OMG! I am the women with the brown hair, red jacket and white shirt. When I saw this video I was in total shock to see myself in the WTC back in the day (1987). Totally shocked but happy to see this.
Yes, It was awesome for me to see. God has sent me to your you tube video. It's so sad to see what had happen to the WTC. Very heartbreaking for me and my husband. That's how we met traveling to the WTC.
Wow this quality is really good for the 80s I feel like I really am there. Those towers were beautiful, and they look so much bigger than the new trade centre
I can imagine being in those buildings today with how they look inside. That's eery. Like this was filmed just yesterday despite it being 1987. Truly incredible buildings
They were truly amazing buildings. We all took it for granted back then, as most New Yorkers might. It's there. It's impressive. Now let's get to work. Only after their demise did we actually stop and reflect. But that's human nature.
I’m not sure if it’s because of the trauma associated with it, but these two sky scrapers are so foreboding. Two enormous monoliths right next to each other, no organic lines, no curves or diagonals, no stepping back as the height increases. Just, boom, straight up until the top. Gorgeous, I wish I could have admired them in person
Eso era lo mágico de esas Torres, que sabías que de principio a fin eran del mismo tamaño, y la altura era tal que: 1- Parecía que se volvían más pequeñas y casi se tocaban 2-Que las columnas hacían su engaño visual y veías solo una pared gris y lisa al final por mejor vista que tuvieras
Went to the observation deck 3 times in 1990 while on business at Morgan Stanley. Should have been rebuilt as they were...exactly as they perfectly existed! I dream often of how beautiful they were just purely for the architecture.
This is such a great document of those lost buildings. I visited the Twin Towers in 1981 and this is exactly what I recall. It's so long ago now that it's more of a memory of a set of memories than spontaneous recall anymore, but your video brings the place to life again in my mind's eye, albeit with overwhelming sadness.
Thanks for sharing Todd. As someone who never got the chance to visit them, as much as I wanted to but never did, I appreciate these videos and pictures.
Thanks. I just bought a new video camera and wanted to take some nice video of some landmarks to shows the folks back home. Never did I think that the footage would become historical. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Now it’s just empty footprints with pools of cascading water where the towers stood. No one ever would even think those towers would come down. Inconceivable. My only wish was that two towers were rebuilt, not just the one. RIP my HS friend Danny Correa who was on the 98th floor of north tower (1) that day 💔
@@ToddMcDurmont thanks. Indeed so senseless. It’s still so weird that he’s gone.. Our 20 yr HS reunion was awkward, but the committee did a nice tribute to him. Truly the nicest kid in the whole school.
@@ID-pw8zb thanks. Yeah, as someone who grew up staring at those towers every single day from across the river in New Jersey, it’s the absolute truth when I say 10 years later and I STILL cannot get used to the skyline without those towers. Even tho the new tower is there it’s just not the same. Not even close..
I grew up looking at those buildings from my window. Erie, not seeing them after that. I’ve moved away. This video brought me back memories. We would ride bike “as kids” threw the “WTC” mall after hours. Security would chased us and we would leave. The West Side Highway didn’t have the divider it has now. We would get chased by the Parks Dept for ridding in Battery Park. Our safe zone was a cross the street “ 2WTC” Great memories. Thanks for the video.
@@ToddMcDurmont No they aren't actually. I heard from a commenter on another video that when they visited the memorial, one of the authorities there told him that they're slightly scaled down. The exact diameter actually reaches the row of trees around it.
@@gabetalks9275 In fairness, you're right. Ironically, I've not been there since '93. In fact I walked out of the north end of the south tower into the plaza when the bomb went off beneath east end of the north tower and Marriott. It was like an earthquake. I'll never forget it. So sad. The whole thing is just sad.
They are actually smaller and in slightly different positions. Otherwise they would have been too close to the surrounding roads. The memorials pools are 176 ft sq, whereas the original footprints were around 210 sq ft each. Also worth pointing out that a lot of the footage was taken on the concourse level, underneath the plaza - which extended under the whole complex, not just the towers. Would have loved to have visited!
