And just to follow up for anyone who may genuinely be wondering: Yes. Yes they were. Not quite as ubiquitous or well known as "9/11" is today, but they were up there with the statue of liberty as far as Icons of NYC and to a slightly lesser extent icons of the USA. They were, as they say, a big deal, even before they fell.
Indeed. They were the most prominent feature of the lower Manhattan skyline, often the prominent focus of any photos/flyover/footage of the city, especially views from either New Jersey to the west or Brooklyn to the east.
In some, they were just a part of the distinctive background place-setting New York skyline, or a ground-level signifier of "downtown financial district'; in others, they were part of the action. Especially memorable was the 1976 'King Kong', which updated the 1933 version to have Kong climb the twin towers instead of the Empire State Building. Other films featured the observation deck, a popular tourist attraction.
100% agree. I'd argue they were the #2 landmark in NYC after The Statue of Liberty at the time.
1. Statue of Liberty, without question.
2. Twin Towers - showed up in just about shot of NYC put into mainstream media from the date of inception until destruction.
3. Empire State Building - Yes it is really recognizable but never got the media exposure of the WTC.
After that things get a little muddier. If I'm doing a top-5 I probably do something Times Square and Rockefeller Center to round out the big-5 pre-9/11.