South Tower (2 WTC) at 9:59 a.m. EDT essentially split the building in half. The collapse of the North Tower at 10:28 a.m. EDT destroyed the rest of the hotel aside from a small section that was farthest from the North Tower. Fourteen people who had been trying to evacuate the partially destroyed hotel after the first collapse managed to survive the second collapse in this small section. The section of the hotel that managed to survive the collapse of the Twin Towers had been upgraded after the 1993 bombing. On the afternoon of September 11, photographer Thomas E. Franklin captured the now-iconic image Raising the Flag at Ground Zero, depicting the U.S. flag being raised by firefighters upon a flagpole believed to have been Marriott property located on what remained of the hotel grounds. Aftermath As a result of the collapse of the Twin Towers, the hotel was destroyed beyond repair. Only a small three-story section of the southernmost part of the building remained standing, all of which was eventually removed. In the remnants of the lobby, picture frames with the pictures inside them were still hanging on the walls. Approximately 40 people died in the hotel, including two hotel employees who had stayed to aid the evacuation and a number of firefighters who had been clearing the hotel and using it as a staging ground. In January 2002, the remnants of the hotel were completely dismantled. The National September 11 Memorial & Museum was built where the hotel once stood. The building and its survivors were featured in the television special documentary film Hotel Ground Zero, which premiered September 11, 2009 on the History Channel. References External links Marriott World Trade Center Survivors Stories by NABE members about the attack The 9/11 Hotel, a five-part documentary video on YouTube including interviews with surviving guests and workers at the Marriott World Trade Center Marriott World Trade Center Website - Archived on Internet Archive Buildings and structures completed in 1981 Buildings and structures destroyed in the September 11 attacks Defunct hotels in Manhattan Demolished hotels in New York City Marriott International World Trade Center September 11 attacks 1981 establishments in New York City Hotels established in 1981 Hotels disestablished in 2001