In the annals of history, the vivid and horrific image of the Twin Towers collapsing on September 11, 2001, is etched in the collective memory of the American people.
But amid the chaos and destruction that day, there was one building that often remains shrouded in obscurity, its significance relegated to the shadows — 7 World Trade Center.
That same day, as the sun sank below the horizon at 5:20 p.m., Building 7 collapsed to the ground.
Amazingly, this skyscraper was not hit by the plane, and the fire only happened on a few floors.
The reasons behind its collapse have long been the subject of dispute, with many questioning the official narrative.
The collapse of Building 7 at the World Trade Center often goes unnoticed, but it has been a topic that has continued to spark debate and intrigue for more than two decades.
Residents of nearby skyscrapers have already moved out, mirroring evacuation efforts in many buildings around the Twin Towers.
Picture of the WTC7 building near the Twin Towers. NY Post composite
Building 7 at World Trade collapsed hours after the Twin Towers fell.
Exterior of World Trade Center 7. New York Post
Before that day, the World Trade Center was a sprawling complex, boasting seven buildings in the heart of Lower Manhattan’s Financial District.
Specifically, the Twin Towers, the North Tower which stands tall at 1,368 feet and its counterpart, the South Tower at 1,362 feet, hold the honor of being the tallest buildings in the world.
But there is more to the complex than just the iconic twins.
Among the ensemble are buildings such as the Marriott World Trade Center (3 World Trade Centers), 4 World Trade Centers, 5 World Trade Centers, 6 World Trade Centers, and, of course, 7 World Trade Centers.
Building 7 is a 47-story structure, clad in striking red granite, occupying an unconventional trapezoidal footprint.
Unidentified construction workers survey the wreckage of 7 World Trade Center on September 15, 2001.AP
An elevated walkway crosses Vesey Street, connecting the building to the World Trade Center plaza.
What makes Building 7 even more unique is its position atop a ConEd substation, demanding an innovative structural design.
When the building first opened in 1987, it struggled to attract tenants.
However, fortunes changed in 1988 when investment bank Salomon Brothers signed a long-term lease, becoming the main tenant.
The secret world of intelligence agencies also found their home within these walls.
The 9th and 10th floors house the Secret Service, while the 25th floor is home to the CIA offices.
On condition of anonymity, sources told CBS, that intelligence officials have lost many secret documents and important intelligence reports stored at the station – either on paper or in computers.
In this Sept. 18, 2001 file photo, a red crane towers over the burning wreckage of Building 7 in New York. RELATED NEWSPAPERS
A CIA spokesman declined to comment on the existence of the office, which was first reported by the New York Times in 2001.
The New York office is a base of operations for spying on and recruiting foreign diplomats stationed at the United Nations, while briefing select American business executives and others ready to speak with the CIA after returning from overseas.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s 2008 Final Report on the Collapse of World Trade Center Building 7 revealed that the 14th floor remained vacant, shedding new light on the leasing arrangement from 2001, with Salomon Smith Barney holding floors 15 to 17.
The World Trade Center, second from left, is under construction this Monday, Nov. 22. 2004 file photo of Ground Zero from the nearby Deutsche Bank building in New York. RELATED NEWSPAPERS
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released a report in August 2008, stating that the collapse of Building 7 is no longer a mystery.
According to their findings, the building succumbed to the heat of the fire sparked by debris from the collapse of the nearby North Tower.
This explanation, however, failed to satisfy a group of engineers and architects who had been searching for the truth.
Join Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth (AE911T), a coalition of over 3,000 professionals, including scientists, engineers and architects, who have dedicated themselves to uncovering the facts.
In 2020, they filed a formal Correction Request with NIST, supported by a comprehensive 4-year analysis conducted by a team at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF).
The UAF study challenged NIST’s conclusions, pointing out that the collapse of Building 7 was a “near-simultaneous failure of every column in the building.” This contradicts NIST’s claim that the fire weakened the steel supports, causing them to fail and the building to collapse.
Ted Walter, a spokesman for AE911T, said, “We have filed a request for a correction because the NIST report is incorrect.” The group believes that understanding the exact reasons behind the collapse of buildings is important from an engineering perspective.
7 World Trade Center, center, the last building to collapse as a result of the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center attacks, and the first to be permanently rebuilt, rises above Ground Zero and the World Trade Center station at dusk, Monday, May 22, 2006, in New York.RELATED NEWSPAPERS
The UAF study identified a fundamental error in the way engineers estimate the stiffness of a building’s exterior frame and challenges the idea that heat from a fire triggers movement of critical structures. Additionally, AE911T, including the victim’s family, insisted that the investigation must be based on “science and engineering” and should not rule out the possibility of a controlled demolition as a plausible cause.
The debate intensified when the UAF study argued that the outer frame was more flexible than the inner structure, making NIST’s claim of 6.25 inches of displacement untenable.
To this day, the mystery surrounding the collapse of World Trade Center 7 remains unsolved, and questions linger.
Despite the ongoing controversy, construction of World Trade Center 7 began in 2002 and was completed in 2006.
And while much remains unanswered, one thing is certain: the legacy of the collapse of Building 7 will remain an enigmatic and contentious chapter in the history of that tragic day.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
