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There are two buildings that have been named 7 World Trade Center; one was destroyed September 11, 2001 and one now occupies the same site. Although the two buildings share a name and a location, they share no resemblance in architectural style.
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 and was 570 feet (174 m) in height. 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 pm 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 little or 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.
Larry Silverstein was quoted in a 2002 PBS documentary America Rebuilds:
- I remember getting a call from the, er, fire department commander, telling me that they were not sure they were gonna be able to contain the fire, and I said, 'We've had such terrible loss of life, maybe the smartest thing to do is pull it.' And they made that decision to pull and we watched the building collapse.
While "pull" is standard construction industry jargon for demolition through explosives, Silverstein, through his spokesmen, has said the use of the term "pull" referred to pulling the fire personnel. However, the quote has been cited in 9/11 conspiracy theories as suggestive of the theory that the World Trade Center collapses were the result of controlled demolition.
Further information: 9/11 conspiracy theories § 7 World Trade Center2002-2006: Reconstruction
Reconstruction of 7 World Trade Center began in 2002 and is scheduled for occupancy in May 2006. As of April 2006, it was still under construction but nearing completion. (Daily Updates (Official Site)). The 52 story building will have 1,700,000 square feet of leasable office space starting from the 11th floor, while the first ten floors will be used to 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 conjuction 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..."
This building is not included in the World Trade Center master plan by Daniel Libeskind and thus does not share the new architectural design of the rest of the site.
As of January 2006, the announced tenants of 7 World Trade Center are Silverstein Properties, American Express Financial Services, and Beijing Vantone Real Estate Co. Ltd. which will rent 200,000 square feet 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 let as of 2006-03-17 (New York Metro).
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
External links
- 7 World Trade Center (pre-September 11 and post-September 11) on Emporis
- WiredNewYork.com - '250 Greenwich Street (7 World Trade Center)', Wired New York
- CBS report on the CIA facility at 7 WTC