The World Trade Center has always been an iconic destination in New York City, drawing in thousands of tourists and workers alike.
Before the 9/11 attacks, employees would report to their offices in the sprawling complex while many tourists would take pictures in the plaza or on top of the twin towers.
Sadly, 9/11 took away the essence of that part of New York City during that era.
Eventually, New Yorkers and the U.S. at large remained resilient and rebuilt, erecting the Freedom Tower to show how New York City is still open for business and the 9/11 memorial to show respect for those lives lost.
But a lot of the World Trade Center before 9/11 is not often discussed or shown 24 years later.
Here is a look back in time showing what the World Trade Center looked like before 9/11 and a look forward to how the plaza is today.
World Trade Center before 9/11The Twin Towers were at the center of the World Trade Center since 1966
This June 23, 1999 file photo shows the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York. AP Photo/Ed Bailey
At the center of the World Trade Center since 1966 were the Twin Towers, matching skyscrapers that by the time they officially opened in 1973 were briefly considered the tallest buildings in the world. They were also the tallest skyscrapers in New York.
They stood about 110 stories tall and held close to 10 million square feet of office space, according to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.
“[The Twin Towers] attracted roughly 70,000 tourists and commuters every day,” it says.
Marriott World Trade Center hotel stood in the middle of the North and South Towers
New York’s Vista Hotel is seen nestled at the base of the World Trade Center towers Thursday, Nov. 9, 1995.ASSOCIATED PRESS
Nestled between the North and South Towers, there was a hotel at 3 World Trade Center.
The hotel opened as The Vista International Hotel in April 1981, and was later renamed the New York Marriott World Trade Center Hotel, according to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.
“It was the first hotel to be built below Canal Street in 145 years,” the organization says.
You can see exactly what the Marriott World Trade Center Hotel looked like inside in this video below from YouTuber Depressed Ginger:
World Trade Center Plaza was situated at the center of the Twin Towers
View of a man holding a JVC VideoMovie camcorder at World Trade Center Plaza, New York, New York, July 5, 1986. Several people, including children, sit on benches on either side of him.Getty Images
Before 9/11, there was a 5-acre public plaza called the Austin J. Tobin Public Plaza at the center of the World Trade Center complex.
The centerpiece of the plaza was a round metal sculpture within a large fountain called “The Sphere,” created by artist Fritz Koenig, according to The N.J. State Library. The Sphere stood 25 feet high and was cast out of 52 bronze segments.
The sculpture was assembled in Bremen, Germany, and shipped to Manhattan. It was meant to symbolize peace through world trade and was surrounded by fountains in the shape of a ring.
The area was a popular lunch spot for employees and tourists alike.
Tourists would catch a stunning view from the World Trade Center Observation Deck
Tourists gaze northward from the Observation Deck of the World Trade Center, New York, New York, May 2, 1982.Getty Images
Before 9/11, the World Trade Center had an observation deck on the 107th floor of the South Tower (WTC 2).
Visitors could take an express elevator that would take them to the observation deck in 50 seconds, and once there, could see views of the New York City skyline, Long Island and New Jersey if it was a clear enough day, according to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.
Staffers manning the observation deck wore brown neckties with a design of the Twin Towers peeking through the clouds.
World Trade Center Concourse’s mall cemented its standing as a major trade hub
View of a row of escalators on the concourse level of the World Trade Center, New York, New York, November 30, 1999.Getty Images
The World Trade Center Concourse was an underground passage completed in 1975 that included shops, such as The Mall at The World Trade Center.
The mall included 80 stores and restaurants, and the passageway connected the twin towers with nearby buildings and PATH and New York City Subway lines.
The mall was the largest shopping center in New York City at the time, featuring popular retailers, such as the Gap, Victoria’s Secret and even the Warner Brothers Studios Store.
At one point, CNN had their studio in the concourse and and filmed news broadcasts on location.
You can get a better sense of what shopping in the bustling WTC Concourse was like from this video from YouTuber PNP Videocast:
Winter Garden Atrium was directly connected to the Twin Towers in the World Financial Center
People walk through the Winter Garden Atrium at the World Trade Center complex, New York, New York, August 8, 1994.Getty Images
The Winter Garden Atrium was originally built in 1988 and was designed by architect César Pelli and his wife, landscape architect Diana Balmori. The building was situated within the World Financial Center, which is now called Brookfield Place.
It featured — and still does — mesmerizing glass panes, marble floors and steps, soaring palm trees and views of the Hudson River and the North Cove Marina.
The Winter Garden Atrium was originally directly connected to the World Trade Center via a pedestrian bridge across West Street. Many New Yorkers and tourists stopped by to grab lunch, hold meetings, go shopping at major retailers or rest on a bench below the trees.
Windows on the World showcased the city while tourists, financiers and celebrities dined in luxury
The Windows on the World restaurant sat at the top of the North Tower on the 107th floor in the World Trade Center before 9/11.Bettmann Archive
Windows on the World restaurant was a hotspot for fine dining at the World Trade Center.
Situated atop the World Trade Center’s North Tower on the 107th floor, guests can enjoy top-dollar cuisine as they gazed out on Manhattan to the north, Brooklyn to the east and the Statue of Liberty to the south.
