Marriott World Trade Center

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. It was also unofficially known as World Trade Center 3 (WTC 3 or 3 WTC), and the World Trade Center Hotel, officially the Vista Hotel, and the Marriott Hotel throughout its history.

Marriott World Trade Center
The Marriott World Trade Center (bottom) below the Twin Towers, May 2001.
Alternative names	Vista International Hotel (1981–1995) Three World Trade Center
General information
Status	Destroyed
Type	Hotel
Location	World Trade Center, Manhattan, New York City
Coordinates	40°42′41″N 74°00′50.5″W / 40.71139°N 74.014028°W / 40.71139; -74.014028
Construction started	March 1979
Completed	July 1, 1981
Opening	April 1, 1981
Destroyed	September 11, 2001
Management	Host Marriott Corporation
Height
Roof	73.7 m (242 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	22
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Developer	Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
Structural engineer	Leslie E. Robertson Associates
Main contractor	Tishman Construction

The hotel was damaged in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. It was destroyed by structural damage caused by the collapse of the World Trade Center as a result of the September 11 attacks. The hotel was not replaced as part of the new World Trade Center complex, although its address was reused for a tower at 175 Greenwich Street.

The building was a 22-story steel-framed structure with 825 rooms and six basement levels (labeled B1 through B6).

The hotel was connected to the North tower via an underground entrance at concourse level, and a small pedestrian walkway that extended from the west promenade of the Marriott to the North Tower on plaza level.^{[citation needed]} On the 22nd floor, there was a gym that was the largest of any hotel in New York City at the time, with a swimming pool and a running track with views of the Hudson River and the Austin J Tobin Plaza. The hotel also had 26,000 square feet (2,400 m²) of meeting space on the entire third floor. It was considered a four-diamond hotel by the American Automobile Association (AAA).

The hotel featured two restaurants: The Tall Ships Bar and Grill, located on Street level, and the Greenhouse Café, a restaurant on plaza level that featured a large skylight looking up at the North and South tower. Previously, another restaurant had operated called The American Harvest; however, it was removed following the bombing in 1993 and was renovated and remained as a rentable space called the Harvest Room.

 

The hotel was first known as the Vista International Hotel, but also became known as World Trade Center 3 (WTC 3 or 3 WTC), the World Trade Center Hotel, the Vista Hotel and the Marriott Hotel. The building was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill with construction beginning in March 1979. The hotel opened on April 1, 1981, with 100 of 825 rooms available, and it was completed in July 1981. Shortly before the opening day of the Vista, a fire broke out on the 7th floor. The Vista International was the first major hotel to open in Lower Manhattan south of Canal Street since 1836.

Kuo Hotel Corporation, based in Hong Kong, bought the hotel's leasehold in 1982 from Edward W. Ross and Jerrold Wexler. In 1989, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey bought the leasehold from Kuo for $78 million but the operating rights remained in the hands of Hilton International as management agent. On November 9, 1995, it was sold to Host Marriott Corporation for $141.5 million. This was one year after the reopening due to an extensive renovation following the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. The new company started operations in January 1996.

In 2002, Host Marriott Corporation was offered an opportunity to rebuild the hotel in the same location within the World Trade Center site as its lease which was signed until 2094 had not expired. Marriott declined the offer, and in October 2003, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey voted on an agreement under which the Host Marriott Corporation would "surrender the premises", resulting in termination of the lease and thus giving the land to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.

1993 World Trade Center bombing

 

On February 26, 1993, the hotel was seriously damaged as a result of the World Trade Center bombing. Terrorists affiliated with al-Qaeda took a Ryder truck loaded with 1,500 pounds (682 kilograms) of explosives and parked it in the North Tower parking garage below the hotel's ballroom. At 12:18 p.m. (EDT), the explosion destroyed or seriously damaged the lower and sub levels of the World Trade Center complex. After extensive repairs, the hotel reopened on November 1, 1994, and one year later in 1995, the hotel was purchased by Marriott Hotels & Resorts.

September 11 attacks

 

 

 

On September 11, 2001, the hotel had 940 registered guests. In addition, the National Association for Business Economics (NABE) was holding its yearly conference at the hotel from September 8 to 11, 2001.

When American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower (1 WTC) at 8:46 a.m. EDT, its landing gear fell on the hotel's roof. Firefighters used the lobby as a staging area, and were also in the hotel to evacuate guests that may have still been inside. Firefighters also reported human remains and entire corpses on the roof from people who fell or jumped from the south face of the North Tower. The collapse of the South Tower (2 WTC) at 9:59 a.m. EDT essentially split the building in half. The collapse of the North Tower at 10:28 a.m. EDT destroyed the rest of the hotel aside from a small section that was farthest from the North Tower. Fourteen people who had been trying to evacuate the partially destroyed hotel after the first collapse managed to survive the second collapse in this small section. The section of the hotel that managed to survive the collapse of the Twin Towers had been upgraded after the 1993 bombing.^{[citation needed]}

On the afternoon of September 11, photographer Thomas E. Franklin captured the now-iconic image Raising the Flag at Ground Zero, depicting the U.S. flag being raised by firefighters upon a flagpole believed to have been Marriott property located on what remained of the hotel grounds.

Aftermath

As a result of the collapse of the Twin Towers, the hotel was destroyed beyond repair. Only a small three-story section of the southernmost part of the building remained standing, all of which was eventually removed. In the remnants of the lobby, picture frames with the pictures inside them were still hanging on the walls.^{[citation needed]} Approximately 40 people died in the hotel, including two hotel employees who had stayed to aid the evacuation and a number of firefighters who had been clearing the hotel and using it as a staging ground.

In January 2002, the remnants of the hotel were completely dismantled to make way for reconstruction. The National September 11 Memorial & Museum was built where the hotel once stood.^{[citation needed]}

The building and its survivors were featured in the television special documentary film Hotel Ground Zero, which premiered September 11, 2009 on the History Channel.

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  Lobby of the Marriott.
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  The south face of the hotel on September 2, 2001.
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  The hotel visible at the base of the Twin Towers.
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  The hotel in 1993.
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  The Austin J. Tobin Plaza, with the hotel visible on the top left, during the September 11th attacks.
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  Debris of the South Tower collapsing onto the Marriott Hotel.