Local Man Restores Original Model Of World Trade Center

Ten years ago, when the World Trade Center was destroyed in a terrorist attack that killed three thousand people, America was rocked by the devastation. But thanks in part to the efforts of Stephen H. Ford of Arnold, the original architectural model of the World Trade Center survives. It serves not only as a historic artifact, but an emotional experience for many who have the chance to view it.

The eight foot model was originally built in 1964 by the architectural firm of Minoru Tamasaki for their final presentations prior to the construction of the World Trade Center. But after Yamasaki’s death in 1989, and the reorganization of his firm, the model was discarded, along with hundreds of others. In 1991 it was salvaged from a dumpster by the Lawrence Technology School of Architecture.

At the request of Sherry Birk, director of the Octagon Museum of the American Institute of Architects, the Lawrence Technology School donated the model to them.

But after the 9/11 disaster, the model became a historic artifact, being the only remaining three-dimensional record of the World Trade Center site. Birk selected Dimensional Productions of Baltimore, owned by Ford, to restore the model.

The model was returned to the Octagon Museum in September of 2003.