The World Trade Center: Not Just an American Building Complex

It had offices for 430 business from 26 countries. Every day, about 50,000 people from countries all over the world came to work.

Every day, about 40,000 tourists from all over the world came to visit. Many of those people went to the top, an open-air platform 1,377 feet high, to get a mountaintop view in the middle of a giant city. Postcards of the buildings and the view from the top were among the most requested ever at local souvenir shops.

Offices in the Twin Towers included banks, financial management companies, travel agencies, TV stations, law offices, insurance companies, and many other kinds of businesses. Even the New York police and fire departments had offices there.

Even people who had lived in New York their whole lives still talked about the World Trade Center for what it was--an incredible site to see. Every time you see images of the New York skyline, you see the Twin Towers.

The World Trade Center was actually seven buildings. The most famous were the Twin Towers, which were 110 stories tall.

The architect, Minoru Yamasaki, often called the World Trade Center "a symbol of peace."

Sadly, the Twin Towers are no more. On September 11, 2001, hijacked planes smashed into the Towers, which later collapsed.

The target may have been on American soil, but the victims are from all over the world.

Graphics courtesy of ArtToday