The World Trade Center brochure before September 11

If you visited New York before September 11, 2001, you almost certainly remember the imposing silhouettes of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. The two towers were visible as soon as your plane touched down at JFK or Newark airport, and they dominated the New York skyline, symbolizing American power.

Fifteen years after the attacks and the collapse of the towers, Patricia, one of the moderators of our New York forum, dug through her archives to unearth original brochures from the World Trade Center’s observation deck. Looking back, the slogan reads rather awkwardly:

As you can see above, the brochure proclaimed that the World Trade Center was “the place where some of us will be closest to heaven.” A terrible slogan when you consider the 2,977 victims of September 11, 2001, especially those who chose to jump rather than face the smoke filling the upper floors.

A complete overview of the World Trade Center

On the back of the brochure, the document provided a comprehensive overview of the World Trade Center. It noted that the complex housed more than 1,200 companies and that each tower had 23 express elevators and 72 local elevators. The World Trade Center welcomed approximately 50,000 employees and more than 80,000 visitors each day.

At the bottom of the brochure, another poetic slogan: “And in the evening, please don’t touch the stars.”

Another detail noted in the brochure: the World Trade Center had 43,600 windows, representing more than 55,000 m² (592,000 sq ft) of glass—equivalent to the base of the Great Pyramid of Giza. On the evening of September 11, 2001, most of the glass melted and disintegrated in the collapse. You can find some remnants at the Ground Zero Museum Workshop.

I also encourage you to visit the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. I’ve written about my visit in this article: “I visited the September 11 museum for you“.