the marriott world trade center was a 22-story steel-framed hotel building with 825 rooms. it had a roof height of 73.7 m (242 ft) and was designed by skidmore, owings & merrill. its structural engineer was leslie e. robertson associates with tishman construction serving as the main contractor. construction began in 1979. it opened on july 1, 1981 as the vista international hotel and was located at the southwest corner of the world trade center. it was heavily damaged in the 1993 world trade center bombing and was subsequently closed until repairs were completed the following year. forty people died when the hotel was destroyed during the september 11 attacks. the hotel's remains were later dismantled to make way for construction of the national september 11 memorial & museum.