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There are two buildings that have been named 7 World Trade Center, both in New York City: one was destroyed September 11, 2001, and one now occupies a smaller site. Although the two buildings share an address, they share no resemblance in architectural style. The older building extended to West Broadway, whereas the new building extends only to Greenwich Street with a public park covering the area between the two streets.

1984-2001

Seven World Trade Center first began construction in 1984, and in March 1987 the building opened to become the seventh structure comprising the World Trade Center. The building was destroyed on September 11, 2001. The original structure had 47 floors was 570 feet (174 m) in height and had 1,868,000 square feet (174,000 m) of office space. It was clad in a red exterior masonry and had a pedestrian bridge connecting it to the main WTC complex. Emery Roth & Sons designed the building which stood just north of the main World Trade Center complex, across Vesey Street. The Center's management leased space to financial institutions, insurance companies, and government agencies.

From the former two categories, the building housed Salomon Smith Barney, American Express Bank International, Standard Chartered Bank, Provident Financial Management, ITT Hartford Insurance Group, First State Management Group, Inc., Federal Home Loan Bank, and NAIC Securities.

The government agencies housed at 7 World Trade Center were the United States Secret Service, the Department of Defense, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Mayor's Office of Emergency Management, the Internal Revenue Service Regional Council (IRS), and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Collapse

At 5:20 p.m. EDT on September 11, 2001, 7 World Trade Center collapsed.

In May 2002, the Federal Emergency Management Agency of the United States (FEMA) released a report on the collapse. FEMA made preliminary findings that collapse was due primarily to fires on multiple stories caused by debris from the other two towers, and not to the actual impact damage of 1 WTC and 2 WTC as they collapsed. The report noted that, prior to this collapse, there was no record of the fire-induced collapse of a large fire-protected steel building such as 7 WTC. The report did not reach final conclusions, and outlined a number of issues that needed to be explored with respect to the cause of the collapse. Specifically, FEMA made these findings:

“Loss of structural integrity was likely a result of weakening caused by fires on the 5th to 7th floors. The specifics of the fires in WTC 7 and how they caused the building to collapse remain unknown at this time. Although the total diesel fuel on the premises contained massive potential energy, the best hypothesis has only a low probability of occurrence. Further research, investigation, and analyses are needed to resolve this issue.” (Chapter 5, pg 31.)

On July 22, 2004, the 9/11 Commission Report was released, but made no mention of 7 World Trade Center.

In response to FEMA's concerns, the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has conducted a three-year, $24 million investigation into the structural failure and progressive collapse of several WTC complex structures, including 7 World Trade Center. The study included not only in-house technical expertise but also drew upon the knowledge of several outside private institutions, including the Structural Engineering Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers (SEI/ASCE), the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE), the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), and the Structural Engineers Association of New York (SEAoNY).

On April 5, 2005, NIST released its report on 1 WTC and 2 WTC. On June 20, 2005, NIST asserted in a press release that its report on 7 World Trade Center would be released "at a later date."

While FEMA's preliminary finding that fire caused the collapse is widely accepted, some individuals and groups have presented alternate viewpoints and theories, usually as part of a larger belief in a 9/11 conspiracy.

A Zogby International poll conducted on May 12-19, 2006, found that 38% of respondants were aware of 7 WTC's collapse and thought that the Commission should have investigated it. 43% were unaware of the collapse. 14% were aware of the collapse and thought the commission right for not investigating it.

2002-2006: Reconstruction

Reconstruction of 7 World Trade Center began in 2002. The building is 750 feet (228 m) tall and has 2 foot (60 cm) thick reinforced concrete and fireproofed elevator and stairway access shafts, whereby the original building used only drywall to line these shafts. The stairways are wider than in the original building to permit greater egress. Steel columns are encased in much thicker fire protection and the building is being promoted as the safest skyscraper in the U.S. The building is considered New York City's first "green" office tower by gaining gold status in the US Green Building Council's LEED program.