You didn't realize how absolutely huge they were until you stood at the base and looked up. I remember getting reverse vertigo; the feeling that I would pass out and fall backwards looking up the side of the south tower. Keep in mind each floor was a full acre in size, so each side of the building was 209 feet.
@@ToddMcDurmont Yep. I believe you. Camera, zoom and focus don't give volume and deep/far feel. Picturing Grand Canyon and viewing it in photo VS real being there - totally different things
Makes me truly nauseous and so angry knowing some poor souls had to jump out of those massive towers. 22 years later and I still can't process it, still feels so unreal.
Me either. It just past an anniversary and also this recent massacre a couple days ago..yikes! Actually this is the first time I was brave enough to approach the subject at all since 01..Just left me traumatized to the max..This is a great video though
This was my New York. That brings back so many memories. I truly miss the WTC. It was the part of New York I loved the most. Lower Manhattan was so neighborhood friendly and beautiful. There was a street fair when I was there and people were outgoing and lovely, like they lived in a small town in middle America. I'll never forget my time there in 1995.
It's interesting to see how the observation deck ticket price changed over time. In this video and adult was $2.95 and in another video from 1999 or 2000 it was $12.95.
And now it *starts* at $38 per person to go to the top of the new building. And if you want flexibility and priority lines, etc., it's $58 per person. A family of 4 would be at least $160 with all the service fees and taxes that are likely added.
Ive never been in the world trade center, according to my mom, she did say, the bottom level were shops and the top floor were businesses. She went there for a meeting sometimes. Im glad she didn't have to go that day on 9/11 in 2001
I miss original twin towers. Nothing could fill their void in the skyline of NYC. I wish govt had rebuilt the same shaped towers instead of ghe Freedom Tower, it would have sent a much stronger message to those who were behind it & it would have comforted our feelings as well.
It's almost 20 years now, I am from Colombia and I was only 7 years old when all this tragedy happened, I remember it so clearly... Was watching the Looney Tunes on a local TV channel, it was a beautiful sunny tuesday morning when suddenly the TV program was interrupted by some last minute news, reporters talked about a possible small planed had been accidentally crashed against one of the towers... Even with 7 years old I could understand some of the magnitude of the gravity of this, I was shocked, I stayed watching the news and some minutes later... A giant plane appears on the screen and fades into the other tower... That was a day I'll never forget. I haven't never gone to USA but my dream was to know those towers personally some day, but since that day, I understood that dream would never come true, so sad, I think every day about this... Poor victims, they did not deserve that tragic destiny. RIP all those who lost their lives that day, I never forget them, I am not a U.S. citizen by my heart lives with them.
You can Still Learn Much about those Buildings and Complex history as I am currently! I was in Chicago when it happened and I Still have never been to New York :( Though Learning About them and Admiring them is The GREATEST Respect I think ☮️
I worked in 1WTC for 6 years in the 1980s. In the shopping area near the Path train entrance, you can see that many guys were wearing trench coats in the winter months. I can confirm that we all wore them. Trench coats and leather brief cases were all the rage. You absolutely never saw backpacks in the '80s.
The fact that these towers still look insanely massive, even on camera is both insane and terrifying. Like, imagine seeing that 55 foot roof and the rest of the tower falling down straight on top of you as you look up. Chilling.
Thank You for posting these videos of the original World Trade Center. I was almost 21 when they got destroyed and to this day, I still can’t get over it. They were such beautiful buildings and now they’re gone. It’s neat yet depressing to watch how pre 9/11 life was; it was much better.
Life was actually about the same. Of course we didn't have pandemics. People weren't destroying each other on social media, and we never considered our safety in public spaces. Music and entertainment was phenomenal. The electronics were not consolidated into a single smartphone, but we got by! The 1980's were truly a glorious and magical decade, in a similar way to the 1950's. No other decades compare. However we tend to romanticize. The constant in life is the mundane. People in 1987 heard their alarm clocks, got out of bed, showered, commuted to work, put up with coworkers and bosses, in order to raise families, in hopes to raise the next generation better than the last. To that degree, life is always the same. One day, you'll look back on the 2020's as "the good old days", but other than the horrible sucky music, really they're basically just the same. Trust me on that! 😉
@@katiedame6489 Same...and these videos ....especially the videos just days or even weeks before it happened take me back in time ! That may sound a little weird but that's how I feel
it makes me so happy to see what the world trade center once was. i recently picked up an interest on the WTC and learning more on the attacks, its nice to see how magnificent these buildings were, but really just adds more perspective for me. crazy. thank you for sharing this, much appreciated:)
This footage is great, but you really had to see them in person to grasp their scale. I never went up the towers but I saw them from ground level on a high school trip in the year 2000, from the street right in front of them. They were so gigantic. Mind boggling to think of them coming down.
