Text and photographs by Stephen Harmon (Republished from 2022)
There were many people who thought they were too big or architecturally uninteresting, even ugly, but I was a big fan of the Twin Towers. I thought they were important to the look of New York City and I tried to show their place in the city by photographing them whenever I had the opportunity. Here are some I hope you like and remember too.
Steve
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I loved them too. A friend’s father who worked for the Port Authority invited a bunch of us to the unfinished observation deck before it was opened to the public. We were there on clear day mesmerized by the unbelievable view. Fond memories indeed!
Those are beautiul pictures.
My dad has a view of the towers from his apartment. It took years to get used to not seeing them when I would look out his wkndwks
Thank you for publishing these beautiful photos today — the black-and-white view is especially touching. For those of us who were downtown that fateful day and the friends and family of those who perished, it is comforting to know that WSR will never forget.
My grandfather was a construction worker on the WTC , when they fell I was there picking up the pieces. Sad what hate for either side will do. God bless the men who saved thousands on that day, today the media preaches to women that men are useless what a great sin.
Your comment about men and women is not only untrue but has absolutely nothing to do with 9/11.
These are great pictures. Thank you for publishing them on this day.
I vaccilated between indifference and disdain for the towers until one day when I found myself standing directly beside One, looking up its vast expanse into the sky. It seemed like something that had been placed there by the gods.
I felt the same way about them until I saw ‘The Cruise,’ featuring “Timothy “Speed” Levitch, an eccentric New York City tour bus guide, takes tourists around the island of Manhattan and shares an archive of beautifully distorted information about the city.” (1998) That man made me fall in love with them.
This was a sad day but I hope everyone thinks about the suffering Muslims in America who had nothing to do with extremism are collectively dealing with for no reason. They deal with it to this day.
Thank you for these pictures. Every time I drove across the bridge and saw them in the distance I knew I was home.
Views of Manhattan from afar have never looked the same or as wonderful since they fell. I still miss them
I never really knew the significance of the Towers and what they represented on a global scale..until we were attacked and my brother FF George Cain was murdered there. Now i miss them and him, like crazy. 😢. Thank you for posting the pictures for everyone to remember what once was…
Nancy, I am so sorry for your great loss. I live near the Firefighters monument on the Upper West Side where the Fire Dept read the names of the firefighters who were lost on that day.
Steve, thank you for sharing these beautiful photographs. I used to bring international students to the rooftop every year. That was their most requested iconic NYC place to visit so I must have gone there at least 15 times as well as for special dinners at Windows on the World. Those buildings were a symbol of our city. Unfortunately, the Freedom Tower does not come close to replacing them.
Of course the greatest loss was all the people who perished that day. Watching the ceremony yesterday, I was struck once again by how many were younger than 40. I hope we will never have to face such a devastating tragedy.
Steve, thank you for posting these beautiful photos.