Photo credit: 9/11 Memorial staff
Accession Number: C.2019.139.88
Dimensions: 14" X 17" X 4 1/4"
Dimensions (Metric): 35.56 cm X 43.18 cm X 10.16 cm
Credit Line: Transferred from the New-York Historical Society
Description
Recovered crossbody carrying bag with the World Trade Centers Association (WTCA) logo embroidered on the front as well as "Guy Tozzoli | President | WTCA." The bag is dusty and discolored.
Historical Notes
Salvaged from the World Trade Center debris and sent to the Fresh Kills Landfill for forensic inspection, this soiled bag likely originated from the 77th floor of the North Tower, where the World Trade Center Association (WTCA) was headquartered. It bears the conspicuous name of the WTCA’s president, Guy Tozzoli (1922-2013). For years, Tozzoli had served as director of the World Trade Department at the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, where he performed multiple roles in planning, promoting, and managing the epic project of creating the 16-acre World Trade Center in lower Manhattan. After retiring from his Port Authority post in 1987, he remained a familiar presence in the buildings as full-time president of the World Trade Centers Association. On the morning of September 11, 2001, Tozzoli was driving to work for a meeting in the North Tower but was stalled in heavy commuting traffic on the New Jersey side of the Holland Tunnel entrance. From there, he watched the unfolding terrorist attacks and collapse of the Twin Towers.