Windows on the World

Last updated

Windows on the World
Windows on the world logo.png
Logo designed by Milton Glaser
Windows on the World
Restaurant information
EstablishedApril 19, 1976;48 years ago (April 19, 1976)
ClosedSeptember 11, 2001
(destroyed in the September 11 attacks)
Previous owner(s) David Emil
Head chef Michael Lomonaco
Street address 1 World Trade Center, 107th Floor, Manhattan, New York City, NY, U.S.
City New York City, New York
Postal/ZIP Code10048
CountryUnited States
Coordinates 40°42′44″N74°0′47″W / 40.71222°N 74.01306°W / 40.71222; -74.01306
Seating capacity240
Website windowsontheworld.com (archived)

Windows on the World was a complex of dining, meeting, and entertainment venues on the top floors (106th and 107th) of the North Tower (Building One) of the original World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. [1]

Contents

It included a restaurant called Windows on the World, a smaller restaurant called Wild Blue [1] (before 1999 was called "Cellar in the Sky"), a bar called The Greatest Bar on Earth [1] (which had previously been the Hors d'Oeuvrerie [2] ) as well as a wine school and conference and banquet rooms for private functions located on the 106th floor. Developed by restaurateur Joe Baum and designed initially by Warren Platner, Windows on the World occupied 50,000 square feet (4,600 m2) of space in the North Tower. The Skydive Restaurant, which was a 180 seat cafeteria on the 44th floor of 1 WTC conceived for office workers, was also operated by Windows on the World. [3] [4]

The restaurants opened on April 19, 1976, [5] [6] and were destroyed in the September 11 attacks. [3] All of the staff members who were present in the restaurant on the day of the attacks perished; the plane's impact severed all means of escape from the 92nd floor up. [3]

Operations

View of World Financial Center from the Windows on the World dining room World Financial Center from the Windows on the World restaurant.jpg
View of World Financial Center from the Windows on the World dining room

The main dining room faced north and east, allowing guests to look out onto the skyline of Manhattan. The dress code required jackets for men and was strictly enforced; a man who arrived with a reservation but without a jacket was seated at the bar. The restaurant offered jackets that were loaned to the patrons so they could eat in the main dining room. [7] The dinnerware, rugs, lighting fixtures, menus and the communication equipment were designed by Milton Glaser. [8] [9] [10]

A more intimate dining room, Wild Blue, was located on the south side of the restaurant. The bar extended along the south side of 1 World Trade Center as well as the corner over part of the east side. Looking out from the bar through the full length windows, one could see views of the southern tip of Manhattan, where the Hudson and East Rivers meet. In addition, one could see the Liberty State Park with Ellis Island and Staten Island with the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. The kitchens, utility spaces, and conference center in the restaurant were located on the 106th floor.

Windows on the World closed after the 1993 bombing, in which employee Wilfredo Mercado was killed while checking in deliveries in the building's underground garage. The explosion also damaged receiving areas, storage and parking spots used by the restaurant complex. [11] On May 12, 1994, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced that the Joseph Baum & Michael Whiteman Company had won the contract to run the restaurants after Windows's former operator, Inhilco, gave up its lease. [12] It underwent a US$25 million renovation and reopened on June 26, 1996. [13] [14] Cellar in the Sky, which was a different space within the restaurant (it could only seat 60 people), reopened after Labor Day. [15] In 1999, Cellar in the Sky was changed into an American steakhouse and renamed "Wild Blue". [16] In 2000, its final full year of operation, it reported revenues of US$37 million, making it the highest-grossing restaurant in the United States. [17]

The executive chefs of Windows on the World included Philippe Feret of Brasserie Julien while the last chef was Michael Lomonaco.

