Elevator Motor, Recovered

The Twin Towers were the first skyscrapers to employ a system of local and express elevators, an innovation that reduced elevator travel time and made the buildings attractive to occupants of the upper floors. In addition to elevators servicing basement levels, each tower’s 99 elevators included freight, local, and high-speed express cars. Two express cars traveled directly to the Windows on the World restaurant in the North Tower, and two went to the South Tower Observation Deck. This elevator motor, the largest model in the world when installed, powered one of the express or service cars, which moved at a speed of 1,600 feet per minute.

The attack on the World Trade Center precipitated the worst passenger elevator disaster in history, claiming the lives of an estimated 200 of the more than 2,700 victims at the site. At 8:46 a.m., during rush hour for thousands using the elevators, hijacked Flight 11 struck the North Tower, severing elevator cables and trapping hundreds of people above the 93rd floor. Below the impact zone, most on floors lower than 92 were able to evacuate via the stairs.
 
In the South Tower, some occupants began an immediate evacuation, placing them inside elevators, or about to enter or exit the cars, when hijacked Flight 175 struck that building. Smoke rose through the elevator shafts, jet fuel poured down, and flames spread in all directions. At the fire command station in the lobby of each tower, personnel were unable to guide the cars down to the lobby or to communicate with some individuals trapped inside because of the loss of electricity. Efforts to pry open newly installed safety locks succeeded in only a few cases.