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Marriott World Trade Center (hotel)
Encyclopedia
The Marriott World Trade Center
was a 242 foot 22-story steel-framed hotel
building with 825 rooms. It opened in 1981 as the Vista International and was located at 3 World Trade Center in New York City. Vista International was the brand name under which Hilton International operated hotels in the United States during the period when they were a separate company from Hilton Hotels
. Hilton International, under the name "Inhilco" operated the restaurant operations in the World Trade Center. On the top of 1 WTC was Windows on the World restaurant which occupied the entire top floor. Cellar in the Sky served the best meals matched to the best wines available at the time. Inhilco also operated the ballroom and banquet facilities on the 106th floor along with restaurants on the WTC Concourse.
The Vista International Hotel was the first hotel to open in Lower Manhattan
since 1836. The building was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and originally owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
and KUO Hotels of Korea with HIlton International acting as management agent.
The first general manager was Eddie Florijn. The first executive chef was Hilton International Corp. Exec Chef Walter Plendner. George Weiss was the first Food & Beverage Director. Roger Davis was made F&B Director when George Weiss was promoted to Rooms Division Manager. Margaret Spader was the food consultant for American Cuisine recipes and research. Joseph Sayegh was the first director of purchasing. Kenn Stransky was the first purchasing agent and later foods buyer. It was sold in 1995 to Host Marriott Corporation after then-Governors George Pataki
of New York
and Christine Todd Whitman
of New Jersey
pressured Port Authority officials to sell its less profitable assets.
The Vista International Hotel was connected to the North and South tower, and many went through the hotel to get to the Twin Towers. The hotel had a few establishments including The American Harvest Restaurant, The Greenhouse Cafe, Tall Ships Bar & Grill, a store called Times Square Gifts, The Russia House Restaurant and a Grayline New York Tours Bus ticket counter, a gym that was the largest of any hotel in New York at the time, and a hair salon named Olga's. The hotel also had 26000 square feet (2,415.5 m²) of meeting space on the entire 3rd floor along with The New Amsterdam Ballroom on the main floor, and was considered a four-diamond hotel by AAA
.
The structure was destroyed on September 11, 2001 in the collapse of the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center.
truck loaded with 1,500 pounds (682 kilograms) of explosives and parked it in the One World Trade Center parking garage, below the hotel's ballroom. At 12:18pm (Eastern Time), an explosion destroyed or seriously damaged the lower and sub levels of the World Trade Center complex. After extensive repairs, the hotel reopened in November 1994.
On September 11, 2001, the hotel was at full capacity, and had over 1,000 registered guests. In addition, the National Association for Business Economics (NABE) was holding its yearly conference at the hotel.
When American Airlines Flight 11
crashed into the North Tower (1 WTC), the landing gear fell into the roof of the Marriott hotel. There were many eyewitness accounts from firefighters who went up the stairs in the Marriott Hotel to the second floor. Firefighters used the lobby as the staging area, and were also in the hotel to evacuate guests that may have still been in the hotel. Firefighters also reported bodies on the roof from the people that had jumped or fallen from the burning towers. The collapse of the South Tower (2 WTC) split the hotel in half (such damage can briefly be seen in the documentary film
9/11
), and the collapse of its twin destroyed the rest of the hotel aside from a small section (as seen on the picture) that was furthest 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 had managed to survive the collapse of the Twin Towers had been upgraded after the 1993 bombing.
As a result of the collapse of the Twin Towers, the hotel was destroyed. Only the south part of three stories of the building were still standing, all of which were gutted. In the remnants of the lobby, picture frames with the pictures were still hanging on the walls. Approximately 40 people died in the hotel, including two hotel employees and many firefighters who were using the hotel as a staging ground.
In January 2002, the remnants of the hotel were completely dismantled.
The building and its survivors were featured in the television special
documentary film
Hotel Ground Zero
, which premiered on September 11, 2009 on the History Channel.
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
was a 242 foot 22-story steel-framed hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
building with 825 rooms. It opened in 1981 as the Vista International and was located at 3 World Trade Center in New York City. Vista International was the brand name under which Hilton International operated hotels in the United States during the period when they were a separate company from Hilton Hotels
Hilton Hotels
Hilton Hotels & Resorts is an international chain of full-service hotels and resorts founded by Conrad Hilton and now owned by Hilton Worldwide. Hilton hotels are either owned by, managed by, or franchised to independent operators by Hilton Worldwide. Hilton Hotels became the first coast-to-coast...
. Hilton International, under the name "Inhilco" operated the restaurant operations in the World Trade Center. On the top of 1 WTC was Windows on the World restaurant which occupied the entire top floor. Cellar in the Sky served the best meals matched to the best wines available at the time. Inhilco also operated the ballroom and banquet facilities on the 106th floor along with restaurants on the WTC Concourse.
The Vista International Hotel was the first hotel to open in Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the City of New York...
since 1836. The building was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and originally owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is a bi-state port district, established in 1921 through an interstate compact, that runs most of the regional transportation infrastructure, including the bridges, tunnels, airports, and seaports, within the Port of New York and New Jersey...
and KUO Hotels of Korea with HIlton International acting as management agent.
