Windows on the World iconic logo

The Windows on the World collection of restaurants and bars – WOW – sitting aloft 107 stories in the sky took a virtual village to create and maintain. Developed under the visionary leadership of restaurateur Joe Baum and his partners, here are a few facts that made “Windows” hum.

• Windows sat 1,314 feet high in the sky; 1,274 feet above mean sea level.
• Over 2,450 food items were ordered every week.
• 2,000 bottles of beer were on hand at any give time in the Greatest Bar on Earth.
• There were over 20,000 bottles of wine in the cellar. (If you laid their corks end to end, the corks would measure 3,333 feet.)
• 700 wines from around the world made it to Windows’ wine list.
• The Greatest Bar on Earth featured 16 different kinds of vodka.
• Over 27,000 bottles of champagne would be sold in one year (imbibed with 51 lbs. of caviar per week!)
• 1,000 calls or more were made to the Reservations office every day.
• There was always a seat in the house — in one of the 2,500 chairs.
• 3,600 eggs were bought every week (that’s a lot of chickens).
• 700 lbs. of shrimp were consumed every week.
• It took a lot of cooks to cook up all of that shrimp and caviar — 52, to be exact.
• A rose by any other name would smell as sweet — 3,000 flowers were ordered every week!
• The dishwashers would clean 3,000 forks a day.
• Windows’ panorama of color included 145 different shades of paint, 19 fabric wall coverings and 11 custom carpets.
• The oldest member of the staff was born in 1921; the youngest in 1978.
• Windows had the Manhattan’s youngest sommelier — 25 years old.
• There were more than 500 people employed at Windows on the World, speaking 25 different languages.
• The beaded glass curtain on the 107th floor contained 430,000 imported glass beads on 1,178 strands of steel cable.
• On a clear day, you could see 90 miles in every direction from the 107th floor.
• In high winds, the tower could sway 11 inches.

I asked a young student what she would like to do when she graduates.

With a heavy sigh she confessed all she likes to do is to make decorative flowers for cakes. “Who’s going to pay me to do that for eight hours a day?” she whispered.

She now has a high-paying job.

She works for a caterer whose venue is a botanical garden.

She creates decorative flowers for eight hours a day.

She matches the flowers on wedding cakes to the seasonal flowers in bridal bouquets.

A rather grumpy-looking culinary student folded her arms and glared at me.

I had asked her what she wanted to do when she graduates. I complicated the question by asking her not what she likes to do but what she loves to do.

In response to what she clearly thought was a dumb question, she answered: “I love to go shopping.” Everyone in the class laughed but I thought this was a really useful piece of information.

I told her about a former colleague at Windows on the World restaurant who is a tabletop consultant. She scours manufacturers’ showrooms for the latest designs of china, glassware and distinctive serving plates for several upscale restaurants. My student now does the same thing. She works part-time as a tabletop counselor and the rest of her time as a prop stylist for a food photographer.

She goes shopping everyday.

When a chef wants a tagine or a mandoline or any other piece of specialized equipment, she knows exactly what it is and can lay her hands on it immediately. She finds the cobalt blue plate for serving the smoked salmon and the lavender dish for the chocolate cake.

She found her “bliss” — her perfect food job.