Located in Battery Park City, just on the opposite street from where the World Trade Center twin towers used to stand, the World Financial Center constructed from 1985 to 1988 is composed of four postmodern structures conceptualized by Cesar Pelli. The four skyscrapers tower over the Hudson River and sit on the same landfill utilized in building the entirety of Battery Park City. Part of this landfill material is the dirt that was dig from the former spot of the World Trade Center to give way for the construction of the twin towers.


The World Financial Center or shortly called WFC is made of four towers that fall under the postmodern structural classification as they embody new architectural principles manifested in traditional forms. The fa?ade of the towers are fashioned from lustrous granite and glass. Each of the towers is capped with particular geometric crown that are believed to be the emblem of the owners of that particular tower. For instance, Merrill Lynch is crowned with a dome while American Express is represented by a solid pyramid peak. The lobbies of the four towers are made from polished black marble and boast of magnificent tall columns.

The first tower of the World Financial Center is One World Financial Center towering at 176 meters or 577 feet and is consists of 40 floors. It has a remarkable 1.5 million square feet of rentable office space. One WFC is the southernmost skyscraper and is linked with the remainder of WFC via a pedestrian bridge which traverses over Liberty Street. One WFC is the head office of Dow Jones and Co.

The second tallest of the towers is Two World Financial Center standing at 197 meters of 645 feet high with a beautiful domed roof. The building has an impressive 2.5 million square feet of leasable office floor space and it currently houses Deloitte and Touche, Commerzbank and Merrill Lynch.

Three World Financial Center is the highest skyscraper in the WFC complex with a height of 739 feet or 225 meters with 51 levels. American Express owns the tower and occupies a big space in the building. The smallest of all the buildings at 500 feet is Four World Financial Center and is occupied totally by Merrill Lynch playing the role as its global head office.

Aside from the beautiful four skyscrapers, another attraction that can be found in World Financial Center is the Winter Garden. This is not to be mixed up with the Broadway theatre. The Winter Garden is a glass enclosed pavilion found in the middle of Two WFC and Three WFC. It was constructed in 1988 using 16 40-foot high Washington palm trees, 2,000 pieces of glass panes and 60,000 square feet of marble sourced from Italy. It measures 61 meters long, 37 meters wide and 38 meters high. Looking to the west, it offers a clear vista of Ground Zero.

As part of its advocacy to champion the arts, the management of World Financial Center often uses the Winter Garden as the venue of several art events. The Winter Garden features both performing and visual arts. It plays high importance on ?site-specific installations, commissioned works and premieres.?

Due to its nearness to the World Trade Center, a huge section of the World Financial Center which includes the Winter Garden incurred big damage during the terrorist attack on September 11, 2011.