Restaurant staff represented more than two dozen countries, including Bangladesh, India, Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone.
According to a Windows dinner menu dating back to 1989 catalogued in the Culinary Institute of America Digital Collections, the main courses ranged from $25-39 while the appetizers ranged from $9-18. It featured everything from oysters on the half shell to Côte au Boeuf with red wine sauce.
It was a top spot for hosting everything from business meetings to birthdays — and you could even catch a wedding proposal or two with the New York City skyline in the background.
World Trade Center after 9/119/11 attacks resulted in significant loss of life and destruction at the World Trade Center
In this Thursday, Sept. 13, 2001 file photo, rescue workers continue their search as smoke rises from the rubble of the World Trade Center in New York.AP
On Sept. 11, 2001, the entire World Trade Center collapsed when terrorists from al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial planes, two of which hit the Twin Towers, causing them to crumble due to the damage at impact and resulting fire.
“The attacks killed 2,977 people from 90 nations: 2,753 people were killed in New York, 184 people were killed at the Pentagon; and 40 people were killed on Flight 93,” according to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.
Most people of the 16,400 and 18,000 people within the World Trade Center safely evacuated.
The two falling towers, however, ultimately destroyed five other buildings within WTC, including the Winter Garden Atrium and the New York Marriott World Trade Center Hotel.
“Thousands of volunteers came to Ground Zero to help with the rescue, recovery, and clean-up efforts,” the memorial says.
One of the most emblematic photos taken during that time was “The Raising of the Flag at Ground Zero” taken by photographer Thomas E. Franklin for “The Record” of three firefighters lifting the American flag on a pole in the wreckage. The flag is now on display in the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.
New York City has spent nearly $20 billion to rebuild the World Trade Center since then and construction is ongoing, according to Forbes. While four towers from the newly planned complex are open, two more are still underway.
Freedom Tower was built within the World Trade Center to honor the lives lost
One World Trade Center, center, opened on Nov. 3, 2014 , while the National September 11 Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Center in New York opened to the public on Sept. 11, 2011.AP
One World Trade Center, also called the Freedom Tower, officially opened to the public in November 2014 following seven years of construction. Designed by David Childs of the architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) following a master plan from Daniel Libeskind, it marks an end to a painful period of New York City history.
The tower stands 1,776 feet high, making it the tallest building in New York City, the United States and Western Hemisphere, according to Britannica.
It’s now an office building and the headquarters of several businesses, including publisher Conde Nast.
Just below the tower is the 8-acre 9/11 Memorial plaza designed by architect Michael Arad and landscape architect Peter Walker called “Reflecting Absence.” It features two pools that sit in the footprints of the North and South Tower surrounded by bronze parapets listing engraved names of the 9/11 victims and 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
The pools are surrounded by more than 400 swamp white oak trees in the park. Next to those is what’s called the “Survivor Tree,” one Callery pear tree that survived the attacks but was severely damaged when it was found in October 2001.
It returned to the WTC site in 2010 after members of the New York City Parks and Recreation Department nursed it back to health.
The museum is situated between the two pools.
Winter Garden Atrium rebuilt within a year of the 9/11 attacks
Traffic passes by restored Winter Garden of the World Financial Center, top center, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2002, in New York. (AP Photo/Suzanne Plunkett)AP
The Winter Garden Atrium, a 10-story vaulted aluminum-and-glass building, reopened on Sept. 5, 2002, becoming the first major building destroyed in the 9/11 attacks to come back to life.
There was a special rededication ceremony which then-President George W. Bush attended on Sept. 12, 2002.
Its marble steps and glass panes were severely damaged during the 9/11 attacks, according to Classic New York History.
Per the Brookfield Place website on the Winter Garden, “its reconstruction required 2,000 panes of glass and 60,000 square feet of marble flooring and stairs.”
Its most striking feature is the 16 Washingtonia robusta palm trees.
According to Spectrum News NY 1, the 16 palm trees imported from Florida that sit in the Winter Garden Atrium typically get replaced every 10 years.
The latest palm trees in the space were planted in 2024.
One World Trade Center Observatory opens in the Freedom Tower in 2015
Visitors to the One World Observatory view the city and beyond from the 101st floor in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)AP
The One World Observatory opened in 2015, just one year after construction of the Freedom Tower was completed.
The observatory allows visitors a view of New York City and the surrounding area from above 1,250 feet, with a view stretching 50 miles past the Manhattan skyline.
The observation deck itself begins at 1,362 feet, with a glass wall extending to 1,368 feet — the same height as the South and North Towers, according to Reader’s Digest.
ONE Dine at One World Observatory provides fine dining experience with sweeping views of New York City
The interior of a restaurant inside One World Observatory in the Freedom Tower.One World Observatory
ONE Dine, the restaurant at One World Observatory located inside the Freedom Tower, opened in May 2015 around the same time the observatory opened to the public.
The restaurant provides a fine dining experience with sweeping views of New York City.
However, if you want to dine at the restaurant, reservations are required and you must have purchased tickets to the One World Observatory, according to the restaurant’s website.
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