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World Trade Center: Rise & Fall of an Icon

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Jeannette Latoria
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« Reply #15 on: December 22, 2008, 03:19:42 am »



Midtown Manhattan from the observation deck of the south tower which received an estimated 80,000 visitors a day during the late 1990s.
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« Reply #16 on: December 22, 2008, 03:22:29 am »

Top of the World Trade Center Observatories


Top of the World Trade Center Observatories was a popular tourist attraction and observation deck on the 107th floor of 2 World Trade Center (former ZIP code of 10048), the South Tower of the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan in New York City, which was destroyed in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Visitors were required to purchase tickets to gain admission onto the deck, which included installed seats and pedestal-mounted, coin-operated binoculars near the windows for close viewing.

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« Reply #17 on: December 22, 2008, 03:25:11 am »

Windows on the World restaurant

The North Tower had a restaurant on its 106th and 107th floors called Windows on the World, which opened in April 1976. The restaurant was developed by Joe Baum at a cost of more than $17 million.[71] Aside from the main restaurant, two offshoots were located at the top of the North Tower: "Hors d'Oeuvrerie" (offered a Danish smorgasbord during the day and sushi in the evening) and "Cellar in the Sky" (a small wine bar).[72] Windows on the World also had a wine school program run by Kevin Zraly. Windows on the World was closed following the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.[71] Upon reopening in 1996, Hors d'Oeuvrerie and Cellar in the Sky were replaced with the "Greatest Bar on Earth" and "Wild Blue".[72] In 2000, its last full year of operation, Windows on the World reported revenues of $37 million, making it the highest-grossing restaurant in the United States.[73]

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« Reply #18 on: December 22, 2008, 03:26:26 am »



Windows on the World.
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« Reply #19 on: December 22, 2008, 03:26:52 am »

Windows on the World was a restaurant and adjoining bar that operated between late 1972 and September 11, 2001 in New York City on top floors (106 and 107) of the North Tower of the World Trade Center. It underwent a US$25 million renovation after the 1993 WTC bombing. In 2000, it reported revenues of US$37 million, making it the highest-grossing restaurant in the United States. [1]

Developed by Joe Baum and designed initially by Warren Platner, it occupied 50,000 square feet (4,600 m²) and was located on the north side, allowing guests to look out onto the skyline of Manhattan. The restaurant was not only one of the most respected in New York, but due to the premium location also had high prices. The dress code required jackets for men and was strictly enforced - a man who arrived with a reservation but without a jacket was seated at the bar. [2]

The bar extended along the south side of World Trade Center 1 as well as the corner over part of the east side. The bar's dress code was more relaxed and it had average prices. The most popular time there was Happy Hour Wednesdays, when there was no cover charge.[citations needed]

Looking out from the bar through the full length windows, one could enjoy breath-taking views of the southern tip of Manhattan, where the Hudson and East Rivers meet. In addition, one could see the Liberty State Park with Ellis Island and Staten Island with the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.

Windows on the World was destroyed during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. At the time of the attack on the World Trade Center, the restaurant was hosting regular breakfast patrons and the Waters Financial Technology Congress. Everyone present in the restaurant when American Airlines Flight 11 penetrated the North Tower perished as a result of the plane's impact and the conflagration that ensued, or lived through the attack until the collapse of the tower. At the time of the attacks, present in the restaurant were 73 restaurant staff members, 16 Risk Waters employees, and 76 other guests[3]. The last people to leave the restaurant on September 11, 2001 before Flight 11 collided with the North Tower at 8:46 AM were Michael Nestor, Liz Thompson, and Geoffrey Wharton, who departed at 8:44 AM.[4]

It is believed that "The Falling Man," a famous photograph of a man dressed in white falling head first on Sept. 11, was an employee at Windows on the World but it is impossible to conclusively establish his identity.[5]

On January 4, 2006, a number of former Windows on the World staff opened "Colors," a co-operative restaurant in Manhattan that serves as a tribute to their fallen colleagues and whose menu reflects the diversity of the former Windows' staff.

