Sept. 11 then and now: See how Lower Manhattan has changed in 20 years
Mark Sundstrom and Nexstar Media Wire
Left: Dust and debris cover the ground and cloud the air on Washington Street, just north of Rector Street, blocks away from ground zero in the days following the Sept. 11 attacks. (AP Photo/Bernadette Tuazon); Right: That same street on Aug. 15, 2021, with a direct view of One World Trade Center. (Mark Sundstrom for PIX11)
(WPIX) — A lot has changed across New York City in the 20 years since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. From the majestic rise of One World Trade Center and the National September 11 Memorial & Museum — built on the land where the original twin towers stood — to new hotels and restaurants in the area.
However, amid the ever-evolving cityscape of Manhattan, some businesses and structures have persevered, remaining nearly as they were before that fateful Tuesday in 2001.
Nexstar’s WPIX in New York went back to some locations photographers captured on 9/11, or in the weeks following, to see what things look like today. Use the slider tool on each image to compare “then” and “now.”
Manhattan skyline at night
Left: The twin towers of the World Trade Center photographed on March 1, 2000 (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan); Right: One World Trade Center and the annual Tribute In Light beams on Sept. 8, 2021. (Mark Sundstrom for PIX11)
Burger King turned NYPD HQ
Left: Emergency personnel outside a Burger King turned into a temporary NYPD HQ across from ground zero on Sept. 12, 2001. (AP Photo/Suzanne Plunkett); Right: That same Burger King at the corner of Liberty Street and Church Street on Aug. 15, 2021. (Mark Sundstrom for PIX11)
Brooks Brothers
Left: A man stands outside a destroyed Brooks Brothers store across from ground zero on Sept. 12, 2001. (AP Photo/Suzanne Plunkett); Right: The former location of the retail shop at One Liberty Plaza on Church Street on Aug. 15, 2021. (Mark Sundstrom for PIX11)
Washington Street near ground zero
Left: Dust and debris cover the ground and cloud the air on Washington Street, just north of Rector Street, blocks away from ground zero in the days following the Sept. 11 attacks. (AP Photo/Bernadette Tuazon); Right: That same street on Aug. 15, 2021, with a direct view of One World Trade Center. (Mark Sundstrom for PIX11)
Blocks away from ground zero
Left: Associated Press photographer Amy Sancetta pushes her bike at the corner of John and Nassau streets, just blocks from ground zero, a few days after the Sept. 11 attacks. (AP Photo); Right: That same intersection on Aug. 15, 2021, with a direct view of One World Trade Center. (Mark Sundstrom for PIX11)
Ground zero makeshift break spot
Left: The “patio” of the Hard Hat Café, a makeshift wooden hut inside ground zero that offered workers a respite from their recovery efforts in the fall of 2001. (AP Photo/Lisa Poseley); Right: That same intersection at Liberty and Church streets, across from One World Trade Center on Aug. 15, 2021. (Mark Sundstrom for PIX11)
St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church
Left: The St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, the only house of worship destroyed in the attacks, sits below the twin towers on Sept. 11, 2001. (Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America via AP); Right: Workers install marble on the exterior of the rebuilt St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine on Sept. 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Manhattan’s Financial District
Left: NYPD officer wears a protective dust mask while standing guard near the New York Stock Exchange on Sept. 16, 2001. (AP Photo); Right: The New York Stock Exchange on Aug. 15, 2021. (Mark Sundstrom for PIX11)
Skyline from Brooklyn
Left: A screen capture from the 1977 film “Saturday Night Fever” shows the Brooklyn Bridge over the East River and the twin towers of the World Trade Center along the Manhattan skyline. (Paramount Pictures/CBS via Getty Images); Right: A view of the Brooklyn Bridge with the Manhattan skyline, including One World Trade Center, taken on Nov. 16, 2018. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)