You are absolutely right. They're tiny on a little screen but something to behold in real life. Notice how I kept spinning around in the plaza at the beginning of the video. It was a bit annoying but when you're their in the plaza, the buildings would just mesmerize you. I didn't realize it at the time.
@@ToddMcDurmont Thanks so much for sharing this footage. We need to "normalize" seeing the towers intact. It's too easy to see them being attacked. It's almost like a dead relative that you want to remember the way they used to be, rather than the way they were at the very sad end.
UCKABAH On September 11, 2001. I was home when I should’ve been at my job as a teacher in Los Angeles, because I’d hurt my back yet again. My sister, who usually took care of me when my back was bitchy, had flown to Puerto Rico because our Dad was in the hospital dying. Since I didn’t have to get up early, I was sound asleep when she called me from Dad’s hospital room. This was the message on my answering machine: “Eileen, don’t be scared, but terrorists highjacked planes and crashed them into the World Trade Center. Both buildings fell down.” Me (still half asleep) “What? They can’t knock those buildings down. They’re huge.” (I saw them once, while being driven across a bridge in 1973. I was in Brooklyn for the summer. They’d just been inaugurated that Spring.) I headed to the living room to lay down for the next countless hours to watch that awful, unbelievable footage. Mom passed away in Puerto Rico on April 23, 2001. Dad passed away on September 14, 2001. R.I.P. Mom and Dad. 💐💐🙏🏻🙏🏻 and everyone else who perished on that day and the countless others who we’ve lost due to having inhaled all those awful toxins.
The “Working Girl” vibe of the women in their business suits wearing their white (most likely) Reeboks for commuting. It wasn’t really that long ago, and yet it feels like another lifetime. 😢
I don't like now-a-days kids, simple as. Their ignorance to society and unwillingness to learn about itmakes the sting all the more pleasurable. So dependant on technology. Sigh.
Amazingly good video quality for 1987 standards. If this same video was taken today if the towers were still there you would notice a world of difference with how people would be glued to their cell phones going about their business. Just imagine if the cell phone technology and social media we have today was around back in 2001 we would get a glimpse of what it was rly like inside the towers on the fateful day.
As someone who never had a chance to see it as my mom was pregnant with me when this happened, I am glad there is some inside footage of the World Trade Center before the hijacked planes hit them on September 11th, 2001.
Thank you so much for this,even though i never got the opportunity to go i feel such a attachment to those beautiful majestic buildings . This is one of only a handful videos that show the inside,great stuff my friend👍
I was in NYC in 1996 (we lived in NJ) but I was too young to take notice of the WTC. But somehow I remember the cobblestone street and ships at the South St Seaport. I still have a snow globe with the towers in it tho. I wish I remembered if I saw them
Interestingly, the WTC complex wasn't really loved by the locals. It blocked streets, cut off the neighborhood, and the underground shopping center took customers away from street-stores. Only now do we appreciate them. But trust me, the area was just office buildings that emptied out every night. There was nothing spectacular and people didn't marvel at WTC the way in which we do now.
As a tourist from Sydney, I know I would have been blown away by their scale alone. Those gothic looking lower arches always intrigued me. Fascinating design. Your insight was very thought provoking though.
Su aspecto tenía algo de místico, el verlas en el horizonte como una gigantesca entrada extendiéndose hacia el cielo, sus arcos que se dividían en 3 y se extendían hasta el cielo, fueron más que edificios de oficinas, fueron parte de la Historia y una obra de arte en todo sentido. Todo un logro de la arquitectura jamás igualado ni vuelto a ver en el mundo A lo mejor los que vivían cerca se aburrieron y se les fue la magia, pero personas como yo de LATAM que nunca han visto algo más grande que 200 m, nos dejaría babeando horas
Agreed, besides the Mall, Observation Deck & Plaza, the World Trade Center was no different than any other office building in Manhattan of New York City in general.