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« Reply #20 on: December 22, 2008, 03:29:18 am »



memorial services

en español


www.windowsofhope.org


Windows on the World Temporary Offices
David Berdon and Co., LLP
415 Madison Avenue
New York, New York 10017
ph: (212) 832-0401 ext.# 612
fax: (646) 497-0889


Windows of Hope Family Relief Fund
Contributions can be sent to:
Windows of Hope Family Relief Fund
C/o David Berdon and Co., LLP
415 Madison Avenue
New York, New York 10017


Windows of Hope International Restaurant Event
Thursday October 11, 2001
For information on how you can participate in this event
go to http://web.archive.org/web/20020802142450/http://www.windowsofhope.org/ or call M. Young Communications at (212) 620-7027


Information regarding the private function on the 106th floor,
call Risk Waters Group at 44-207-484-9700 or go to http://web.archive.org/web/20020802142450/http://www.riskwaters.com/


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


 


CONTACT TELEPHONE NUMBERS:


Human Resources-Elizabeth Ortiz
Tele. (212) 832-0400 (Ext 389) Fax (212) 371-1159
-For employment verification letters and information for non-union employess and family members
of the victims who were non-union regarding insurance, workers compensation and health benefits.


Local 100 (HEREIU)
(212) 541-4226 Fax: (212) 399-3005
321 West 44th Street 5th Floor (Between 8th & 9ths Ave)
-Information regarding employment assistance.


HEREIU Welfare and Pension
(212) 957-9241
-Information regarding counseling, health, welfare and life
insurance benefits for members and surviving family members.


Unemployment Insurance Hotline
(888) 209-8124
-File Claims by phone 8 AM to 7 PM (Multi-lingual English & Spanish)
Note: NYS has waived the waiting period, claimants are immediately
eligible to collect unemployment benefits.


FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency)
(800) 462-9029
-Provides emergency housing, counseling and funeral planning and cash
for food and housing.


Social Security Survivor Benefits
(800) 772-1213
-Benefits may be available to surviving spouse and/or children.


Hospital Information (212) 333-7913 & (212) 560-2730
Hospital Information (NYC) (212) 746-4320
Mayors NYC Action Center (212) 788-9600
Missing Persons Hotline (646) 710-6245 (For Family Only)
Missing Persons Hotline (888) 856-4167 (For Friends)
Police Command for Missing Persons 455 1st Avenue (Next to NYU)
NYC OEM Office (212) 560-2730


Crime Victims Assistance Hotline
(800) 247-8035
http://web.archive.org/web/20020802142450/http://www.cvb.state.ny.us%22/
http://web.archive.org/web/20020802142450/http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov%22/

**Victims or their families MUST register to receive benefits**

WALK-IN CENTERS

1. Pier 94 Family Relief Center (646) 710-6245
54th Street and 12th Avenue (Manhattan)

2. Westchester county Courthouse (Westchester)
White Plains, New York (914) 995-3358

3. Safe Horizon (Staten Island)**
130 Stuyvesant Place 5th Floor
Staten Island, NY (718) 448-3118 ext.21
**No Emergency Cash Awards Available


COUNSELING AND MEDICAL EXPENSES
**That are not covered by other insurances or benefit planes
-Will pay the cost of counseling for any victim or witness to the tragedy
or any of their family members including spouses, children, brothers & sisters,
gradparents, grandchildren, aunts and uncles.
-Will pay certain medical expenses


BURIAL ASSISTANCE
-Will pay the cost of a memorial service
-Will pay the cost of reasonable funeral expenses
-Will pay the cost of transportation of the remains to other cities or countries for burial.

Please Note: The funeral benefit will be paid regardless, should you have a funeral at
a later date, in addition to memorial service benefit.


LOSS OF EARNINGS OR SUPPORT/IMMEDIATE CASH GRANTS**
-CVB can pay up to 2 weeks salary of the victim (on the spot), up to $600 per week
and $30,00 lifetime, to help cover expenses.

