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It really is a shame i'll never get to see them in person.
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They werent very beautiful buildings at all, but they were just like bam, solid.
I wish I could have gone to The Windows on the World and enjoyed a beer while looking out over NYC, hopefully the new tower will have something similar. |
Say what you want about the quality of architecture, it doesn't change the fact that they were the mightiest skyscrapers ever built.
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I'll never change my mind that they should have put two taller versions of the wtc twins back instead of what's going up now. I like the design of the new complex, but those original towers were absolutely dominating in their presence.
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just 2 STUD buildings.........:worship:
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stevensiegel260
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4040/...0bed7549_b.jpg eralsoto http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4079/...081685ce_z.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4141/...36100105_z.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4141/...36100105_b.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4096/...e5848b1d_b.jpg http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1157/...8d60a98b_z.jpg http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1157/...8d60a98b_b.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4143/...2be65a49_b.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4059/...00092687_b.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4012/...46b3b57c_b.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4030/...8187399d_b.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4042/...8e0ee396_b.jpg http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3361/...bf3c64c1_b.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4063/...e0c8dd61_b.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4052/...61c67d92_z.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4052/...61c67d92_b.jpg |
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Postcard quality stuff in here for real. I feel so lucky I got to see these two behemoths everyday for for year after year, easily the two most imposing skyscrapers ever built.
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I miss them too, I always wanted to see them in person, and mourn for the fact that I never got to.
HomrQT, I agree with you completely! There should have been no question but that they would be rebuilt, even stronger than before. I got chewed out on another online forum, for saying that I loved the towers and missed them. Apparently at least one 9/11 family member feels that anyone mourning the loss of the towers somehow demeans those who lost people, and inferring that I was not a very nice person for saying what I felt. I guess they conveniently ignored another post of mine where I spoke of admiration for the people involved, for the acts of courage shown on 9/11 not only by first responders, but by civilians, some of whom made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of helping others. I would never suggest that the losses are the same- they're not. And I would never tell those who grieve for loved ones how they may grieve, or what they may express. So why can't those of us who mourn other losses speak without fear of censure? |
Amanita
No matter how heartfelt a comment may be, there is always the possibility that someone might misinterpret what you're saying. Your eloquent post above shows that you're a caring person and sympathetic to other people's suffering. It would be very sad if you felt the need to censor yourself. |
Amanita, there is nothing harsh or offensive about your words. Remember too that people pretend to be all sorts of things on-line.
----- The two towers had a kind of magic power on the imagination - in part because of their huge size, but also because of their "twin-ness". Up close, I never really cared for them. Their scale felt dehumanizing to me. They were bulky too. But they were a real anchor to the Downtown skyline, and it still feels wrong to me now when I gaze southward and can't find them on the horizon. |
I think these people WERE 9/11 family members. In the years since 9/11, I have participated in many discussions about the future of the WTC site, and some of those discussions have included family members of those lost on 9/11. Many of those discussions were actually positive- I remember discussing and debating the merits of a memorial park proposal with one of them, after they posted an idea that they had. All of us got along very nicely- no personal attacks, name-calling, or harsh words. Just civil discussion and debate.
Unfortunately on a travel forum I'm on, a couple of 9/11 relatives seem to have taken it upon themselves to arbitrate all things regarding 9/11 and the WTC site, and respectful treatment thereof. I asked about the etiquette of visiting the site, wanting to show proper respect and not step on anyone's toes. The subject of praying came up, and I stated honestly that I could not just go to St Paul's chapel to pray, as I am Pagan. (It would be disrespectful to offer prayers to non-christian gods in a christian church) I also asked if people still left offerings at the fence, as I was thinking of doing the same- perhaps an offering of incense, something small and consumable that would not leave litter behind. I got branded an attention-seeker who was looking to be provocative and cause trouble, just for saying that. I bear no ill will to the 9/11 families as a whole, nor to anyone else who suffered on that day, or who still suffers. Because I know that not all of them are like the pair on that forum, that many of them just want to mourn their own losses and live their own lives, and leave the rest of us in peace. But it burns me up when I see people who take it upon themselves to be the sole arbiters of what's acceptable and right concerning 9/11, that their method of coping or mourning is the only proper and acceptable way, and anyone who handles things differently or expresses ideas that they don't agree with is automatically disrespectful, wrong, and must be punished for their thoughtcrime. It saddens me that in some people's eyes, we've gone from extreme openness (the day we all became new yorkers) to protectionism and isolationism (Your 9/11 trauma wasn't bad enough to merit your having an opinion, hands off and shut up!) |
Original photos posted no longer available, so a few more...
The U.S. National Archives http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2646/...a0f8767b_b.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2512/...9c9f2628_b.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2537/...7b08dba8_b.jpg http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3533/...18ca079b_b.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2596/...57c3eeb2_b.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2560/...3a54fb32_b.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2617/...bb1e5ef6_b.jpg http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3453/...dd69388c_b.jpg |
^Nice pics!
