---
title: How an Alum Restored Iconic New York Building in the Shadow of 9/11
date: 2021-09-09T05:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/how-alum-restored-iconic-new-york-building-in-the-shadow-of-9-11"
section: Articles
---
# How an Alum Restored Iconic New York Building in the Shadow of 9/11

*September 9, 2021* — by [Maggie Haslam](/author/maggie-haslam)


> Gargoyles and All, 90 West’s Return Pays Homage to New York’s Resiliency

*90 west DSC 0002 1920x1080 — The ornate 90 West Street, which survived the collapse of the nearby Twin Towers on Sept. 11, 2001, was returned to its former glory by a development company run by alum Charles Kibel '90. Among some of the many replacement gargoyles that were crafted (below) are likenesses of his friends and family.*

A few of the window frames on the north façade of 90 West Street, a 23-story, neo-Gothic skyscraper in New York City, differ from the others. Pitted and scorched, they are among the building’s last visible scars of Sept. 11, 2001, when the Twin Towers crumbled in horrifying succession just steps away from its Lower Manhattan address. The 1907 creation of famed architect Cass Gilbert did more than bear witness to the terror of that day. It survived, despite an assault by twisted steel and debris and hellish, days-long fires.


*Gargoyle*




**Topics:** [People](https://today.umd.edu/tags/people)


**Tags:** [Alumni](https://today.umd.edu/topic/alumni)


**Units:** [School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation](https://today.umd.edu/topic/school-architecture-planning-and-preservation)