Twin Towers: Where They Stood and What They Were

The Twin Towers were the tallest skyscrapers in New York until the September 11, 2001 attacks. Today their place is taken by One World Trade Center, the tallest building in the Manhattan skyline.

Besides 1WTC, after twenty years of rebuilding ground zero, several new buildings now stand on the site where the Twin Towers once were, at the World Trade Center.

That's a Lower Manhattan district I recommend you visit. Walking around it, you'll understand just how resilient New York and its people are.

As a tribute to the lost Twin Towers, here I'll answer all the frequently asked questions about New York's Twin Towers.

Not only where they were located, but also what the Twin Towers of New York actually were, how tall they stood and of course a short account of their history and what their destruction meant for New York and for the West.

Where were the Twin Towers?

NYC's Twin Towers stood at the heart of the World Trade Center complex. This is an area on the west side of Lower Manhattan, a few steps from the Hudson River, just south of Tribeca and next door to Wall Street, Manhattan's Financial District.

All that remains of the original Twin Towers are their foundations, and on top of them the Memorial to the victims of September 11 was built: two enormous, deep pools marking the footprints where the lost towers once stood.

What were the Twin Towers?

The Twin Towers were the two iconic skyscrapers of the World Trade Center complex. Until the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, they were the tallest skyscrapers in New York.

They opened on April 4, 1973, and for a few months they were the tallest buildings in the world, a symbol of the economic strength and power of the United States on the global stage.

Beyond their striking height, the Twin Towers were known as the symbol of international commerce. They housed the offices of major corporations and drew visitors and New Yorkers alike.

You can see what they looked like in any of the hundreds of movies the Twin Towers appeared in between 1973 and 2001. Further down I'll recommend movies featuring the emblematic Twin Towers.

As I mentioned, the site where the Twin Towers stood is now a place of reflection and remembrance, known as the 9/11 Memorial & Museum. The museum honors the victims and tells the story and significance of the towers.

If you're visiting New York for the first time, this is a must-see. It's a chance to learn about a key chapter in contemporary history.

History of the Twin Towers

In 1973, right in the heart of Lower Manhattan, this financial complex designed by architect Minoru Yamasaki opened its doors, and over time it would become the icon of American commercial might. 

While the World Trade Center was made up of several buildings, just like today's WTC, here we'll focus on its skyscrapers, the most iconic of which were the Twin Towers.

Symbolically, the Twin Towers came to stand alongside the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State, showing up in just about every movie, TV show and comic set in New York (read more about the Twin Towers on screen).

After the September 11 attacks, several producers decided to digitally remove the towers from films and series out of respect for the victims. The best-known case was Spider-Man, and among the lesser-known ones was the removal of the WTC from the opening credits of The Sopranos.

How tall were New York's Twin Towers?

The World Trade Center's Twin Towers stood out for their remarkable height, and they were the tallest buildings in the world when they opened in 1973.

Each one rose 417 meters to the roof. Counting the antenna, the North Tower reached 527 meters.

Their height meant they didn't just dominate the New York skyline, they symbolized the reach and ambition of urban development at the time.

The Twin Towers were a New York icon, visible from many points across the city. From their upper floors, the panoramic views took in the entire city and far beyond.

How many floors did the Twin Towers have?

The Twin Towers had 110 floors each, housing hundreds of offices and shops that called for a very advanced elevator system.

Both buildings had a staggering 99 elevators apiece. Without this mix of «local and express» elevators (some stopped at every floor, others only at certain «stations»), the project would never have been feasible.

It was essential to move the 150,000 people, visitors and office workers combined, who passed through the towers every day.

The buildings even had elevators for tourists, which reached the 107th floor in just one minute: in the North Tower, for the Windows on the World restaurant, and in the South Tower, for the Top of the World Trade Center observation deck.

The terrorist attack on the Twin Towers

You'll find details about that fateful day of the World Trade Center attack in The History Channel‘s 2008 documentary 102 Minutes That Changed America (102 Minutes that changed America). It lays out a timeline of the attack edited from footage filmed by witnesses and victims of 9/11.

If you'd rather watch a film inspired by the events, there's Oliver Stone's World Trade Center (2006).

9/11 Memorial & Museum

If you want to learn more about the history of that tragic September 11, visit the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, an institution dedicated to documenting the story of the attack and remembering everyone who died that day.

You can also visit the Empty Sky Memorial, a monument to the victims of 9/11 located in Liberty State Park in Jersey City, directly across from the southern tip of Manhattan.

Given its location, you'll notice how the tragedy was witnessed from there front row. This park is, after all, one of the best Manhattan viewpoints in New Jersey.

The new World Trade Center

In 2015, One World Trade Center opened on the site of the Twin Towers, with the Memorial, the 9/11 Museum and the Oculus, the new WTC Transportation Hub designed by Calatrava at its feet.

