplanes and on the floors of the impact. The attacks occurred just before 9 AM, the beginning of the workday for many Manhattan workers, and the towers were therefore not filled to capacity. Many evacuated, but the towers collapsed from the ensuing fire before everyone could escape. 2,749 died in the attack, including hundreds of firefighters who rushed into the buildings in the hope of rescuing trapped workers.

World Trade Center, destroyed on 9/11.

A memorial in honor of the lives lost that day is currently being constructed at Ground Zero and was originally expected to be finished in time for September 11th, 2011 (the ten-year anniversary of the attacks). The memorial opened to the public on September 12, 2011 with the accompanying museum scheduled to open on September 11, 2012.^[2] One World Trade Center, a building complex designed to replace the original towers, is also being built on the site. At 1776 feet 1WTC, as it is commonly known, will be the tallest building in the United States when it is completed in 2013. Conversely, as an insult to those who died, there is work on building a Ground Zero Mosque.

References

1. ↑ http://www.wtc.com/about/wtc-origins
2. ↑ http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/put-wtc-memorial-article-1.352179 Put WTC Memorial First

See also

September 11, 2001 attacks

External links

• The Cross and The Towers (Documentary Film)