Legacy of the Twin Towers endures 25 years after collapse

New York has one of the most recognisable and iconic skylines in the world.

It has featured in countless movies and television series over the decades, evoking deep-seated memories for those who call the city home, while representing a land of freedom, opportunity and wonder for those looking to make it big in the world.

Even if you have never visited the Big Apple, the skyline conjures stories told through literature, musical theatre, film, photography and more – art that cements its place in our collective consciousness*.

New York’s skyline is a big part of its identity – both before and after the 9/11 attacks that robbed the city of the jewel in its crown, the Twin Towers.

Let’s take a look at the history of how skyscrapers came to shape New York’s skyline and the legacy left by the Twin Towers today.

HOW NEW YORK’S SKYSCRAPERS GREW
The competition to build taller buildings accelerated with Elisha Otis’ invention of the safety elevator in 1853. This elevator automatically stopped in place if the chains or ropes operating it broke, prompting businesses to reach higher than the standard six storey buildings that were being constructed, with taller buildings signalling progress, leadership and status.

An early example of this battle started in the 1870s between three newspaper owners located on “Newspaper Row”.

Not long after the completion of the Tribune Building (1875), which was 11 storeys with a clock tower and spire reaching to 79m (260 feet), the World Building (1890) was finished at 12 storeys, with a classical dome on an extruded* drum extending its height to 110m (350ft).

Only 20 years later, steel frame construction enabled the glamorous Woolworth’s building (1911–13), designed by Cass Gilbert in Neo Gothic style to reach an astonishing 241m (792ft).

The Chrysler Building (1931), with its Art Deco steeple and spire adornments inspired by the Chrysler car reaching 319m (1,046ft), was beaten in height by the Empire State Building (1930–31), with a roof at 380m (1,250ft) and an antenna reaching to 443m (1,454ft).

The upwards push of New York’s skyline was captured from the late 19th century through the rapidly developing field of photography. These images, together with the rise in transatlantic* tourism, helped spread the mythology of New York.

THE BIRTH OF THE TWIN TOWERS
The Twin Towers were a unique addition to the already iconic skyline.

Minoru Yamasaki was selected as the architect for the World Trade Center* in 1962, presenting a model of the 110-storey Twin Towers in 1964. The tallest, the North Tower, would stand at 417m (1,368ft), or 527m (1,728ft) including the antenna.

But the modern design was not well received by many architects at the time.

In 1966, the New York Times reported arguments that “the flat-topped behemoths* will destroy the beauty of the romantically spired lower Manhattan skyline”.

Yet, when they were completed in 1970–71, the Twin Towers’ rectangular form provided a slender elegance.

They quickly became the most recognisable pair of structures in a part of New York considered the centre of global finance.

They also featured as skyline centrepieces in many TV and film productions – even replacing the Empire State Building as the structure to which Kong retreats in the 1976 remake of King Kong.

In targeting the Twin Towers, al-Qaeda* terrorists had selected what they identified as most symbolic of the “evil empire” of capitalist* America.

For New Yorkers, the destruction of the Twin Towers was an attack on their integrity and identity.

THE DAY THE TOWERS FELL
At 10:28am on September 11, 2001, New York City’s skyline was suddenly and dramatically altered after one of the most significant terror attacks in modern history.

The world watched television screens in first disbelief, then distress, as first the North Tower then the South Tower of the World Trade Center* collapsed, causing the tragic death of thousands of innocent people, including hundreds of first responders, and the devastation of an entire city precinct.

The collapse of the towers came after terrorists from al-Qaeda* hijacked four passenger jets, crashing two into the Twin Towers*, and another into the Pentagon*. The fourth crashed in a field in Pennsylvania after brave passengers attempted to stop the hijackers. Almost 3000 people lost their lives as a result of the 9/11 attacks, including 10 Australians.

The horror of that day and the destruction of the Twin Towers left a profound gap in both the spirit of the city and forever altered the significance of New York’s iconic skyline.

BOUNCING BACK FROM TRAGEDY
The loss of the Twin Towers was catastrophic – but it was important to civic and business leaders that New York reclaim its position as the site of the tallest building in the United States.

One World Trade Center, designed by David Childs of Skidmore Owings & Merrill, achieved this ideal.

Opened in 2014, One WTC is a chamfered prism* that rises to a height of 541m – or 1,776ft, to commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence*.

In 2031, One WTC will be joined on the skyline by Two WTC designed by Norman Foster of Foster and Partners. The building remains under construction.

Importantly, One and Two WTC have not been built on the site of the old Twin Towers.

The site where the absent Twin Towers once rose remains vacant, the towers’ footprints taken by the 9/11 Memorial: two pools fed by 9m walls of water, flowing to a central void signifying “absence made visible”.

Twenty-five years on, the terrible violence of 9/11 has been incorporated into the mythology of New York, with images of New York’s skyline now setting up a condition of “before” and “after”.

Time will tell whether the new towers become icons. Either way, the skyline of New York has endured, continuously changing while still holding its shape as a beacon of progress and ever growing associations that deepen shared cultural memory.

For more information about the site today, visit the 9/11 Memorial & Museum at 911memorial.org

The majority of this article was authored by Bond University Associate Professor of Architecture Elizabeth Musgrave and was originally published by The Conversation. It is reprinted with permission.

POLL

GLOSSARY

• Center: official American spelling retained
• World Trade Center: a complex of buildings in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan including the Twin Towers, which were the tallest buildings in the world at the time of their completion in 1973. The WTC hosted more than 430 commercial companies
• Twin Towers: the two tallest towers in the WTC that were attacked by terrorists in the 9/11 attacks, causing them to collapse
• al-Qaeda: a global Islamist militant terrorist group founded by Osama bin Laden and others that was responsible for the 9/11 attacks
• Pentagon: the HQ of the US government’s department of defence
• collective consciousness: a set of shared beliefs, ideas and attitudes held by a society
• extruded: shaped or pushed out
• transatlantic: crossing the Atlantic Ocean
• behemoths: very large or monstrous
• capitalist: relating to an economic model where individuals or companies own the means of production and make money from running businesses
• chamfered prism: a 3D prism shape that has had the sharp edges or corners cut off to form a flat sloping surface known as a chamfer
• Declaration of Independence: the formal document in which the 13 colonies of America announced their independence from Great Britain

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QUICK QUIZ
1. What led to the birth of skyscrapers?
2. Why was there controversy over the design of the Twin Towers?
3. What is in currently in the place where the Twin Towers once stood?
4. What are some examples of historic skyscrapers built in New York?
5. When will Two WTC be completed?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Compare building heights
To get a clearer idea of the increase in height of New York buildings over time, draw or build a scaled comparison of the buildings mentioned in this news story. You could draw buildings on paper (you may need to glue two pieces of A3 paper together) or build towers from blocks or Lego. Use a scale of 1:1000 (1cm of drawing/tower will represent 10m of New York skyscraper).

Time: allow 15-30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: Mathematics

2. Extension
The site of the World Trade Centre Twin Towers has not been built upon and is now a memorial site. Explain why you think this choice was made, and whether you think the site should remain vacant forever.

Time: allow 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English; Ethical Understanding

VCOP ACTIVITY
Vocabulary recycle
There is some vivid vocabulary being used in the article, and I am not just talking about the glossary words. Go through the article and highlight the high-level language that you are impressed by in yellow.

See if you can borrow two of these wow words to reuse in your own way.

Remember vocabulary is a great way to connect with the audience, but you need to think about who your audience is so you make great word choices.

Who will the audience be in your recycled sentences?