|
The WTC was erected in 1971 by the Port
Authority of New York.
The City chose to build
the WTC instead of building a new tunnel and large bridge over the
Hudson River.
The World Trade Center was
designed by architect Minouru Yamasaki.
The WTC was located in Lower Manhattan,
the largest financial hub in the world.
According to Yamasaki,
Lower Manhattan was the perfect place to erect the towers because there
wasn't "a single building worth saving in the neighborhood."
The WTC occupied an area roughly as big as
a small farm (16 acres).
The WTC envisioned as a place to
concentrate on world trade services in order to facilitate trade between
nations.
The WTC's towers were the second tallest
buildings in the United States. Only Chicago's Sears Tower was taller.
The North Tower's 347 foot
radio tower technically allowed the WTC to still call itself the world's
tallest building.
More than 10,000 workers
involved in building the complex.
At peak periods of
construction, some 3,500 workers were on the site daily.
More than 60 workers died
during construction.
The WTC accommodated more than 55,000
workers.
The WTC's foundations were
laid at 60 feet below ground level.
The WTC was made of 200,000 tons of steel.
The towers were different
heights. The South tower was 1,362 feet tall, and the North tower was
1,368.
Each tower of the WTC contained 110
stories.
The WTC was made of 425,000 cubic yards of
concrete.
The WTC had its own zip code,10048.
There were 43,600 windows in the Twin
Towers with over 600,000 square feet of glass window area cleaned by
automatic window washing machines traveling on stainless steel tracks.
If all the glass used in the construction
of both towers was melted into a ribbon of glass, 20 inches wide, it
would run 65 miles long.
The WTC weighed 1.5 million tons.
The WTC was made of 12,000 miles of
electric cables.
The WTC contained 198 miles of heating
ducts.
The WTC used 23,000 fluorescent light
bulbs.
With 60,000 tons of cooling capacity, the
World Trade Center's refrigeration plant is the largest in the world.
The WTC was visible from 20 miles away.
After the WTC was completed its cost was
$750 million.
On Friday, February 26, 1993, at 12:18
p.m., terrorists drove a truck packed with 1,100 pounds of explosives
into the basement parking garage, then set a bomb to be exploded,
creating a 22-foot-wide, five-story-deep crater. Six people were killed
and more than 1,000 were injured. The towers were cleaned, repaired, and
reopened in less than one month.
The 360-foot television mast atop One
World Trade Center supports 10 main television antennas, numerous
auxiliary antennas and a master FM antenna. Transmissions from the mast
began in June, 1980. Ten television stations in the metropolitan area,
including all the major networks, broadcast from the mast. In addition,
six stations broadcast high-definition, digital television from the
World Trade Center.
The Tower's skylobby elevator systems
separate express from local runs. There are 239 elevators and 71
escalators in the four buildings operated by the Port Authority at the
complex. The sky lobby express elevators are capable of carrying 55
people, a 10,000 pound capacity. Express elevators can travel at speeds
of up to 27 feet per second.
One World Trade Center features Windows on
the World, an elegant restaurant with a magnificent view of New York
City. Two World Trade Center features two observation decks, both more
than 1,300 feet above the city.
From the observation deck on Two World
Trade Center it is possible to see 45 miles in every direction.
Every president since 1973
paid a visit to the landmark.
President Ronald Reagan
watched July 4th fireworks celebrations from the WTC on two occasions.
Superstars Frank Sinatra,
John Lennon, Mick Jagger and Liza Minelli all sang in WTC restaurants.
More postcards of the WTC
were sent each year than any other building in the world.
The WTC generated $50
billion a year in profit.
It took an average of five
minutes for a visitor to pass through security checks.
All vehicles using the
parking lot had to show FBI security passes.
Both the Secret Service
and the FBI rented office space there.
Nine chapels serving six
different faiths called the WTC home.
Twenty-nine countries had
trade mission offices in the buildings.
Every
major U.S. airline had ticket offices inside the WTC.
It is the
first skyscraper in the world destroyed by terrorists. |
