The morning of September 11th, 2001 was bright and clear and seemed entirely normal. It was impossible, thought many New Yorkers, that what they were hearing over the radio or from their coworkers or even seeing with their own eyes could possibly be true. Thousands died immediately and horrifically when the first of the twin towers fell, but the full extent of the catastrophe was not understood until the dust had settled from the fall of the second tower. Many more people, including hundreds of emergency workers who had set up camp at the base of the second tower, were suddenly dead as well. Volunteer rescue workers came in droves, but could only stand and watch as massive fires raged over the next two days. Smoke and dust hung over the city for weeks, to mingle with the charnel smell from bodies buried deep in the rubble. The vision of the twisted wreckage where the World Trade Center towers once stood is something that no one can ever forget.

“I feel this way about it. World trade means world peace and consequently the World Trade Center buildings in New York… has a bigger purpose than just to provide room for tenants. The World Trade Center is a living symbol of man’s dedication to world peace… beyond the compelling need to make this a monument to world peace, the World Trade Center should, because of its importance, become a representation of man’s belief in humanity, his need for individual dignity, his beliefs in the cooperation of men, and through cooperation, his ability to find greatness.”

–Minoru Yamasaki, Chief Architect of the World Trade Center, from Architects on Architecture: New Directions in America, Paul Heyer, 1978