On the morning of September 11, 2001, Washington D.C.?based lawyer Frank Razzano was in his room at the World Trade Center Marriott Hotel, situated between the Twin Towers. Razzano was awoken by the sound of Flight 11 striking the North Tower.

The hotel destroyed during the September 11 attacks was the Marriott World Trade Center, also known as 3 World Trade Center (WTC 3). Originally opened in 1981 as the Vista International Hotel, the 22-story, 825-room building was situated directly between the North (WTC 1) and South (WTC 2) Towers. It was a AAA Four Diamond hotel that served as a vital hub for both business travelers and the lower Manhattan community. When the planes struck the adjacent towers, the hotel became a primary evacuation route for thousands of people fleeing the complex. Tragically, the hotel was almost completely crushed when the South Tower collapsed onto it, followed by further destruction during the North Tower's collapse. Roughly 50 people inside the hotel were killed, including at least 41 firefighters who were using the lobby as a staging area. Today, the site where the Marriott once stood is part of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum plaza, and its legacy is remembered through the heroic efforts of the hotel staff who stayed behind to ensure nearly 1,000 guests were successfully evacuated before the collapse.