The Twin Towers: Their haunting legacy in New York City signs

These lingering images of the original WTC can be considered collectively as a quiet yet powerful citywide memorial.

Photos taken over the years in New York City, from 2008 to 2023 (Rolando Pujol)

I first wrote a variant of this piece back in September 2011, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of 9/11. I’ve shared it every year since, as a tribute to the people we lost that awful day.

The Twin Towers, toward the end of their short time on the skyline, had arguably become the definitive symbol of New York City. They were destroyed 22 years ago today. Six years from now, they will have been gone as long as they stood.

The towers were destroyed in the city’s worst 102 minutes, but their iconographic legacy has proven remarkably resilient.

These images of the Twin Towers — a neon window silhouette here, a graphic on a delivery truck there — can be considered collectively as a quiet yet powerful citywide memorial to the people we lost.

I’ve long been collecting images of the Twin Towers that still survived in New York City. Many of these signs are now long gone, as well.

I don’t spot many these days. Still, it’s my tradition to share them here with you, every Sept. 11. They were once shorthand for New York City — simple signs. Now, they represent so much more.