Diapositiva 1: Introduction The iconic twin towers of downtown Manhattans World Trade

Center were a triumph of human imagination and will. Completed in 1973, the towers stood at
110 stories each, accommodating 50,000 workers and 200,000 daily visitors in 10 million
square feet of space. They were the hub of the bustling Financial District, a top tourist
attraction and a symbol of New York Citysand Americassteadfast devotion to progress and
the future. On September 11, 2001, the World Trade Center became the target of a massive
terrorist attack that took the lives of nearly 3,000 people. The disaster also radically altered the
skyline of New York City, destroying the twin columns of glass and steel that over the years had
come to embody the city itself.

Diapositiva 2: Design The World Trade Center (WTC) was a 16-acre commercial complex in
lower Manhattan. It contained seven buildings, a large plaza, and an underground shopping
mall that connected six of the buildings. The centerpieces of the complex were the Twin
Towers.

Diapositiva 3: Historry

More than 10,000 workers were involved in building the World Trade Center complex.

In May 1959, Rockefeller formed the Downtown-Lower Manhattan Association, which planned
a $250 million complex near the Fulton Fish Market on the East River, including a single 70-
story office tower and several smaller buildings.

For the resources and power to make the project work, Rockefeller turned to the Port of New
York Authority. The Port Authority had been chartered in 1921 by New York and New Jersey to
build and operate all transportation terminals and facilities within a 25-mile radius of the
Statue of Liberty. By 1960, after constructing the Lincoln Tunnel and the George Washington
Bridge, the Port Authority was rapidly expanding its influence, with 5,000 employees and more
than $1 billion in freight and transportation structures all presided over by its powerful
director, Austin J. Tobin.

By this time, the Port Authority had decided that the trade center should replace the 1,250-
foot-high Empire State Building, built in 1931, as the worlds tallest building. To fulfill the Port
Authoritys requirement, architect Minoru Yamasaki designed two towers of 110 stories each..

Construction began in February 1967, after the Port Authority faced down criticism about the
towers safety and viability from many powerful figures, including real estate tycoon (and
Empire State Building owner) Lawrence Wien.

Diapositiva 4: A dream come true

The last piece of steel was put in place on the north tower (One World Trade Center) on
December 23, 1970; the south tower (Two World Trade Center) was topped off in July of the
next year. Construction went on until April 1973, when the five-acre outdoor plaza, dominated
by a 25-foot-tall bronze sculpture by Fritz Koenig, was completed. At the official ribbon cutting
ceremony on April 4, Governor Nelson Rockefeller (Davids brother) proclaimed triumphantly,
Its not too often that we see a dream come true. Today, we have.
Diapositiva 6: BOMBING OF THE WORLD TRADE CENTER

The first major test of the trade centers structural integrity came on February 26, 1993, when
a bomb with the destructive power equal to 2,200 pounds of TNT exploded in the parking
garage of the second floor basement of the north tower. The blast killed six people, injured
more than 1,000 others and caused an estimated $600 million in damage. Six Islamic
extremists were tried and convicted in connection with the plot.

The towers reopened 20 days after the bombing with new security measures in place,
including restrictions to parking lot access and electronic identification badges for building
tenants. Over the next eight years, the Port Authority spent a total of $700 million on
renovations, with safety upgrades like battery-powered stairway lights and a separate
emergency command center in each building. Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani set up a high-tech
emergency operations command center, dubbed the Bunker, at 7 World Trade Center, a 47-
story office building adjoining the towers.

Diapositiva 7: THE WORLD TRADE CENTER ON SEPTEMBER 11TH

In July 2001, just two months before the terrorist attacks of September 11, the Port Authority
agreed to lease the twin towers to Larry Silverstein, a New York City developer. Silverstein
agreed to pay the equivalent of $3.2 billion over the next 99 years. At the time, over 99
percent of the 10.4 million square feet controlled by the Port Authority was occupied.

The impact of the two planes that hit the World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2001,
was more devastating than any of the buildings designers and engineers had ever imagined.
The first plane ripped a hole in the north tower from the 94th to the 98th floors, causing
massive structural damage and igniting some 3,000 of the 10,000 gallons of jet fuel the plane
was carrying. The second plane hit the south tower at an even faster speed, striking the corner
and gashing the building from the 84th to the 78th floors.

The heroic efforts of the citys fire and police departments and other emergency services
helped 25,000 people escape from the site before the unthinkable occurred. The damage done
at each point of impact forced the physical weight of the towers to be redistributed, and the
undamaged part below the hole had to support the floors above. At the same time, the fires
raging in both buildings weakened the steel trusses holding up each floor. With damage to a
greater number of floors lower down on the building, the south tower gave way first,
crumbling to the ground at 9:59 a.m., only 56 minutes after being hit. The north tower
collapsed less than a half hour later, at 10:28 a.m.

Debris from the falling towers ignited fires in the remaining buildings of the trade center
complex, including 7 World Trade, which burned for most of the day before collapsing at 5:20
p.m. Overwhelmed by horror, shock and grief, New Yorkers and people around the world
trained their eyes on Ground Zero, where the fall of a treasured icon of American industry
and ingenuity had left a gaping hole in the sky.