September 11 attacks

Name panel N-70 for Windows on the World staff who perished during the September 11 attacks at North Pool, National September 11 Memorial and Museum The World Trade Center Memorial (N-70) - Flickr id 15720238041.jpg
Name panel N-70 for Windows on the World staff who perished during the September 11 attacks at North Pool, National September 11 Memorial and Museum

Windows on the World was destroyed when the North Tower collapsed during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. While the restaurant was hosting regular breakfast patrons and the Risk Waters Financial Technology Congress, Egyptian terrorist Mohamed Atta and four other Al-Qaeda hijackers crashed American Airlines Flight 11 into the North Tower between floors 93 and 99 at 8:46 a.m. [18] Everyone present in the restaurant died that day, as all means of escape (including the stairwells and elevators leading down from the impact zones) were instantly severed by the impact. Victims trapped in Windows on the World either died from smoke inhalation from the ensuing fire, jumping or falling to their deaths from the restaurant, or being killed in the eventual collapse of the North Tower. At least five Windows occupants were witnessed jumping or falling to their deaths from the restaurant. [19]

There were 72 restaurant staff present in the restaurant, including assistant general manager Christine Olender, whose desperate calls to Port Authority police represented the restaurant's final communications. [20] Sixteen Incisive Media-Risk Waters Group employees, as well as 76 other guests/contractors, were also present. [21] Among those also present was the executive director of the Port Authority, Neil Levin, who was having breakfast. After about 9:40 a.m., no further distress calls from the restaurant were made. The last people to leave the restaurant before Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower at 8:46 a.m. were Michael Nestor, Liz Thompson, Geoffrey Wharton, and Richard Tierney, who all shared an elevator together. They departed at 8:44 a.m. and survived the attack. [22]

World Trade Center lessor, Larry Silverstein, was regularly holding breakfast meetings in Windows on the World with tenants as part of his recent acquisition of the Twin Towers from the Port Authority, and was scheduled to be in the restaurant on the morning of the attacks. However, his wife insisted that he had to go to a dermatologist's appointment that morning, [23] whereby he avoided death.

Impact

Reception

In its last iteration, Windows on the World received mixed reviews. Ruth Reichl, a New York Times food critic, said in December 1996 that "nobody will ever go to Windows on the World just to eat, but even the fussiest food person can now be content dining at one of New York's favorite tourist destinations." She gave the restaurant two out of four stars, signifying a "very good" quality rather than "excellent" (three stars) or "extraordinary" (four stars). [24] In his 2009 book Appetite, William Grimes wrote that "At Windows, New York was the main course." [25] In 2014, Ryan Sutton of Eater.com compared the now-destroyed restaurant's cuisine to that of its replacement, One World Observatory. He stated, "Windows helped usher in a new era of captive audience dining in that the restaurant was a destination in itself, rather than a lazy byproduct of the vital institution it resided in." [26]

Legacy

Windows of Hope Family Relief Fund was organized soon after the attacks to provide support and services to the families of those in the food, beverage, and hospitality industries who had been killed on September 11 in the World Trade Center. Windows on the World executive chef Michael Lomonaco and owner-operator David Emil were among the founders of that fund.

On January 4, 2006, a number of former Windows on the World staff opened Colors, a co-operative restaurant in Manhattan that serves as a tribute to their colleagues and whose menu reflects the diversity of the former Windows' staff. [27] The original location closed in 2017 and reopened in 2019. [28] Windows on the World was planned to reopen on the top floors of the new One World Trade Center, but that project was canceled in 2011. [29] Instead, One World Observatory contains eateries named ONE Dine, ONE Mix and ONE Café. [30]

Cultural influence

It has been speculated that The Falling Man , a famous photograph of a man dressed in white falling headfirst on September 11, was an employee at Windows on the World. Although his identity has never been conclusively established, he was believed to be Jonathan Briley, an audio technician at the restaurant. Jonathan was the younger brother of Alex Briley, the original "G.I." from the band Village People . [31]

In March 2005, the novel Windows on the World, by French novelist Frédéric Beigbeder, was released; the novel focuses on two brothers who are in the restaurant on September 11 with their father. [32] Kenneth Womack's 2012 novel The Restaurant at the End of the World is a fictive recreation of the lives of the staff and visitors at the Windows on the World complex on the morning of September 11. [33]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Trade Center site</span> Grounds of the World Trade Center in New York City

