"I feel this way about it. World trade means world peace and consequently the World Trade Center buildings in New York ... had a bigger purpose than just to provide room for tenants. The World Trade Center is a living symbol of man's dedication to world peace ..." - Minoru Yamasaki

The World Trade Center was designed by Yamasaki and Associates with Emery Roth and Sons of New York City. Construction of the complex began in 1970 and was completed in 1977. For a brief time, the twin towers that anchored the plaza stood as the tallest buildings in the world before they were surpassed by the Sears Tower in Chicago. No other building or complex in the world approached the visibility or symbolism of the World Trade Center - New York, though. That symbolism and vision is a tribute to the design intent of the complex's lead architect and his associates.

The instructions that Yamasaki worked with were explicit - the project was to provide twelve million square feet of floor area on a sixteen acre site. The site also had to accommodate new facilities for the Hudson tubes, as well as subway connections for the Port Authority - and it had to be done on a budget of less than $500 million.

The relatively small space and vast needs for space immediately suggested a high rise project that would rival anything in the city - or indeed, in the world.

Yamasaki's solution was both practical and elegant. He studied and worked with over one hundred design schemes in model form and discarded them for various reasons. A single tower, he knew, was unreasonable. Its size would make it unwieldy and structurally unsound, even using the best technology available. Several towers of similar size, he felt, "looked too much like a housing project." He settled on two towers because that design provided sufficient office space on each floor of each building, made the most of the magnificent view, and still could be managed structurally without compromising safety.

The Twin Towers which became the symbol and most memorable aspects of the World Trade Center project were only the cornerstones of the project. Yamasaki's design included other structures and an open plaza. The plaza, Yamasaki felt, was needed so that viewers could appreciate the scale of the towers as they approached. The plaza is sheltered from the winds off the river, and surrounded by the other buildings of the complex.

The Twin Towers

The most recognizable and memorable parts of the complex were the pair of towers - the North and South Towers. Each tower had 110 stories, most of them dedicated to office space. At the time of the 9/11 attacks, it is estimated that the Twin Towers held more than 1/5th of the office space in Manhattan, providing work space for over 50,000 people.

While most of the WTC towers were off limits to the public, each of the towers does have public areas. The North Tower featured Windows on the World, a world class restaurant on the 107th floor that was the highest grossing restaurant in the United States, with revenues of over $37 million annually. The South Tower's 107th floor featured the Top of the World observatory deck, where visitors could enjoy the view from an indoor or outdoor observation deck.

Both towers were completely destroyed by the terrorist attacks on 9/11.

The Other Buildings

In addition to the two main towers, there were five smaller buildings that were part of the World Trade Center complex.

3 World Trade Center - The Vista Hotel

3 WTC opened in 1981 as the Vista Hotel, and was the first hotel to open in Manhattan since 1836. In 1995, the 22 story building was sold to the Marriot Corporation, and renamed the Marriot World Trade Center. The building stood between the two towers, and featured 825 hotel rooms and a number of different establishments, including the Russia House Restaurant, the Greenhouse Cafe and the Tall Ships Bar & Grill. It was ranked a four diamond hotel by AAA.

The hotel building was destroyed in the collapse of the two towers during the terrorist attacks on 9/11.

4 World Trade Center - Deutsche Bank & NY Board of Trade

The nine story building that housed the Deutsche Bank and the New York Board of Trade was located south and southeast of the South Tower. The Mall at the World Trade Center was located in the building's concourse level, and the vaults of Deutsche Bank below ground held hundreds of millions of dollars worth of gold and silver bullion, which was removed shortly after the attacks on 9/11.

4 WTC was heavily damaged by falling debris and crushed under the rubble when the South Tower collapsed.

5 World Trade Center - Office Building

5 WTC was a second nine story office building that housed numerous tenants. The L-shaped building was located in the northeast corner of the World Trade Center site. Its tenants included DHL and FedEx, Chase Manhattan and the largest Borders Bookstore in New York City.

The building was heavily damaged by falling debris and by fire during the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It was demolished and removed by January 2002.

6 World Trade Center - The U.S Customs House

Built in 1975, the U.S. Customs House was a seven story low-rise building located in the southwest corner of the World Trade Center Plaza. Its tenants included the United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, United States Department of Agriculture - Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (AAPHIS), United States Department of Labor. Export-Import Bank of the U.S., Eastco Building Services (building management).

The building was heavily damaged by the collapse of the two towers after the 9/11 terrorist attack and the debris removed to make way for the reconstruction.

7 World Trade Center - Office Building

7 WTC was a 47 story high rise office building built above a ConEd power substation. It's trapezoidal footprint made it unique among the other buildings on the plaza. The building's major tenant was Salomon Smith Barney, occupying over 64% of the building. The building has been modified specifically for the trading company with double height trading floors and other special accommodations. Other tenants included the Securities and Exchange Commission and Hartford Insurance, as well as several other banks.

The building was destroyed in the terrorist attacks on 9/11.