World Trade Center History 1964-1977
January 1964: Minoru Yamasaki unveils his design for the World Trade Center, a plan originally hatched by Chase Manhattan Bank president David Rockefeller and backed by his brother, Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller. Because of his extreme fear of heights, Yamasaki is an odd choice for the project, but he copes with his vertigo by designing the building so that windows are no more than roughly 20 inches wide -- less than the width of his shoulders.
August 5, 1966: Ground is broken on the construction of the Twin Towers.
December 1970: One World Trade Center opens, though work on some of the higher floors isn't completed until 1972.
April 1973: Two World Trade Center is finished. The complex is officially dedicated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
April 7, 1974: Tightrope walker Philippe Petit successfully traverses a rope from one tower to the other -- more than half a dozen times in succession.
1974: Chicago's Sears Tower is completed, supplanting the Towers as the world's largest building.
December 1976: The Jeff Bridges-Jessica Lange remake of King Kong is released. In this version, the ape scurries up one of the Twin Towers rather than the Empire State Building. The movie poster depicts Kong standing atop the Trade Center with one foot on each tower.
May 1977: Toy maker George Willig climbs up the side of one of the towers. Authorities are waiting at the top and arrest him when he finishes the climb, which takes more than three hours. The ascent is broadcast on newscasts worldwide.
Source: Matt Dobkin
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bert Tuoz