The World Trade Center site, often referred to as "Ground Zero" or "the Pile" immediately after the September 11 attacks, is a 14.6-acre (5.9 ha) area in Lower Manhattan in New York City. The site is bounded by Vesey Street to the north, the West Side Highway to the west, Liberty Street to the south, and Church Street to the east. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) owns the site's land. The original World Trade Center complex stood on the site until it was destroyed in the September 11 attacks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Collapse of the World Trade Center</span> Outcome of September 11 attacks

The World Trade Center in New York City was destroyed on September 11, 2001, as a result of al-Qaeda terror attacks. Two commercial airliners hijacked by terrorists were deliberately flown into the Twin Towers of the complex, resulting in a total progressive collapse that killed almost 3,000 people. It was the deadliest and costliest building collapse in history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marriott World Trade Center</span> Former hotel in Manhattan, New York

The New York Marriott World Trade Center was a 22-story, 825-room hotel within the original World Trade Center complex in Manhattan, New York City. It opened in April 1981 as the Vista International Hotel and was the first major hotel to open in Lower Manhattan south of Canal Street since 1836. In November 1995, it was bought by Marriott Corporation and renamed to the Marriott World Trade Center. It was unofficially known as the Marriot Hotel, Vista Hotel and World Trade Center 3.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">One World Trade Center</span> Skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

One World Trade Center, also known as One WTC and Freedom Tower, is the main building of the rebuilt World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Designed by David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, One World Trade Center is the tallest building in the United States, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, and the seventh-tallest in the world. The supertall structure has the same name as the North Tower of the original World Trade Center, which was destroyed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The new skyscraper stands on the northwest corner of the 16-acre (6.5 ha) World Trade Center site, on the site of the original 6 World Trade Center. It is bounded by West Street to the west, Vesey Street to the north, Fulton Street to the south, and Washington Street to the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westfield World Trade Center</span> Shopping mall

Westfield World Trade Center is a shopping mall at the World Trade Center complex in Manhattan, New York, which is operated and managed by Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield. The mall opened on August 16, 2016, as the largest shopping complex in Manhattan, with 125 retail spaces. It replaced The Mall at the World Trade Center, the underground shopping mall under the original World Trade Center, which was destroyed on September 11, 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4 World Trade Center</span> Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

4 World Trade Center is a skyscraper constructed as part of the new World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The tower is located on Greenwich Street at the southeastern corner of the World Trade Center site. Fumihiko Maki designed the 978 ft-tall (298 m) building. It houses the headquarters of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3 World Trade Center</span> Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

3 World Trade Center is a skyscraper constructed as part of the new World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The tower is located on Greenwich Street along the eastern side of the World Trade Center site. The building was designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, and is managed by Silverstein Properties through a ground lease with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ), the landowner. It is 1,079 ft (329 m) high, with 80 stories. As of 2023, it is the ninth-tallest building in the city.

Joseph Harold Baum was an American restaurateur and innovator responsible for creating the country's first themed restaurants, including The Four Seasons Restaurant, Windows on the World, and the restored Rainbow Room. He was the first restaurateur to bring contemporary architects, artists and designers into his restaurant designs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Lomonaco</span> American chef

Michael Lomonaco is an American chef, restaurateur, and television personality. He is known as the chef/director for Windows on the World, the restaurant located atop the North Tower of the World Trade Center. The restaurant was destroyed in the September 11 attacks, and all of the staff members who were working in the restaurant at the time of the attack died. Lomonaco survived because he was in the tower's lobby during the attacks and was then evacuated from the building. He later opened Porter House New York, which was named by Esquire one of America's Best New Restaurants in October 2006.

One World Trade Center is the main building of the rebuilt World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Construction of One World Trade Center was deferred until 2006 because of disputes between the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the developer. Tishman Realty & Construction is the selected builder. The building reached ground level on May 17, 2008, and was topped out on May 10, 2013. One World Trade Center opened to tenants on November 3, 2014, and One World Observatory opened to the public on May 29, 2015.