To claim the cash benefit, you must present one of the following documents:
a. Recent Pay Stub, of the victim
b. Direct Deposit Statment
c. Letter for the employer, on company letterhead

And

a. Your Drivers License
b. Marriage Certificate (if survivor spouse)
c. Birth Certificate of a dependent child (if divorced or separated and receiving child support)

Please Note: Safe Horizon cannot issue immediate cash grants. They are only available at the
Family Relief Center & The Westchester Office.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


 http://web.archive.org/web/20020802142450/http://www.windowsontheworld.com/
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« Reply #21 on: December 22, 2008, 03:37:34 am »

Other buildings

Five smaller buildings stood around the 16-acre (65,000 m²) block. One was the 22-floor hotel which opened in 1981 as the Vista Hotel and in 1995 became the Marriott World Trade Center (3 WTC) at the southwest corner of the site. Three low-rise buildings (4 WTC, 5 WTC, and 6 WTC) in the same hollow tube design as the towers also stood around the plaza. 6 World Trade Center, at the northwest corner, housed the United States Customs Service and the U.S. Commodities Exchange. 5 World Trade Center was located at the northeast corner above the PATH station and 4 World Trade Center was at the southeast corner. In 1987, a 47-floor office building called 7 WTC was built north of the block. Beneath the World Trade Center complex was an underground shopping mall which in turn had connections to various mass transit facilities including the New York City Subway system and the Port Authority's own PATH trains connecting Manhattan to Jersey City, Hoboken, and Newark.

One of the world's largest gold depositories was stored underneath the World Trade Center, owned by a group of commercial banks. The 1993 bomb detonated close by but the vault held. Seven weeks after the September 11 attacks, $230 million in precious metals were removed from basement vaults of 4 WTC which included 3,800 100-Troy-ounce registered gold bars and 30,000 1,000-ounce silver bars.[74]

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« Reply #22 on: December 22, 2008, 03:39:07 am »



Twin Towers view from Empire State Building 86th floor observatory, three months before the September 11, 2001 attacks.
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« Reply #23 on: December 22, 2008, 03:40:25 am »

Life and events

On a typical weekday 50,000 people worked in the towers[75] with another 200,000 passing through as visitors.[76] The complex was so large that it had its own zip code: 10048.[77] The towers offered expansive views from the observation deck atop the South Tower and the Windows on the World restaurant on top of the North Tower. The Twin Towers became known worldwide, appearing in numerous movies and television shows as well as on postcards and other merchandise, and became seen as a New York icon, in the same league as the Empire State Building and Statue of Liberty.[78]

French high wire acrobatic performer Philippe Petit walked between the towers on a tightrope in 1974,[79] Brooklyn toymaker George Willig scaled the south tower in 1977.[80] In 1983, on Memorial Day, high-rise firefighting and rescue advocate, Dan Goodwin, for the purpose of calling attention to the inability to rescue people trapped in the upper floors of skyscrapers successfully climbed the outside of the North Tower.[81][82]

The 1995 PCA world chess championship was played on the 107th floor of the South Tower.[83] In January 1998, Mafia member Ralph Guarino, who had gained maintenance access to the World Trade Center, arranged a three-man crew for a heist which netted over $2 million from a Brink's delivery to the eleventh floor of the World Trade Center.[84]

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« Reply #24 on: December 22, 2008, 03:40:43 am »

February 13, 1975 fire

On February 13, 1975, a three-alarm fire broke out on the 11th floor of the North Tower. Fire spread through the core to the 9th and 14th floors by igniting the insulation of telephone cables in a utility shaft that ran vertically between floors. Areas at the furthest extent of the fire were extinguished almost immediately and the original fire was put out in a few hours. Most of the damage was concentrated on the 11th floor, fueled by cabinets filled with paper, alcohol-based fluid for office machines, and other office equipment. Fireproofing protected the steel from melting and there was no structural damage to the tower. Other than the damage caused by the fire, a few floors below suffered water damage from the extinguishing of the fires above. At that time, the World Trade Center had no sprinkler systems.[85][86]

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« Reply #25 on: December 22, 2008, 03:42:02 am »

