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The World Trade Centers Journal (1971-2001)
Who Were They?
The World Trade Centers were one of America’s most famous skyscrapers and
beloved icons. Although sometimes referred to as bland or plain, these buildings
were a marvel of both economics and engineering.
The World Trade Center complex consisted of seven different buildings of various
heights and shapes. The two 110 story twin towers were the most famous and
recognized. Most of them were designed by, Minoru Yamasaki, a Japanese American.
These amazing buildings contained 13.4 million square feet of office space,
making up 4% of all manhattans office space.
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Acts of Terrorism
Multiple acts of terrorism were directed towards these American icons, first
starting in 1975 when the World Trade Center was set on fire. Then on February
23, 1993, a truck bomb was exploded into the building’s lower floors.
Fortunately the buildings were designed to withstand wind up to 120 mph, and the
bomb had little effect.
On September 11,2001 (9/11) the world stared evil straight in the eyes. We all
witnessed perhaps the worst act of terrorism ever committed. All of the original
buildings in the complex were destroyed in the September 11, 2001 attacks: 1
WTC, 2 WTC (North and South Towers) and 7 WTC collapsed; 3 WTC (Marriott Hotel)
was crushed by the collapses of 1 WTC and 2 WTC; and 4 WTC, 5 WTC, and 6 WTC
were damaged beyond repair and later demolished.
The North and South Towers were hit directly by two 767's. American Airlines
Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower at 8:46 am. Then at 9:03 am, United
Airline flight 175 crashed into the South Tower; later collapsing at 9:59 am.
Finally at 10:28 am, the North Tower collapsed. Later that day the 7 World Trade
Center collapsed due to an unwatched fire that was literally melting the
building for seven hours. The remaining four structures were damaged beyond
repair, and were demolished.
At the end of it all, 2,749 death certificates were handed out.
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Why did the North and South World Trade Centers collapse?
Here is a diagram showing where the planes hit, and the times of impact and
collapse.
The South Tower collapsed first due to the planes’ positioning. The plane hit
going over 100 mph faster than the one that hit the North Tower, and crashed
into a much lower region of the building. This left more of the building to rest
on top of the damaged region. Once hit, the weight of the building was
redistributed to arch around the area of impact. This caused great stress, which
only exasperated the already weakening steel. When the planes impacted, the
buildings fire proofing was shaken off. The fuel rich fire melted the steel,
causing the infamous noises people heard.
After the steel had melted long enough, the buildings could no longer withstand
the weight and collapsed. The building collapsed floor by floor, pancaking
together.
The World Trade Center was no stranger to death.
1. During the construction of the Twin Towers, eight workers died as a result of
work-related accidents.
2. Six people were killed in the '93 WTC bombing. al Quaeda member Ramsey Yousef
was tried, convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.
3. As you mentioned, 2,748 lives were lost on 09-11-01.
4. A crazed man got past the fence and into Ground Zero, and then shot himself
to death over issues with his wife in Seattle.
5. During the construction of the rebuilt 7 WTC, a worker had fallen down an
elevator shaft and was killed instantly.
6. During the rescue / search effort at Ground Zero, one of the worker dogs had
lost his life while in the line of duty.
Please email us if you have any personal stories to add to our page.
info@allaboutskyscrapers.com
Thank You.
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