FUN WITH MAPS ISSUE 2024-064

By Steve Kovacs (Introduction by Chuck Gibson)

LOVELAND, OH (April 4, 2024) – In this edition of Fun with Maps we look back to the grand opening of two very iconic towers in our history and the history of the world as we know it.

Twin Towers

The World Trade Center Twin Towers were inaugurated on April 4, 1973 in Lower Manhattan, New York City, only 5 years after the start of construction. We all know what happened on September 11, 2001.

The Twin Towers were the tallest buildings in the world when they opened, with the North Building slightly taller of the two, at 1368 feet. The site included several other buildings as part of the World Trade Center complex.

The Towers featured sky lobbies allowing people to switch from the express to local elevators to reach all the 110 floors. About 50,000 people worked at the World Trade Center on a typical day.

One feature that I miss personally in tall buildings today is the open-air observatory, which in this site was located on the top of the South Building.   

From a totally different era, we present Bradford’s map of Lower Manhattan, created in 1841.

Steve Kovacs and his wife Theresa reside in Loveland, Ohio where they raised their two children. He is a passionate collector of antique maps.

Visit his antique map boutique world-on-paper online. Watch for his daily feature Steve Kovacs: Fun with Maps here on Loveland Beacon.