The first general manager was Eddie Florijn. The first executive chef was Hilton International Corp. Exec Chef Walter Plendner. George Weiss was the first Food & Beverage Director. Roger Davis was made F&B Director when George Weiss was promoted to Rooms Division Manager. Margaret Spader was the food consultant for American Cuisine recipes and research. Joseph Sayegh was the first director of purchasing. Kenn Stransky was the first purchasing agent and later foods buyer. It was sold in 1995 to Host Marriott Corporation after then-Governors George Pataki
George Pataki
George Elmer Pataki is an American politician who was the 53rd Governor of New York. A member of the Republican Party, Pataki served three consecutive four-year terms from January 1, 1995 until December 31, 2006.- Early life :...
of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and Christine Todd Whitman
Christine Todd Whitman
Christine Todd "Christie" Whitman is an American Republican politician and author who served as the 50th Governor of New Jersey from 1994 to 2001, and was the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in the administration of President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2003. She was New...
of New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
pressured Port Authority officials to sell its less profitable assets.
The Vista International Hotel was connected to the North and South tower, and many went through the hotel to get to the Twin Towers. The hotel had a few establishments including The American Harvest Restaurant, The Greenhouse Cafe, Tall Ships Bar & Grill, a store called Times Square Gifts, The Russia House Restaurant and a Grayline New York Tours Bus ticket counter, a gym that was the largest of any hotel in New York at the time, and a hair salon named Olga's. The hotel also had 26000 square feet (2,415.5 m²) of meeting space on the entire 3rd floor along with The New Amsterdam Ballroom on the main floor, and was considered a four-diamond hotel by AAA
American Automobile Association
AAA , formerly known as the American Automobile Association, is a federation of 51 independently operated motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a not-for-profit member service organization with more than 51 million members. AAA provides services to its members such as travel, automotive,...
.
The structure was destroyed on September 11, 2001 in the collapse of the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center.
1993 World Trade Center bombing
On February 26, 1993, the hotel was seriously damaged as a result of the World Trade Center bombing. Terrorists took a RyderRyder
Ryder System, Inc. , or Ryder, is an American-based provider of transportation and supply chain management products, and is especially known for its fleet of rental trucks. Ryder specializes in fleet management, supply chain management and dedicated contracted carriage. Ryder operates in North...
truck loaded with 1,500 pounds (682 kilograms) of explosives and parked it in the One World Trade Center parking garage, below the hotel's ballroom. At 12:18pm (Eastern Time), an explosion destroyed or seriously damaged the lower and sub levels of the World Trade Center complex. After extensive repairs, the hotel reopened in November 1994.
September 11, 2001 attacks
When American Airlines Flight 11
American Airlines Flight 11
American Airlines Flight 11 was American Airlines' daily scheduled morning transcontinental flight from Logan International Airport, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Los Angeles International Airport, in Los Angeles, California...
crashed into the North Tower (1 WTC), the landing gear fell into the roof of the Marriott hotel. There were many eyewitness accounts from firefighters who went up the stairs in the Marriott Hotel to the second floor. Firefighters used the lobby as the staging area, and were also in the hotel to evacuate guests that may have still been in the hotel. Firefighters also reported bodies on the roof from the people that had jumped or fallen from the burning towers. The collapse of the South Tower (2 WTC) split the hotel in half (such damage can briefly be seen in the documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
9/11
9/11 (film)
9/11 is a 2002 American documentary film about the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York City, in which two planes crashed into the buildings of the World Trade Center from the point of view of the New York City Fire Department...
), and the collapse of its twin destroyed the rest of the hotel aside from a small section (as seen on the picture) that was furthest 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 had managed to survive the collapse of the Twin Towers had been upgraded after the 1993 bombing.
As a result of the collapse of the Twin Towers, the hotel was destroyed. Only the south part of three stories of the building were still standing, all of which were gutted. In the remnants of the lobby, picture frames with the pictures were still hanging on the walls. Approximately 40 people died in the hotel, including two hotel employees and many firefighters who were using the hotel as a staging ground.
In January 2002, the remnants of the hotel were completely dismantled.
The building and its survivors were featured in the television special
Television special
A television special is a television program which interrupts or temporarily replaces programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Sometimes, however, the term is given to a telecast of a theatrical film, such as The Wizard of Oz or The Ten Commandments, which is not part of a regular...
documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
Hotel Ground Zero
Hotel Ground Zero
Hotel Ground Zero is an American television documentary special that premiered on September 11, 2009 on the History channel, marking the eighth anniversary of the event...
, which premiered on September 11, 2009 on the History Channel.
External links
- Marriott World Trade Center Survivors
- Stories by NABE members about the attack
- The 9/11 Hotel, a five-part documentary video on YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
including interviews with surviving guests and workers at the Marriott World Trade Center - Marriott World Trade Center Website - Archived on Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...