The corners were a cool angle I've never seen that before it's hard to believe that in just 14 short years these towers would be dust clouds and twisted metal
Notice that the current reflecting pools of the north and south tower resembles the height from ground level down to the base is the same level as when this photographer is going down the escalator at 2:50. Also notice the center of the tower in other parts of this video is the core structure.
$2.95 USD (today $7 USD) to go to the observation deck??? What the hell!! They charge almost $50 USD for the Willis (Sears) tower today! $30 for the John Hancock!
+Tech and software guides It was shot with Panasonic AG - 170 Piezo Proline "VHS Reporter" Video Camera, a top-of-the-line consumer "professional grade" camera back in the day. The lux rating was marginal and in it's infancy, as you can tell. But overall, the horizontal resolution was not too bad for that era.
And Building 7, and the Deutsche Bank building across the street (it didn't collapse, but debris tore out the facade, fires gutted the interior, and the whole thing was contaminated with asbestos from the WTC, so was ultimately torn down.)
As a Canadian that never been to the states, it sucks i never even heard of these buildings till 9/11 😢 i know they were shown in a bunch of films but i never really pay attention to them and plus i was like 10 years old, but now im alot older each time i see them in movies or watch videos like this, i see how beautiful they were
As someone who lives in the UK, I myself noticed them first in films and cartoons such as the original 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles', 'Santa Claus The Movie', 'Home Alone 2' & 'Super Mario Bros Movie', after I started noticing them in other films in the background. I pretty much fell in love with the Towers and really wanted to visit them. I even remember reading an article about the Twin Towers on Encarta (Before we had Wikipedia) way back in 1998 or 99. I was so amazed on what these towers had achieved and the fact that they survived that awful bombing back in 1993. Sadly, that awful day in 2001 just broke my heart. I saw them fall on TV for the first time and was so devastated. I am still devastated to this day and even now, watching the towers on that awful day just hurts me so much. They are my favorite skyscrapers of all time and they were taken away from the world by a bunch of cowards along with all those innocent people just going about their day 😥.
They were beautiful. Wish I'd have had the chance to have seen them. The Sculpture amazingly is intact but with some minor dents to it. It sits across the street from ONE World Trade Center now. The lobby of ONE World Trade Center eerily resembles that lobby in the Twin Tower, down to the elevator, layout.. RIP those lost in 911.
That's basic supply and demand for you. Big and impressive as these buildings were, it's as if people only started valuing them only after they were gone. I, for one, didn't know much about them until 9/11 itself (even though I liked architecture and have a - now retired - architect for a dad, I was only 16 and hadn't yet studied it at any formal level). And I'd gladly pay those $63 now, mind you.
@@Mainyehc um.....no that's an example of inflation not supply and demand. The observation deck at the old twin towers was extremely popular in it's day.
Well, if so then actually ALL possible outcomes are out there, in alternate dimensions. The towers aren't hit, one stands the other does'nt, partial collapses, all outcomes. Interesting to ponder.
@Sturm Art Right, I get that. In the context of replying to this other post tho, in a multi-dimensional scenario, that outcome would be possible. How? I dunno.
@Sturm Art Not sure why you're taking offense here. All I said was, it seems to me there's no reason God would not allow multiple dimensional space. Do you have inside info that says otherwise?
@Sturm Art I don't disrespect others, and I don't tolerate it towards myself from those who regard themselves as some expert on God simply because they're religious. If you want to learn a key part of God's teachings try "humility" on for size sometime.
When i went on a school field trip to the trade center in the 90's the first thing i saw was a homeless Italian man begging for change right in front of one of the entrances. At the 130-something floor the Statue of liberty looked like an eraser head.
Amazing footage of the WTC. You don't realize actually how close the WTC was to the other buildings. May all those who lost their lives on that horrific day rest in eternal peace and may all their loved one's who were left behind be graced with god's everlasting love and strength.