February 26, 1993 bombing

On February 26, 1993, at 12:17 p.m., a Ryder truck filled with 1,500 pounds (680 kg) of explosives was planted by Ramzi Yousef and detonated in the underground garage of the North Tower.[87] The blast opened a 100 foot (30 m) hole through 5 sublevels with the greatest damage occurring on levels B1 and B2 and significant structural damage on level B3.[88] Six people were killed and 50,000 other workers and visitors were left gasping for air within the 110 story towers. Many people inside the North Tower were forced to walk down darkened stairwells that contained no emergency lighting, some taking two hours or more to reach safety.[89][90]

Yousef fled to Pakistan after the bombing but was arrested in Islamabad in February 1995, and was extradited back to the United States to face trial.[91] Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman was convicted in 1996 for involvement in the bombing and other plots.[92] Yousef and Eyad Ismoil were convicted in November 1997 for their carrying out the bombing.[93] Four others had been convicted in May 1994 for their involvement in the 1993 bombing.[94] According to a presiding judge, the conspirators' chief aim at the time of the attack was to destabilize the north tower and send it crashing into the south tower, toppling both landmarks.[95]

Following the bombing, floors that were blown out needed to be repaired to restore the structural support they provided to columns.[96] The slurry wall was in peril following the bombing and loss of the floor slabs which provided lateral support to counteract pressure from Hudson River water on the other side. The refrigeration plant on sublevel B5, which provided air conditioning to the entire World Trade Center complex, was heavily damaged.[97] Subsequent to the bombing, the Port Authority installed photoluminescent markings in the stairwells.[98] The fire alarm system for both towers needed to be replaced because critical wiring and signaling in the original system was destroyed.[99] As a memorial to the victims of the bombing of the tower, a reflecting pool was installed with the names of those who had been killed in the blast.[100]

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« Reply #26 on: December 22, 2008, 03:43:14 am »



Damage underground due to the bombing
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« Reply #27 on: December 22, 2008, 03:44:09 am »

Lease

In 1998, the Port Authority approved plans to privatize the World Trade Center.[101] In 2001, the Port Authority sought to lease the World Trade Center to a private entity. Bids for the lease came from Vornado Realty Trust, a joint bid between Brookfield Properties Corporation and Boston Properties,[102] and a joint bid by Silverstein Properties and The Westfield Group.[103] By privatizing the World Trade Center, it would be added to the city's tax rolls[103] and provide funds for other Port Authority projects.[104] On February 15, 2001, the Port Authority announced that Vornado Trust Realty had won the lease for the World Trade Center, paying $3.25 billion for the 99-year lease.[105] Vornado Realty outbid Silverstein by $600 million though Silverstein upped his offer to $3.22 billion. However, Vornado insisted on last minute changes to the deal, including a shorter 39-year lease which the Port Authority considered nonnegotiable.[106] Vornado later withdrew and Silverstein's bid for the lease to the World Trade Center was accepted on April 26, 2001,[107] and closed on July 24, 2001.[108]

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« Reply #28 on: December 22, 2008, 03:45:05 am »

September 11, 2001

On September 11, 2001, al Qaeda suicide hijackers crashed American Airlines Flight 11 into the northern facade of the North Tower at 8:46 a.m., followed seventeen minutes later by a second team of hijackers who crashed United Airlines Flight 175 into the South Tower.[109] The damage caused to the North Tower by Flight 11 destroyed any means of escape from above the impact zone, trapping 1,344 people[110] while as many as 600 people were killed instantly or were trapped at or above the floors of impact in the South Tower.[111] At 9:59 a.m., the South Tower collapsed due to fire which caused steel structural elements, already weakened from the plane impact, to fail. The North Tower collapsed at 10:28, after burning for approximately 102 minutes.[112]

At 5:20 p.m. on September 11, 2001, 7 World Trade Center collapsed due to uncontrolled fires causing structural failure.[113] 3 World Trade Center, a Marriott hotel, was destroyed during the collapse of the two towers. The three remaining buildings in the WTC plaza sustained heavy damage from debris and were ultimately demolished.[114] The Deutsche Bank Building across Liberty Street from the World Trade Center complex was later condemned due to the uninhabitable toxic conditions inside; it is undergoing deconstruction.[115][116] The Borough of Manhattan Community College's Fiterman Hall at 30 West Broadway was also condemned due to extensive damage in the attacks and is slated for deconstruction.[117]

