Through the Decades
From groundbreaking to the last films before September 2001, the towers changed, physically and on screen, decade by decade. Each page below covers what was actually happening at the building during that stretch, and the films that put it in the spotlight.
The 1970s
1970 – 1979 · 24 filmsThe decade the towers actually rose. Construction broke ground in August 1966, but the climb visible from the street, the part that shows up on film, happened as the 1970s opened: the North Tower topped out in December 1970, the South Tower in July 1971. For most of the decade, both stood at the same height with matching flat roofs. The lopsided silhouette most people picture when they think of the Twin Towers isn't quite accurate yet.
The 1980s
1980 – 1989 · 33 filmsBy the 1980s the towers weren't new anymore: they were finished, familiar, and everywhere. No more topping-out ceremonies, no more scaffolding on screen; just two matching monoliths anchoring the skyline, film after film, the way the Empire State Building already had for fifty years.
The 1990s
1990 – 1999 · 39 filmsNo construction changes this decade: the towers had looked the same since 1979 and would keep looking that way until the end. What changes is how often they show up: this is the biggest decade in the archive by a wide margin, appearing in everything from disaster blockbusters to Christmas comedies to a video-game movie, almost always as pure background, the skyline doing its job without the film paying it any particular attention.
The 2000s
2000 – 2001 · 9 filmsThe archive's shortest decade by necessity: this window closes in September 2001. 9 films make the cut so far, the last handful of ordinary theatrical releases to catch the towers before that stopped being possible.