Wow awesome footage. I was born in November of 87 right across the Hudson River, in Jersey. Definitely wild to see what was going on either a few days before or few days after I was born, depending on the day this was shot.
Camcorders from the mid-80’s had great video and audio quality. If we’re talking about 60’s and 70’s super 8 technology, then the quality is much lower.
Good video. I didn’t realize there was all that. I thought it was just a security check point to elevators. It’s possible victims could be in this video too.
Did you know that the heavy loaded main long span girders in wtc7.....were fixed to the columns with only 4 bolts at each end. ONLY 4 BOLTS !! And wtc7 had 350 tons of structural steel added to it during renovations.....but did they strengthen the columns that would be under more stress... due to the extra weight they would have to support?
Nice to see this, filmed 3-½ years after I had visited New York City. I had walked right by these towers, and I was absolutely flabbergasted by their height ! I unfortunately never entered the buildings. 😞
damn i will never forget this day. i was in Manhattan the day before and a few weeks after 9/11. before they got hit and then collapsed. i went there before i looked at those towers and said. "Jesus, it would suck if those things ever came down." and then after 9/11 i was like let me see this for myself. and then i went to New York a few weeks later. it was crazy that there were detours everywhere. i just remember turning this that way and getting lost. and i have not went back there since. RIP for all of those who lost their lives on 9/11
I'm here after watching the finale of Hulu's The Looming Tower, when I realized I had no idea what the interior of the towers looked like. I'd always assumed I'd see them for real sooner or later.
If I comment here previously, my apologies. I love seeing the concourse. While I did go to the observation deck once, my travels took me down to the concourse where I'd catch either the 1 train or the Path. I'll have to look at this video more closely but there was a dynamite magazine and periodical shop that had almost every conceivable thing in print (outside of books in a book store, that is). I would always stop in and see what new film magazine was out. Seeing this video now is melancholy but it does bring back memories. I moved back to NJ the year before this video was recorded so all this looks really familiar.
I rather them not be rebuilt the exact same, that’s because it would be like erasing the history or pretending nothing ever happen to them. It’s something we can’t forget though. Seeing videos and pictures of them reminds me of a better time in this world. The memorial site is very nice. They have a space for a second tower but it hasn’t been built.
That's an interesting observation. Back then, there were no smart phones, just giant black cameras, the size of a large shoe box, so quite naturally people found it uncomfortable. Plus the elevators were big but not that big. I was on the other side of the elevator but it didn't matter. Nowadays, people take there smart phones, stick them in other people's faces and record all sorts of things, even streaming live. My how times have changed. ;-)
I've loved architecture and skyscrapers for as long as I can remember. WTC has always been one of my favorites. I was 7 years old on 9/11 so I never got the chance to see the towers in person 😔
I wish now that I had shot more footage. It's sad to hear younger people like yourself, who were robbed of the opportunity. To me, the World Trade Center will never be the same. Even now, there should be a second twin tower. Politics ruined it for all of us.
The new World Trade Center is beautiful. But the original WTC was much better! They could have at least built twin towers, instead of different size buildings. I remember reading about how people use to see the twin towers as ugly steel boxes, an eye sore basically. It took 9/11 to show people how amazing the towers were.
My dad was my age now in 87'. Lucky bastard. I'd be going to NY to catch all those great Tyson fights in the 80's. AC/DC were still in their prime and touring every year. Metallica were still releasing great albums and movies were still interesting. I can't forget about the mafia either lol.
Been in the towers many times. Thanks for posting. Last time was probably in the 90s. Had a party in the World Financial Center, another beautiful building that was damaged.
New York in 87 was quite dangerous. wasn't till the early 90s that New York initiated a tough on crime stance that made the city into a desirable location. The New York of today is more like what 60s thru 80s New York would have been like with lots of petty crime and drugs.
I loved seeing this as I still remember it. I loved seeing those free summer concerts on the plaza. Windows on the world...and I remember when they shot King Kong there too.
My cousin Javier has been to the world trade center. He told me that the world trade center and the empire state building are the best to ever live at the lower coast of Manhattan.