In the aftermath of the attacks, media reports suggested that tens of thousands might have been killed in the attacks, as on any given day upwards of 50,000 people could be inside the towers. Ultimately, 2,750 death certificates were filed relating to the 9/11 attacks, including one filed for Felicia Dunn-Jones who was added to the official death toll in May 2007; Dunn-Jones died five months after 9/11 from a lung condition linked to exposure to dust during the collapse of the World Trade Center.[118] Cantor Fitzgerald L.P., an investment bank on the 101st–105th floors of One World Trade Center, lost 658 employees, considerably more than any other employer,[119] while Marsh & McLennan Companies, located immediately below Cantor Fitzgerald on floors 93–101 (the location of Flight 11's impact), lost 295 employees, and 175 employees of Aon Corporation were killed.[120] As well, 343 deaths were New York City firefighters, 84 were Port Authority employees, of whom 37 were members of the Port Authority Police Department, and another 23 were New York City Police Department officers.[121][122][123] Of all the people who were still in the towers when they collapsed, only 20 were pulled out alive.[124]

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« Reply #29 on: December 22, 2008, 03:45:52 am »

Rebuilding

The process of cleanup and recovery continued 24 hours a day had taken eight months. Debris was transported from the World Trade Center site to Fresh Kills on Staten Island, where it was further sifted. On May 30, 2002, a ceremony was held to officially mark the end of the cleanup efforts.[125] In 2002, ground was broken on construction of a new 7 World Trade Center building located just to the north of the main World Trade Center site. Since it was not part of the site master plan, Larry Silverstein was able to proceed without delay on the rebuilding of 7 World Trade Center which was completed and officially opened in May 2006.[126][127][128] A temporary PATH station at the World Trade Center opened in November 2003; it will be replaced by a permanent station designed by Santiago Calatrava.[129]

With the main World Trade Center site, numerous stakeholders were involved including Silverstein and the Port Authority which in turn meant that the Governor of New York State, George Pataki, had some authority. As well, the victims' families, people in the surrounding neighborhoods, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and others wanted input. Governor Pataki established the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) in November 2001 as an official commission to oversee the rebuilding process.[130] The LMDC held a competition to solicit possible designs for the site. The Memory Foundations design by Daniel Libeskind was chosen as the master plan for the World Trade Center site.[131] The plan included the 1,368-foot (541 m) Freedom Tower as well as a memorial and a number of other office towers. Out of the World Trade Center Site Memorial Competition, a design by Michael Arad and Peter Walker entitled Reflecting Absence was selected in January 2004.[132]

On March 13, 2006, workers arrived at the World Trade Center site to remove remaining debris and start surveying work. This marked the official start of construction of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, though not without controversy and concerns from some family members.[133] In April 2006, the Port Authority and Larry Silverstein reached an agreement in which Silverstein ceded rights to develop the Freedom Tower and Tower Five in exchange for financing with Liberty Bonds for Towers Two, Three, and Four.[134][135] On April 27, 2006, a ground-breaking ceremony was held for the Freedom Tower.[136]

In May 2006, architects Richard Rogers and Fumihiko Maki were announced as the architects for Towers Three and Four, respectively.[137] The final designs for Towers Two, Three and Four were unveiled on September 7, 2006. Tower Two, or 200 Greenwich Street, will have a roof height of 1,254 feet (382 m) and a 96-foot (29 m) tripod spire for a total of 1,350 feet (411 m). Tower Three, or 175 Greenwich Street will have a roof height of 1,155 feet (352 m) and an antennae height reaching 1,255 feet (383 m). Tower Four, or 150 Greenwich Street, will have an overall height of 946 feet (288 m).[138] On June 22, 2007 the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced that JP Morgan Chase will build Tower 5, a 42-story building on Site 5 currently occupied by the Deutsche Bank Building,[139] and Kohn Pedersen Fox was selected as the architect for the building.[140]

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