Photos show how Manhattan’s skyline has changed since the 9/11 attacks

Each September, two large beams of light reach into the night sky above Manhattan’s Financial District in powerful tribute to the towers that once defined the city’s skyline.

Thursday, September 11, marks 24 years since terrorists hijacked four commercial passenger planes, crashing two into New York’s Twin Towers and forever changing the city. Another plane hit the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia, and the fourth crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers overpowered the hijackers.

In total, 2,977 victims lost their lives and, more than two decades later, their loved ones continue to gather to recite their names at the 9/11 Memorial at the World Trade Center complex in New York.

Photos show how the attacks changed Manhattan’s skyline, and how the Financial District rebuilt ground zero.

A photograph gives an aerial view of the Twin Towers on a peaceful June day in 1999.

But that skyline was horrifically altered a little more than two years later.

The top photo was taken on August 30, 2001, while the bottom photo was taken 16 days after the attacks.

It took several months for rescuers to go through the rubble. In December 2003, a design for the new One World Trade Center was finally unveiled.

It would come to include multiple new buildings such as the 1,776-foot-tall One World Trade Center and a 9/11 Memorial and Museum.

A “Tribute in Lights” shone on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks in 2006, where the World Trade Center once stood. The lights still shine in tribute each year on the anniversary.

As late as 2007, the site still looked the same, as construction was hamstrung by lawsuits, budget overruns, design changes, and a recession.

Source: Time

In 2009, the 9/11 memorial waterfalls were starting to take shape.

One World Trade Center, also known as the “Freedom Tower,” was just starting to rise from the rubble.

In June 2010, the skyscraper was slowly rising.

By July 2011, the memorial waterfalls were being tested, and One World Trade Center’s facade was beginning to reflect the sky.

Here’s the Manhattan skyline in August 2011. You can see the unfinished tower beginning to peek over the other skyscrapers.

The memorial waterfalls officially opened in September 2011, and the museum, seen on the right, opened in May 2014.

By November 2014, One World Trade Center was complete, as was 4 World Trade Center (left) and 7 World Trade Center (right). But 3 World Trade Center still wasn’t finished.

The WTC Transportation Hub, on which the soaring white Oculus was built, was also under construction in late 2014.

The hub officially opened in June 2016, while 3 World Trade Center was still under construction.

The $50 million Liberty Park also opened in June 2016. From there, visitors can get an overhead view of the ground zero memorial.

This June 2018 photo shows 3 World Trade Center, One World Trade Center, 4 World Trade Center, the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, and Liberty Park, all finally complete.

With construction officially complete, the Manhattan skyline is now forever changed.

Now the tallest building in the US, the gleaming One World Trade Center, pictured in August 2025, towers over the Financial District.

This year, the Tribute in Light is again visible on Manhattan’s skyline as New York marks the 24th anniversary of the attacks.

Daniel Brown contributed to an earlier version of this article.

The post Photos show how Manhattan’s skyline has changed since the 9/11 attacks appeared first on Business Insider.