The Original World Trade Center, Memorialized in our Historic Image Archive
The highly-anticipated original World Trade Center opened on April 4, 1973. Construction on the seven-building complex began in 1966, and by the time the towers topped out in 1970 at 1,368 feet (1 World Trade Center, the north tower) and 1,362 feet (2 World Trade Center, the south tower), they were the tallest buildings in the world — the first to surpass the height of the Empire State Building, but soon surpassed in turn by the Sears Tower in Chicago in 1974.
First proposed by David Rockefeller to spur urban renewal in lower Manhattan in the 1940s, the World Trade Center was developed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, who in 1962 announced their selection of Japanese-American architect Minoru Yamasaki as the lead designer, with Emery Roth & Sons as associates. The structural engineering firm Worthington, Skilling, Helle & Jackson developed a framed-tube structural system to implement Yamasaki’s vision.
Isn’t it strange to think about how this feat of engineering only dominated our skyline for less than three decades — not even long enough to be considered for designation as an NYC landmark (which must be at least 30 years old)? For those almost 30 years, the twin towers had such a strong visual presence in our neighborhood, across the city, and beyond. On a clear day, they were visible from up to 40 miles away.
From the vantage point of Greenwich Village, navigating our meandering, non-grid-aligned streets in a time before Google Maps, the twin towers were our North Star (so to speak; they were, of course, directionally south): always a clear reference point to indicate which way led downtown. Though located outside of the neighborhood, they felt omnipresent.
As we’ve previously chronicled, the twin towers make frequent appearances in our Historic Image Archive. While the archive contains many images of the destruction of the World Trade Center, the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and its memorialization, there are also plenty of images celebrating the twin towers’ presence seen throughout our neighborhoods in the last quarter of the 20th century. The following are some additional captures of the World Trade Center from our archive:
Meredith Jacobson Marciano grew up in Boston, but visited NYC frequently from 1976 to 1986 before moving to the East Village in the fall of 1986. She brought along her trusty Minolta SRT201 and her love of Art Deco and mid-century buildings, picture palaces, ghost signs, ephemera and pop culture past and present. She captured the twin towers from various perspectives during their heyday.
Artist and writer Jack Dowling lived in the West Village from 1951 until his passing in 2021 from COVID-19. He attended Cooper Union from 1953 to 1957, and moved into Wesbeth in 1971 shortly after its opening in 1970. His collection includes fascinating photographs of the crumbling Greenwich Village piers along the Hudson River in the mid-1970s, following the collapse of the West Side Highway at Gansevoort Street and its closure in 1973. The World Trade Center is often in clear view in the background.
Robert Fisch grew up in South Queens and became interested in photography when the Concorde SST began flying over the area in the mid-1970s. He completed photography and darkroom courses at his middle school in Ozone Park Queens, and at Stuyvesant High School, where he upgraded to a 35mm SLR. Since 1991, Robert has lived in the West Village, and has continued to document the neighborhood and city around him. Our archive contains many of his images that depict the original World Trade Center, as well as the attacks and their aftermath. Many were taken from the perspective of Greenwich Village, specifically Robert’s own rooftop at 6th Avenue and West 12th Street.
Click here to visit Village Preservation’s Historic Image archive.