Twin towers
Executive summary
The Twin Towers were the centerpiece of the World Trade Center, a 16‑acre commercial complex in lower Manhattan that symbolized U.S. economic power and globalization and were destroyed in coordinated terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, when hijacked airliners struck the North and South Towers and both ultimately collapsed [1]. Nearly 3,000 people were killed across the four 9/11 attacks, the events triggered the largest FBI investigation in history and reshaped U.S. security, foreign policy, and urban memory, culminating in the 9/11 Memorial on the towers’ footprints a decade later [2] [1] [3].
1. What the Twin Towers physically were and why they mattered
The World Trade Center complex occupied roughly 16 acres in lower Manhattan, linked buildings and an underground mall, with the Twin Towers as its iconic centerpieces dominating the skyline and on a typical workday containing tens of thousands of people, reflecting the towers’ role as a hub of commerce and a symbol of globalization and American economic influence [1] [4] [5].
2. The attacks that destroyed them: the basic facts
On the morning of September 11, 2001, 19 al‑Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, flying two into the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center and a third into the Pentagon; United Airlines Flight 175 struck the South Tower at 9:03:11 a.m., and the damage and fires from the impacts led to the eventual collapse of both towers [1] [3] [4].
3. Human toll and immediate response
The attacks killed nearly 3,000 people that morning across New York, the Pentagon and Pennsylvania and produced a massive rescue, recovery and investigative effort—thousands of police, firefighters and federal agents responded on‑scene and the FBI launched PENTTBOM, its largest case, mobilizing thousands of agents and staff into recovery and investigation roles [2] [6] [7].
4. Investigation, accountability and contested narratives
The official inquiry by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks (the 9/11 Commission) and the FBI’s PENTTBOM investigation documented the plot, identified the hijackers and traced al‑Qaeda’s role, shaping the accepted public record even as some public debates and alternative theories persisted outside those reports; government archives and commission records are preserved for scrutiny by historians and critics alike [3] [7] [8].
5. Enduring consequences: security, foreign policy and health impacts
The attacks prompted sweeping changes: new aviation security regimes, the creation of the Transportation Security Administration, wars and counterterrorism campaigns abroad, and long‑term health consequences for survivors and first responders, including chronic respiratory illnesses and cancer linked to Ground Zero exposures—policy shifts and public opinion evolved markedly in the years afterward [9] [6] [5].
6. Memory, memorialization and the site today
A formal 9/11 Memorial and Museum opened on September 11, 2011, occupying the footprints of the Twin Towers with reflecting pools and archival material, intended both to honor the victims and to anchor national and local memory at Ground Zero—decisions about design, commemoration and the uses of the site have themselves been political and cultural touchstones [1] [6] [8].
7. Why the Twin Towers continue to command attention
Images and narratives from that morning—televised collapse, rescue efforts, and the enormous subsequent policy consequences—cemented the Twin Towers in public consciousness and political discourse; surveys and retrospective studies show the attacks reshaped American attitudes, produced fleeting national unity and long‑running debates about force, surveillance and civil liberties [10] [4].