The Guide to visiting the World Trade Center will help you get to know this whole impressive rebuilding project.

I'll leave you with a quote worth pondering, found on Wikipedia:

«At the time of their opening, in 1973, the engineers and architects claimed that the Twin Towers could withstand even the impact of a Boeing 707, the largest plane of the era.»

Standing where the Twin Towers once stood is a moving experience, especially in September, when another anniversary of the tragedy comes around (check out other must-do activities in NYC during September).

Movies featuring the Twin Towers

Over the course of their history, the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center appeared in more than 700 movies and TV shows. Of that long list, they were one of the key settings in 73 feature films.

Watching these movies will give you a sense of what the World Trade Center looked like before the attacks of September 11, 2001.

73 movies featuring the Twin Towers

Of all the stories and scripts written around the Twin Towers on film, one line of dialogue stands out to me, from Trading Places (1983).

It happens during a conversation between the characters played by Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy as they walk past the entrance to the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center:

«Nothing you have ever experienced will prepare you for the absolute carnage you are about to witness», Aykroyd tells Murphy, referring to the hundreds of Wall Street traders who worked out of the Twin Towers.

Like this one, there are thousands of scenes that directly or indirectly wove the Twin Towers into their plots.

Among the iconic New York films to watch before your trip, you can see the interior lobby of one of the Twin Towers in «Working Girl» (1988). That building houses the first brokerage office where Melanie Griffith's character works.

Here's the list of movies in which the Twin Towers play a significant role, in chronological order:

• The Hot Rock (1972)
• Serpico (1973)
• The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
• Harry and Tonto (1974)
• Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
• Three Days of the Condor (1975)
• The French Connection II (1975)
• The Sunshine Boys (1975)
• King Kong (1976)
• The Sentinel (1977)
• The Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)
• Superman (1978)
• The Wiz (1978)
• Going in Style (1979)
• Manhattan (1979)
• American Pop (1981)
• Wolfen (1981)
• Escape from New York (1981)
• Author! Author! (1982)
• Wrong Is Right (1982)
• Staying Alive (1983)
• Born in Flames (1983)
• The Brother from Another Planet (1984)
• The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984)
• The Toxic Avenger (1984)
• Moscow on the Hudson (1984)
• The Killing Fields (1984)
• Dreamscape (1984)
• Something Wild (1986)
• Legal Eagles (1986)
• Something Wild (1986)
• Moonstruck (1987)
• Bright Lights, Big City (1988)
• The Dream Team (1989)
• Ghostbusters II (1989)
• When Harry Met Sally (1989)
• The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990)
• Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
• Just Another Girl on the I.R.T. (1992)
• Mr. Saturday Night (1992)
• Mr. Wonderful (1993)
• The Wedding Banquet (1993)
• New York Cop (1993)
• The Paper (1994)
• Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995)
• The Basketball Diaries (1995)
• The Usual Suspects (1995)
• Open Season (1995)
• Dolores Claiborne (1995)
• Hackers (1995)
• Independence Day (1996)
• Basquiat (1996)
• Eddie (1996)
• Men in Black (1997)
• Chasing Amy (1997)
• Kiss Me, Guido (1997)
• Cop Land (1997)
• The Cruise (1998)
• Deep Impact (1998)
• Working Girl (1998)
• The 4th Floor (1999)
• Being John Malkovich (1999)
• Center Stage (2000)
• Brooklyn Sonnet (2000)
• The Art of War (2000)
• The Art of War (2000)
• Ready to Rumble (2000)
• Empire (2002)
• City by the Sea (2002)
• The Guru (2002)
• Buying the Cow (2002)
• Man on Wire (2008)

6 Movies About the Attack on the Twin Towers

The September 11, 2001 attacks inspired a number of films and documentaries that set out to convey the scale of that day, whether from a historical, political or personal angle.

Here are 6 movies that will help you understand what happened on September 11 and what it still means today:

Together, these films give you a full picture of the emotional and political fallout of the attacks, with stories of heroism alongside sharp critiques of the government response.

1. Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)

This Michael Moore documentary takes aim at U.S. government policy after the attacks, digging into the social and political consequences of the war on terror.

2. «World Trade Center» (2006)

Directed by Oliver Stone, this film tells the story of two firefighters trapped under the rubble of the Twin Towers.

3. «United 93» (2006)

Directed by Paul Greengrass, this film recreates the events aboard United Airlines Flight 93, hijacked on September 11, 2001.

4. «Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close» (2011)

The story of a boy searching for answers after his father dies in the Twin Towers. Directed by Stephen Daldry and starring Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock and Max von Sydow.

5. «Zero Dark Thirty» (2012)

The film centers on the hunt for Osama bin Laden, but September 11 runs through the plot as the event that sets everything in motion.

6. «Worth» (2020)

Michael Keaton plays the lawyer who ran the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund. As he battles red tape and government policy, he comes to grips with the real worth of the lives that were lost. Available on Netflix.