The World Trade Center, built in the early 1970s, was an architectural marvel fashioned from steel and glass. It consisted of seven buildings and a shopping concourse, but most prominent were two towers, each 110 stories high.

        One World Trade Center, completed in 1972, stood 1,368 feet, 6 feet higher than Two World Trade Center, which was completed in 1973. The structures were more than 300 feet higher than the Eiffel Tower.

        Indeed, only Malaysia's Petronas Tower I and Petronas Tower II, each at 1,483 feet; Chicago's Sears Tower at 1,450 feet; and the Jin Mao Building in Shanghai, China, at 1,381 feet, stood taller, according to the World Almanac.

        The idea for the World Trade Center surfaced after World War II, but the developer, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, didn't choose a space until 1962. Construction began in 1966.

        Architect Minoru Yamasaki was selected over a dozen other American architects to design the World Trade Center, along with Emery Roth and Sons.

        The architects' task included designing a structure with 9 million square feet of office space on a 16-acre site. The World Trade Center was part of a $1.2 billion urban-renewal project.

        Mr. Yamasaki decided that one tower would be too unwieldly structurally; several towers would look “too much like a housing project.” Thus, he settled on twin towers.

        Said Mr. Yamasaki: “The World Trade Center should, because of its importance, become a living representation of man's belief in humanity, his need for individual dignity, his belief in the cooperation of men, and through this cooperation his ability to find greatness.”

        Instead, the structure has become a symbol of man's inhumanity to man.

        On Feb. 26, 1993, a bomb explosion ripped through a basement parking garage of the structure, causing a five-story-deep blast crater. The explosion forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of workers. Six people died, and more than 1,000 were injured.

        Ramzi Yousef, the mastermind of the bombing, fled the night of the attack, leaving behind letters condemning U.S. support of Israel and threatening more terrorism. He was captured in 1995 in Pakistan.

        In 1997 he was convicted of conspiracy, along with Eyad Ismoil, the Palestinian who drove the bomb-laden van into the parking garage. They were among six men sentenced to life in prison for the attack.

        At his sentencing, Mr. Yousef said: “Yes, I am a terrorist and am proud of it.” He was also convicted for the deadly 1994 bombing of a Philippines Airline plane.

        U.S. District Judge Kevin Duffy branded the then 29-year-old Mr. Yousef an “apostle of evil.”

        Still, the World Trade Center survived.

        People returned to its popular observation decks, located indoors on the 107th floor and outdoors on the 110th floor of Two World Trade Center. On a clear day, visitors could enjoy a panoramic view reaching 50 miles.

        And people returned to work. About 45,000 people were employed in the north and south towers, each of which contained 4.7 million square feet.

        The towers were home to 1,200 businesses, including investment firms, banks, law firms and commodity exchanges. Many of the tenants were involved in international trade.

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