Windows of Hope Family Relief Fund is a 501 charitable organization founded to provide support for families of workers in the food, beverage and hospitality industry who were lost in the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2 World Trade Center</span> Unfinished skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

2 World Trade Center is a skyscraper being developed as part of the rebuilt World Trade Center complex in Manhattan, New York City. It will replace the original 2 World Trade Center, which was completed as part of the first World Trade Center in 1973 and subsequently destroyed during the September 11 attacks in 2001, and it will occupy the position of the original 5 World Trade Center. The foundation work was completed in 2013, though no construction has taken place since.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Twin Towers 2</span> Proposed building complex in Manhattan, New York

The Twin Towers II was a proposed twin-towered skyscraper complex which would have been located at the World Trade Center site in Manhattan, New York City. The proposed complex would have replaced the former Twin Towers of the World Trade Center destroyed in the September 11 attacks, restoring the skyline of the city to its former state. The main design for the proposed complex would feature new landmark twin towers, nearly identical to the originals designed by Minoru Yamasaki, though it would feature 115 stories—5 floors taller than the originals, among other differences. Beside the towers, an above-ground memorial would have occupied the footprints of the original towers. The new site would also have featured three 12-story buildings, replacing the original 3, 4 and 5 World Trade Center. The complex was designed and developed by American architect Herbert Belton and American engineer Kenneth Gardner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Trade Center (1973–2001)</span> Former development in Manhattan, New York

The original World Trade Center (WTC) was a complex of seven buildings in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. Built primarily between 1966 and 1975, it was dedicated on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed during the September 11 attacks in 2001. At the time of their completion, the Twin Towers, including the original 1 World Trade Center at 1,368 feet (417 m), and 2 World Trade Center at 1,362 feet (415.1 m), were the tallest buildings in the world. Other buildings in the complex included the Marriott World Trade Center, 4 WTC, 5 WTC, 6 WTC, and 7 WTC. The complex contained 13,400,000 square feet (1,240,000 m2) of office space and, prior to its completion, was projected to accommodate an estimated 130,000 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1993 World Trade Center bombing</span> Terrorist truck attack in New York City

The 1993 World Trade Center bombing was a terrorist attack carried out by Al-Qaeda against the United States on February 26, 1993, when a van bomb detonated below the North Tower of the World Trade Center complex in New York City. The 1,336 lb (606 kg) urea nitrate–hydrogen gas enhanced device was intended to make the North Tower collapse onto the South Tower, taking down both skyscrapers and killing tens of thousands of people. While it failed to do so, it killed six people, including a pregnant woman, and caused over a thousand injuries. About 50,000 people were evacuated from the buildings that day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Trade Center (2001–present)</span> Skyscraper complex in Manhattan, New York

The World Trade Center (WTC) is a complex of buildings in the Lower Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, replacing the original seven buildings on the same site that were destroyed in the September 11 attacks of 2001. The site is being rebuilt with up to six new skyscrapers, four of which have been completed; a memorial and museum to those killed in the attacks; the elevated Liberty Park adjacent to the site, containing the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and the Vehicular Security Center; the Perelman Performing Arts Center; and a transportation hub. The 104-story One World Trade Center, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, is the lead building for the new complex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Trade Center Chennai</span> Skyscraper office buildings in Chennai

The World Trade Center, Chennai is a 28-storeyed commercial and residential centre in Chennai, India. Located at Perungudi, it was made operational in March 2020. The centre consists of 170,000 square metres (1,800,000 sq ft) of office space. The complex also includes a conference/exhibition centre. The towers are IGBC LEED Platinum and USGBC LEED Gold certified. The centre is a member of the World Trade Centers Association (WTCA). Tower A of the WTC complex is the tallest commercial establishment in the city.

David Emil is an American restaurateur and New York State government official. At the time of the September 11, 2001 attacks, David Emil was the president of the company that owned and operated the restaurant Windows on the World on the 106th and 107th floors of One World Trade Center, New York, New York. All the employees and guests at the restaurant during the attacks died, 79 of whom were Windows on the World employees.

