One of the objectives of this blog is to record the average person's opinion of contemporary occurrences. For example, my older son and I once sat enthralled as my 95 year old mother recalled her reaction to news of the sinking of the Titanic when she was a teenager. Here are my reflections about the World Trade Center, which opened when I was about 30 years old.
Initially I didn't pay much attention to the World Trade Center. I was working in midtown, and the thought of another skyscraper in downtown Manhattan wasn't particularly exciting. It seemed like just another episode in Gov. Nelson Rockefeller's well known edifice-complex,in which he built one massive building project after the other. The WTC would simply take its place along with Lincoln Center, the South Mall NY State Government complex in Albany, and SUNY college campuses throughout the State. My strongest memory was learning that, due to adverse economic conditions, the buildings couldn't find tenants, and that to fill the space the government moved many state government offices into the towers.
Once the buildings started operating, I didn't hear a lot of praise about them. Architecturally, one critic wrote that the ultimate office building resembled nothing more than the ultimate office tool-- two stacks of staples held together. Indeed, architect Yamaguchi's stark design did not seem to generate much praise. When I eventually got to work nearby, I found the plaza cold, barren, and windswept in winter. Most of the activity seemed to come from the pedestrian mall underground. However, I did marvel at more escalators underground than I'd ever seen together. These were designed to carry thousands of workers into and out of Manhattan on the PATH to New Jersey.
Professionally, I got to visit one large law firm in the towers for regular meetings,as well as the HQs of MAC ( the City's fiscal monitor in the 1970's), and the NYS Dept of Taxation. The tax office was funny. They moved into this new, modern skyscraper, but they duplicated the rather dingy atmosphere of their old offices, complete with cardboard carton boxes and ratty furniture. I heard that there were not a lot of international companies or trading firms in the buildings. Over time it became a lot more fashionable to have offices there and the state eventually moved out to garner higher rent from the private sector.
One thing I strongly disliked was walking exposed on the sidewalk or plaza directly under the powerful antennas mounted on top of the tower as the highest point from which to transmit TV signals to the NY metro area. This tower superseded the one atop the Empire State Building when the WTC became the then tallest building in the world. I read that the top floor in the building opposite the antenna had been evacuated lest the people there "fry" from the radiation emitted from the TV transmissions. I am no expert but this information made me feel very uneasy.
On occasion I went up to the Windows on the World Restaurant and looked out at the scene below. A very exciting and fascinating experience! I could never understand-- nor could others-- why the windows were only slits 18" wide. Why have the world's tallest building and hamper the view? On balance, I've learned a lot more about these buildings once they fell than I ever knew while they were standing. I think it fair to say that the towers were never beloved by most New Yorkers like the Empire State Building or the Chrysler Building. I think many people appreciate them more now when they are gone than we did when they were an everyday presence.
Two final recollections. I used them as guideposts. If you could spot them when emerging from the subway, for example, you could usually determine your location. Also, when I look at old photographs of family and friends taken in the City, the Twin Towers appear ubiquitous in the background. I never gave their presence a second thought when they were around.
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