The 52-story building will have 1,700,000 square feet (158 000 m²) of leasable office space starting from the 11th floor, since the first ten floors will house an electrical substation which will power most of Lower Manhattan. The office tower will have a narrower footprint at ground level than its predecessor (as the course of Greenwich Street will be restored in an effort to re-unite Tribeca and the Financial District). The architect was David Childs of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill who worked in conjunction with glass artist and designer James Carpenter to create a structure that capitalizes on reflectivity and light. According to Silverstein Properties, the owner of the building, it "will incorporate a host of life-safety enhancements that will become the prototype for new high-rise construction..."

Building Seven was not included in the original World Trade Center master plan by Daniel Libeskind, but was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill under the leadership of David Childs, who largely redesigned the Freedom Tower.

As of January 2006, the announced tenants of 7 World Trade Center include Silverstein Properties, American Express Financial Services, and Beijing Vantone Real Estate Co. Ltd. which will rent 200,000 square feet (18 600 m²) on floors 48 through 52 to create a hub for Chinese businesses moving to New York and for firms interested in investing in China. In total, 8 floors have been leased as of March 17, 2006 (New York Metro).

The building was officially opened at noon on May 23, 2006 with a free concert sponsored by Larry Silverstein. The concert featured Suzanne Vega, Citizen Cope, Bill Ware Vibes, Brazilian Girls, Ollabelle, Pharaoh's Daughter, Ronan Tynan of the Irish Tenors, and special guest Lou Reed.

The triangular park was created by David Childs with Ken Smith and his colleague Annie Weinmayr of Ken Smith Landscape Architect, and is situated between the now extended Greenwich Street and West Broadway. It consists of a central open plaza with a fountain and flanking groves of trees and shrubs. As the seasons change, so will the colors in the park, providing a soothing natural complement to the adjacent tower.

Artist Jeff Koons created Balloon Flower (Red), the sculpture that sits in the center of the fountain. The mirror-polished stainless steel sculpture represents a twisted balloon in the shape of a flower that has been enlarged to monumental scale.

Trivia

7 WTC was the setting of the 1988 movie Working Girl (though the office scenes were filmed in another building).

The 1933 Double Eagle was temporarily stored in the US Secret Service Vaults at 7 WTC. It was relocated to Fort Knox months before September 11th, before its record-breaking sale in New York for $7.59 Million in 2002.

In March 2006, the new and unopened 7 WTC frontage and lobby were filmed in scenes for the movie Perfect Stranger with Halle Berry and Bruce Willis.

See also

• World Trade Center
• Larry Silverstein

References

1. ^ "Seven World Trade Center (pre-9/11)". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2006-05-07.
2. "CIA Lost Office In WTC: A secret office operated by the CIA was destroyed in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, seriously disrupting intelligence operations'". CBSNews.com / AP. 2001, November 5, 2001. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
3. "WTC7 (Chapter 5), pdf" (PDF). FEMA.
4. "Latest Findings from NIST World Trade Center Investigation Released". NIST. Retrieved 2006-05-07.
5. "NIST to Release Draft Report and Recommendations from Its Investigation of the World Trade Center Towers Collapses". Retrieved 2006-05-07.
6. "911Truth Zogby Poll Results". Zogby International. Retrieved 2006-06-01.
7. "Downtown Construction and Building Information". Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center. Retrieved 2006-05-22.
8. "7 World Trade Center Officially Certified as New York City's First 'Green' Office Tower" (PDF). Silverstein Properties. Retrieved 2006-05-26.
9. ^ "Seven World Trade Center (post-9/11)". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2006-05-07.
10. "7 WTC Gets Tenants". construction.com. 2006, February 7. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
11. "Filming Locations for Working Girl". IMDB.
12. "Under Cover, Tower 7 is no 'Stranger' to fame". Downtown Express. 2006, March 17-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

External link

• Silverstein Properties - official site of 7 WTC.

• Skyscrapers in New York City
• Skyscrapers between 200 and 249 meters
• World Trade Center
• Former buildings and structures of New York City