Colors was a 70-seat restaurant in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City. The September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center destroyed the popular Windows on the World restaurant, and, when many of its former workers remained unemployed a non-profit started the restaurant to employ them, while upgrading their skills.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Fine Dining, Eateries/Specialty Foods". Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Archived from the original on June 9, 2001. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  2. Morabito, Greg (September 11, 2013). "Windows on the World, New York's Sky-High Restaurant". Eater NY. New York City. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 Grimes, William (September 19, 2001). "Windows That Rose So Close To the Sun". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 17, 2008. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  4. Roston, Tom (2019). The Most Spectacular Restaurant in the World: The Twin Towers, Windows on the World, and the Rebirth of New York. New York City: Abrams Books. ISBN   978-1-4197-3799-2 . Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  5. "Trade Center to Let Public In for Lunch At Roof Restaurant". The New York Times. April 16, 1976. Retrieved October 15, 2009.
  6. Windows '96. New York City: New York Magazine. July 15, 1996. pp. 42–47. Retrieved January 1, 2022 via Google Books.
  7. Chong, Ping (2004). The East/West Quartet. Theatre Communications Grou. p. 143. ISBN   9781559362290.
  8. "CASE STUDY # 12 Windows on the World". miltonglaser.com. New York City. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  9. "The Work – Windows on the World". miltonglaser.com. New York City. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  10. "Milton Glaser's menus for the World Trade Center". New York City: SVA Archives. January 25, 2014. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  11. Fabricant, Florence (September 22, 1993). "A New Era for Windows on the World". The New York Times. New York City. p. 10. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  12. Miller, Bryan (May 13, 1994). "Familiar Face Behind New 'Windows'". The New York Times. p. 3. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  13. Roca, John (June 26, 1996). "Opening of Windows of the World restaurant in the World Trade Center". Getty Images. New York City. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  14. Fabricant, Florence (June 19, 1996). "New Windows on a New World;Can the Food Ever Match the View?". The New York Times. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
  15. Siano, Joseph (June 23, 1996). "TRAVEL ADVISORY;World Trade Center Restaurant to Reopen". The New York Times. New York City. p. 3. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  16. Grimes, William (June 9, 1999). "RESTAURANTS; In a Cozy Cabin Amid the Shooting Stars". The New York Times. New York City. p. 8. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  17. Goldberg, Howard G. "Windows on the World – The wine community's true north". The Wine News Magazine. Archived from the original on February 20, 2012.
  18. "Risk Waters Group World Trade Center Appeal".
  19. National Institute of Standards and Technology (2005). "OBSERVATIONS OF FALLING HUMAN BEINGS FOR WTC 1" (PDF).
  20. "'We need to find a safe haven,' WTC restaurant manager pleads". USA Today. Associated Press. August 28, 2003. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012. Retrieved June 26, 2014.
  21. "Risk Waters Group archived home page". Archived from the original on August 2, 2002.
  22. "9/11: Distant voices, still lives (part one)". The Guardian. London. August 18, 2002. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  23. "Larry Silverstein: Silverstein Properties". New York Observer. Archived from the original on October 2, 2013. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
  24. Reichl, Ruth (December 31, 1997). "Restaurants; Food That's Nearly Worthy of the View". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  25. Grimes, William (October 13, 2009). Appetite City: A Culinary History of New York. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. p. 281. ISBN   978-1-42999-027-1.
  26. Sutton, Ryan (June 30, 2015). "Everything You Need to Know About Dining at One World Trade". Eater NY. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  27. Cohen, Li Yakira (September 10, 2019). "COLORS restaurant to reopen on the Lower East Side". amNewYork. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  28. Tuder, Stefanie (September 12, 2019). "Restaurant Founded by Twin Towers Restaurant Staff Will Reopen on the LES". Eater NY. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  29. Feiden, Douglas (March 7, 2011). "Plans to build new version of Windows on the World at top of Freedom Tower are scrapped". New York Daily News. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  30. "One Dine". One World Observatory. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  31. Henry Singer (director) (2006). 9/11: The Falling Man (Documentary). Channel 4.
  32. Lacey, Josh (September 11, 2004). "Review: Windows on the World by Frédéric Beigbeder". the Guardian. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  33. "Author Reviews The Restaurant at the End of the World Book at BSI". GantNews.com. March 24, 2014. Retrieved September 9, 2024.