How tall were the Twin Towers? Tallest buildings in NYC were originally expected to be 18 inches shorter
| Location | Lower Manhattan, New York, New York, U.S. |
| Architectural Style | New Formalism (Buildings 1, 2, 4, 5, 6) |
| Status | Destroyed |
| Coordinates | 40°42′42″N 74°00′45″W |
| Groundbreaking | August 5, 1966 |
| Inaugurated | April 4, 1973 |
| Destroyed | September 11, 2001; 22 years ago |
| Architect(s) | Minoru Yamasaki; Emery Roth & Sons |
| Developer | Port Authority of New York and New Jersey |
LOWER MANHATTAN, NEW YORK CITY: The World Trade Center comprised multiple buildings surrounding a central plaza in New York City with One World Trade Center boasting a roof height of 1,368 feet (417 meters), while Two World Trade Center stood at 1,362 feet (415 m) tall as per Britannica reports.
However, the towers that witnessed the most devastating terrorist attack in American history in 2001 were reportedly going to be built at 1,350 feet tall (411 m).
Were the Twin Towers the tallest buildings in New York?
The Twin Towers, part of the World Trade Center, held the title of the tallest buildings in New York City but their original height was expected to be 1,350 feet.
The New York Times reported in 1964, "Twin 1,350‐foot towers, the world's tallest buildings, will be erected to house the World Trade Center planned downtown."
Upon their completion, they briefly claimed the status of the tallest buildings globally with the North Tower reaching a height of 1,368 feet—1,730 feet with a large antenna—and the South Tower standing at a height of 1,362 feet.
They served as a major attraction, drawing around 70,000 tourists and commuters daily.
Architected by Minoru Yamasaki and officially inaugurated in April 1973, and the Twin Towers held the title of the world's tallest buildings for a fleeting moment.
Their reign was short-lived as they were soon surpassed with the completion of the Sears (now Willis) Tower in Chicago in May 1973.
How tall are the Twin Towers compared to the Sears Tower?
Constructed for Sears, Roebuck and Company, the building comprises an impressive 110 floors and stands at a towering height of 1,451 feet (442 m), making the Twin Towers shorter.
The twin towers were equipped with 97 passenger elevators, boasted 21,800 windows, and offered approximately an acre (0.4 hectares) of rentable space per floor.
Nevertheless, the Twin Towers were taller than another skyscraper in New York City, the Empire State Building.
By how much was the Twin Towers taller than Empire State?
A 1964 New York Times article states each of the twin towers in the World Trade Center was designed to encompass eight stories and reach a height of 100 feet, surpassing the stature of the Empire State Building.
Excluding its 222-foot television antenna mast, the Empire State Building stands at 1,250 feet and comprises 102 stories, which made it shorter than the Twin Towers.
The remaining structures within the World Trade Center complex were built over the subsequent 14 years.
The two iconic towers were accompanied by five additional buildings that constituted the World Trade Center complex.
Within this complex, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey maintained a police desk in 5 WTC, while 3 WTC served the dual purpose of being a hotel and housing office spaces.
In a tragic incident in February 1993, terrorists affiliated with an Islamist extremist group detonated explosives in a van parked beneath the World Trade Center.
The act resulted in the loss of six lives and left thousands injured.