World Trade Center - Ground Zero

The World Trade Center was a complex of seven buildings in Lower Manhattan in New York City that were destroyed in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with six new skyscrapers and a memorial to the casualties of the attacks.

Groundbreaking for the original World Trade Center designed by Minoru Yamasaki with it's twin 110-story towers took place on August 5, 1966. The North Tower was completed in December 1970 and the South Tower was finished in July 1971. The excavation from the construction project provided the landfill material that was used in creating Battery Park City to the west of the site at The Hudson River. The World Trade Center complex ultimately consisted of seven separate buildings. The final building constructed was 7 World Trade Center in 1985.

Prior to 9/11, on February 26, 1993, The World Trade Center was the target of a parking garage terrorist bombing. This attack resulted in more stringent security but no one could have foreseen the lengths to which an enemy would go to achieve the horrific destruction that took place on September 11, 2001. On that fateful morning, hijackers flew two 767 jets into the complex, one into each tower, in a coordinated suicide attack. After burning for 56 minutes, the South Tower collapsed, followed a half-hour later by the North Tower. The attacks on the World Trade Center resulted in 2,750 deaths.

The rebuilding process has been a long and arduous one. Although some development is underway, the many political and commercial interests at stake have created a log-jam that has hindered what should be a unified effort to restore the site to wholeness.