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:previous: just pure domination... :cool:
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I was maybe 6-7 years old at the time. This was way before my brief skyscraper craze, when I absolutely adored the Empire State Building. Weirdly enough, I had never even heard about the World Trade Center back then, and I had trouble believing there were not just one, but two buildings taller than the ESB. Even after my visit to the top of the WTC, I couldn't even remember the towers whatsoever. I certainly was told that I had indeed reached the top by my parents. And I remember seeing 5 World Trade Center at ground level in my memories. I even remembered the stupid tourist-targeted crap at the top floor, such as the "let us take a picture of you and stick you in front of a digitally-produced background" kind of stuff. But the towers themselves? I have no recollection of them whatsoever. But I also remember this: I remember being able to dangle my feet while sitting at the edge near the windows, as in the picture above. So now I can finally assure myself that yes, I had indeed reached the top once. |
I still remember the day I first realized that the Twin Towers were taller than the Empire State. And this from standing street level, closer to the ESB. Wasn't old enough to fully comprehend just how at the time, but I knew it.
The thing about the outdoor deck is that you weren't able to get close to the edge like the indoor deck. So both offered unique perspectives. Lars Plougman http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2143/...51c28735_b.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2088/...a9117a81_b.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2409/...c23909a3_b.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2803/...bf85111b_b.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2111/...d92a140a_b.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2156/...7d9a6187_b.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4066/...763684df_b.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2342/...a6bf6367_b.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4023/...359cded6_b.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4047/...4890fae9_b.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2311/...ae37f947_b.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2014/...42fe3efb_b.jpg |
Has anyone posted this great video link? http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...2053682639810#
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Love those rare photos of the WFC and BPC under construction.
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Amazing pictures. Wish I had gotten to see them too :/
I'm excited for the new WTC though. I will make sure to see that in person, no doubt. |
I know that there are a lot of buildings in the world now that are taller but the Twin Towers seemed to have a presence like no other building has today. The monolithic massing and sheer verticality of the towers and dominence of their surroundings.....awesome.
I love looking at pictures of them, i only wish i could have visited them in person. |
It would have been so great to see these buildings grow and mature for years in the New York City skyline.
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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...c/d8a3d7a4.jpg9/10/01 this sent a chill through my body
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As much as I have come to terms with the new WTC, they will not be nearly as big, powerful, and amazing as these buildings were,
RIP WTC :( |
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I love the construction photos! The WTC is often seen on the TV show Fringe on Fox 5. It is my favorite TV show. You can also see Antoni Gaudi's Hotel Attraction on New York City's skyline.
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... and who knows, maybe all the new WTC towers are already finished in another parallel universe. :D ... and maybe walter can open a new hole, and olivia finds herself in the freedom tower! :haha: |
Twin Towers for ever!
I love the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center!
im so sad that i will never have a chance to see them in person! god bless the lost souls! and i know the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center are resting in heaven! |
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^Holy crap. Took me a minute to see that that was a panorama. A freaking cool one!
And an interesting fact- 55 Water st, also visible in that pic, is related to the WTC towers, by way of Emery Roth and sons. The Roth firm designed or consulted on literally hundreds of NYC buildings, great and small. |
Damn, that panorama speaks for itself. The views from the original WTC will never again be duplicated. It gave a perspective of the city and surrounding areas that not even the new WTC1 will offer.
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Yes though I can't wait to go up and see that view.I will miss the roof. But It will bring me back to the many times i stood up there looking down. It will be nice to see that in person :yes: again!.
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Nice pano. Really shows that, towards the end, the aluminum panels really needed a cleaning. From what I can tell, that was planned for 2002-2003, along with the mall/plaza rehab.
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They truly were amazing buildings. The rooftop observatory was probably the most unique ever built because it was the only place on top of a super-tall open to the public where there was nothing but air above you. Other outdoor decks such as on the Burj Khalifa, Taipei101 or even the ESB all have part of the building above them. If we in Chicago opened a deck on the roof of the Aon Center it would be the closest thing to imitating what the WTC rooftop deck had.
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People will hate me for saying this, but the twin towers were twin monstrosities. I of course mourned the loss of lives the same as everyone else, and if I could turn history back, I would obviously save the lives as well as the buildings that housed them. Desperate, ignorant people did violence to those buildings, but their architect did violence to art.
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I beg to differ. From what I've read, Yamasaki did the best he could, to fit the requirements of the Port Authority's "program"- 10 million square feet of space in 16 acres of land. Yamasaki was used to much smaller, daintier buildings, and the WTC project pushed him waaay out of his comfort zone. However, he really did try, coming up with countless mock-ups before drawing a single page of blueprints. One single 150 story tower was simply too overwhelming. A cluster of shorter towers looked too much like a housing project. Two seemed to be the best fit, not being as overwhelming as the single tower, and leaving the site far less crowded than a cluster of short towers. As for their architectural styling, the architectural world was in a state of change at the time, and as I said, Yamasaki had never done anything remotely close to the scale of the WTC before. It's said that he may have been inspired by the Kaaba (sp?) in Mecca- the cube-in-open square concept, and the Twin Tower's pointed arches and roofline traceries have been likened to Islamic or moorish architecture as well as Gothic. He originally planned an even more elaborate design for the tower's facades, but scaled it back in response to critics enamoured of the stripped-down modernist style, who lambasted his use of ornament.
As for the Roth firm, they were not known for an aesthetic approach to architecture, focusing on efficiency- efficiency of floorplan, mechanical systems, elevators, and so forth, to make buildings that were economically successful. Richard Roth admitted as much in an essay "High-rise down to earth", where he stated that his firm produced functional, profitable buildings, not "monuments to posterity". |
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