The World Trade Center

Photos Below Story

The Twin Towers of the World Trade Center were so huge and out of place with the rest of the skyline, they formed a kind of crown, almost like the star on top of a Christmas tree.

The two buildings have been up for as long as I can remember. I was about four years old when they were completed. So, for me, it's always been part of the environment. So huge, massive, and familiar that it fades into obscurity right before your eyes. While this may not apply to tourists, it certainly applies to New York natives.

In going through my picture archives (as an avid digital photographer, I have thousands of photos), I was amazed at how many photos of the WTC I have, even though they were not intended to be photos of the WTC. It's amazing how something as large as the Twin Towers can disappear into the background of so many photographs.

Whether I was living in the Bronx, New Jersey, or even the Upper West Side, it always seemed like I had to go through the World Trade Center to get where I was going. It was a familiar site even when I worked near Union Square, where you could look down University Place and see the Towers.

My first job was for a temp agency located in the World Trade Center. I remember the building before the security was tightened after the 1993 bombing. A more recent job assignment required frequent meetings in one of the smaller buildings in the complex. The security was a hassle, but more than understandable.

These pictures were taken anywhere from October 1999 to May 2001.