The World Trade Center Remembered

This in-person program in the gallery will also be streamed online.

To mark the 25th anniversary of September 11th, 2001, The Skyscraper Museum will present several programs that reflect on the history of the Twin Towers. We begin with a pair of talks by architectural historian Anthony W. Robins and photographer Stan Ries, both of whom published books on the World Trade Center, before and after its destruction. 

The first edition of Tony Robins's The World Trade Center was published in 1987, a little more than a decade after the Twin Towers were completed, then in a second, post-9/11 edition in 2012. Robins will revisit his study of the planning and design of the WTC complex—the origins of the Trade Center concept, the search for an architect, the evolution of the design, the urge to build the world’s tallest buildings, the engineering feats required for the towers’ construction, and the critical response. His lecture draws on his original research, which benefited from interviews with figures still then on the scene and archival documents since lost.

For nearly thirty years, professional photographer Stan Ries captured sweeping views of the World Trade Center, often from the sky, as he shot the Twin Towers and lower Manhattan skyline for clients such as the PANYNJ and the Battery Park City Authority, as well as for private developers. Ries will share his stunning images and revisit the publication of his 2006 book The World Trade Center Remembered, which pairs his photographs with reflections by eminent New York architects on the Towers' legacy. Ries's photos range from grand panoramic views to dazzling details, which together evoke memories and retrieve "a symbol that will not easily be forgotten."

To register for this FREE program, click on the link above to RSVP. You will be redirected to Ticketstripe to reserve your seat. Members receive priority registration by emailing [email protected] with the names of all guests. Want to become member? Click here! The program will also be livestreamed to the Skyscraper Museum YouTube channel. You do NOT need to register for the livestream.

Stan Ries

Stan Ries is a photographer and registered architect. While practicing as an architect in the firm of Conklin+Rossant, he also co-directed the exhibition Hector Guimard at The Museum of Modern Art. Stan Ries Photography was founded after he began photographing MoMA's Design Collection for upcoming publications. Since then, Ries has photographed for various architecture and design firms including SOM, Machado & Silvetti, and Pentagram Design, and served as the special consultant to the vice president for architecture and planning at The Met. 

Anthony W. Robins

Anthony W. Robins is an historian and writer who specializes in the architecture of New York City. He holds a Masters Degree in art history from the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, and was the winner of a 1997 Rome Prize. During a 20-year-long career at the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, he served as Deputy Director of Research and Director of Survey. Robins’s other books include Subway Style: 100 Years of Architecture & Design in the New York City Subway (2004); Grand Central Terminal: 100 Years of a New York Landmark (2013); New York Art Deco: A Guide to Gotham’s Jazz Age Architecture (2017); and most recently By Air, Land, Rail & Sea: The Port Authority of NY & NJ, 1921-2021 (2021), which includes a chapter on both the original World Trade Center and the rebuilt version.