A History Lesson

I bet you didn't know that The World Trade Center began as the idea of two members of the rich and powerful Rockefeller family.Both David(Chairman of the Chase Manhattan Bank)and his younger brother Nelson (Governor of New York)were instrumental in it's early development.

David,the elder brother,founded the Downtown-Lower Manhattan Development Association.In the early 1960's,the LMDA along with Governor Nelson Rockefeller pushed very hard for the WTC's construction.

It was the time of the Kennedy Presidency.America was beginning to feel full of itself.What could be a better way in restoring confidence in New York City-in all of America-than by creating a symbol of America's power,freedom & capitalistic systems?

It's an interesting fact that anything built within twenty five miles of the Statue of Liberty is under control of a legal body called the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.In 1962 it gave it's permission for the WTC project to begin.

Minoru Yamasaki(and Associates)of Michigan was hired as the architect.The Twin Towers were part of a total of seven buildings constructed for the WTC.As near as I could find out,the reason the two 110 story towers were made was because one single skyscraper would have been considered too massive and a series of smaller buildings would have looked too much like a large housing project.Mr.Yamasaki designed a plaza so that the buildings would be accessible to the public.His design was also meant to give the WTC the impression of distinction.

Construction began in 1966,and covered over 16 acres.164 buildings were demolished in the process!At it's peak,over 3,500 people were working at the sight.In the end,over 10,000 people worked on the project.OVER SIXTY PEOPLE WERE KILLED DURING THE WORLD TRADE CENTER'S CONSTRUCTION!

The North Tower(the one with the antenna)stood at 1368 feet.It was opened in December of 1970.The South Tower stood at 1362 feet and was completed and opened for business in January 1972.Both were dedicated in April of 1973 and stood as the world's tallest buildings at the time of their dedication.

Each tower had a central core,and an elevator system that worked sort of like the subway.There were both 'local' and 'express' elevators.The WTC had it's own zip code:10048.50,000 people worked in the complex,and over 200,000 people passed through it's doors every day.
The Two Towers became an instant landmark on the New York City landscape.To me,they are still missed.Both NYC and America seem weaker and smaller without them.