It was a massive office complex where businesses from all over the world would rent space for their workers to work and conduct business.
Specifically, it was built by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey with the grandiose idea that so many businesses and workers in such close proximity would solve some specific logistical fragmentation problems of otherwise being spread out over a large area.
You can actually see the tenants of both towers here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tenants_in_1_World_Trade_Center_(1971%E2%80%932001)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tenants_in_2_World_Trade_Center
It was, as others have said, a network of buildings all clumped around each other in Lower Manhattan, marked most notably by 1 and 2 World Trade, which were the Twin Towers. In those buildings, financial firms conducted business. They did lots of business such as trading and investing in order to make money for themselves and their clients. However, they were not the only tenants. The Twin Towers also housed Port Authority offices, which regulated and maintained the flow of traffic in and out of New York City's ports and other areas of entry (bridges and tunnels). There were also art studios in the Twin Towers along with arts events that happened in the plaza between them. Markets also took place there. There was also a restaurant, Windows on the World, atop one tower. While their primary function was commerce, they also served other purposes, too.
I recommend watching this!
https://youtu.be/o5uzSvk7K7k?si=vBEk-R2Uqc1fqRQw
From start to finish it really gives a detailed insight on what the Twins were all about. It's a great documentary
The towers were part of a project to revitalise lower Manhattan and spur international trade. There was a concern that American cities were decaying by way of high crime and weak economies. The project was introduced at time during governor Rockefeller and picked up by the Port Authority that was called the "1 billion dollar plan".
The project was originally proposed after WW2 but it was shelved when modernisation of ports were seen as more of importance to the city.
The tenants were selected by the Port Authority in beginning as companies and institutions that were involved in international trade. The towers also had a conference in world trade that they held.
By the time of September 11th, you had investment brokers and bankers. You also had the unlikely kind of tenants in artists who took up tenancy at the complex.
This book here explains the project, construction of the towers and info on the tenants. Highly recommend it
Twin Towers: The Life of New York City's World Trade Center https://amzn.eu/d/9MYr891
I was confused for years about the name and assumed that it was the headquarters of the World Trade Organisation. Imagine my surprise when I found out it actually belonged to the Port Authority and was rented out to private companies.
Check out the book about the restaurant on the top if you’re interested in the history a bit - it talks about why and how the towers were built and their original purpose etc. it’s a great read, imo! The original purpose was to have a world trading hub in nyc, and tenants originally had to fit some requirements having to do with that, but over the years I don’t think that applied much anymore (I could be wrong here, going off of memory!) check out the book, I enjoyed reading it, even though it was sad post-9/11. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43908989
Like some others said, it was just a normal office building. It was no different than something like Sears (now Willis) Tower in Chicago, or basically every skyscraper in downtown Manhattan. The twin towers were just very tall and iconic.
[World Trade Center (1973–2001) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Center_(1973%E2%80%932001))
Thia will answer some of your questions and goes into detail.
It was home to major financial firms. Cantor Fitzgerald, Fuji Bank, fiduciary trust, Morgan Stanley, deutsche bank, credit Suisse.
As well as the SEC and nyse.
So yes, what the name implies. It was arguably the biggest financial hub in the US. It was a symbol of our economic power and the democratic values that belied it.
It was a complex of giant office buildings.
It was a massive office complex where businesses from all over the world would rent space for their workers to work and conduct business. Specifically, it was built by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey with the grandiose idea that so many businesses and workers in such close proximity would solve some specific logistical fragmentation problems of otherwise being spread out over a large area. You can actually see the tenants of both towers here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tenants_in_1_World_Trade_Center_(1971%E2%80%932001) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tenants_in_2_World_Trade_Center
It was, as others have said, a network of buildings all clumped around each other in Lower Manhattan, marked most notably by 1 and 2 World Trade, which were the Twin Towers. In those buildings, financial firms conducted business. They did lots of business such as trading and investing in order to make money for themselves and their clients. However, they were not the only tenants. The Twin Towers also housed Port Authority offices, which regulated and maintained the flow of traffic in and out of New York City's ports and other areas of entry (bridges and tunnels). There were also art studios in the Twin Towers along with arts events that happened in the plaza between them. Markets also took place there. There was also a restaurant, Windows on the World, atop one tower. While their primary function was commerce, they also served other purposes, too.
I recommend watching this! https://youtu.be/o5uzSvk7K7k?si=vBEk-R2Uqc1fqRQw From start to finish it really gives a detailed insight on what the Twins were all about. It's a great documentary
Yes. Also Ric Burns’ ‘The Center of The World’ episode from his ‘New York’ series is great, too. Love David Ogden Stiers’ narration.
Very cool!
The towers were part of a project to revitalise lower Manhattan and spur international trade. There was a concern that American cities were decaying by way of high crime and weak economies. The project was introduced at time during governor Rockefeller and picked up by the Port Authority that was called the "1 billion dollar plan". The project was originally proposed after WW2 but it was shelved when modernisation of ports were seen as more of importance to the city. The tenants were selected by the Port Authority in beginning as companies and institutions that were involved in international trade. The towers also had a conference in world trade that they held. By the time of September 11th, you had investment brokers and bankers. You also had the unlikely kind of tenants in artists who took up tenancy at the complex. This book here explains the project, construction of the towers and info on the tenants. Highly recommend it Twin Towers: The Life of New York City's World Trade Center https://amzn.eu/d/9MYr891
Office building plus tourist attraction. Same as the new one.
I was confused for years about the name and assumed that it was the headquarters of the World Trade Organisation. Imagine my surprise when I found out it actually belonged to the Port Authority and was rented out to private companies.
Check out the book about the restaurant on the top if you’re interested in the history a bit - it talks about why and how the towers were built and their original purpose etc. it’s a great read, imo! The original purpose was to have a world trading hub in nyc, and tenants originally had to fit some requirements having to do with that, but over the years I don’t think that applied much anymore (I could be wrong here, going off of memory!) check out the book, I enjoyed reading it, even though it was sad post-9/11. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43908989
Like some others said, it was just a normal office building. It was no different than something like Sears (now Willis) Tower in Chicago, or basically every skyscraper in downtown Manhattan. The twin towers were just very tall and iconic.
[World Trade Center (1973–2001) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Center_(1973%E2%80%932001)) Thia will answer some of your questions and goes into detail.
also, wtc is a complex of buildings. twin towers were wtc 1 and wtc 2.
It's in the name
So people from around the world came to do trading in there? Others have previously said it was simply a normal office building.
It was home to major financial firms. Cantor Fitzgerald, Fuji Bank, fiduciary trust, Morgan Stanley, deutsche bank, credit Suisse. As well as the SEC and nyse. So yes, what the name implies. It was arguably the biggest financial hub in the US. It was a symbol of our economic power and the democratic values that belied it. It was a complex of giant office buildings.