Today, as I was hanging around in one of my favorite watering holes here in Astoria, the topic of the World Trade Center came up. My pal remembered that the last time he'd seen it, it was in the process of being built.That was the last time I saw it, too. I was on the Staten Island Ferry, doing the cheapo/best tour of New York once again that afternoon. As I recall, I was pretty upset because the fare had either already gone up from a nickel to a quarter, or was about to go up. Actually, I think all of New York was horrified at the fare increase from the traditional nickel. Incredibly, now it's actually free. Yes, really. Staten Island Ferry
Anyway, I was on the ferry getting my adrenalin-rush late afternoon view of lower Manhattan, which is the most amazing city-scape ever. I was at the stern of the boat, looking back at the city, studying the World Trade Center, which at that point was about 75 stories high, and grimacing at the huge cranes that were on top of the structure.
I really wanted to see the building when it was completed, and go up to the top to see the spectacular views. It probably would have taken heavy sedation of one form or another to get me up there, though, as even the Empire State Building elevators gave me a serious case of the flim-flams. I just assumed those buildings would always be there, and I could get back to go to the top someday in the future. Well, we all know what happened to that idea.
Anyway, it got me to thinking about what an amazing pair of buildings the World Trade Center was, and about the construction of it. So I did a little research on the subject, and found an 18 minute documentary made in 1983. You can see it at:
Building the World Trade Center
I don't think I'll ever get over the destruction of the WTC. "Never forget" indeed.
