Workers Across U.S. Are Evacuated

Workers in office buildings across the United States were sent home in droves today after the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington.

Major landmarks evacuated ranged from the U.N. headquarters in New York to the Sears Tower in Chicago and the White House and federal buildings throughout Washington, including the Treasury Department, Congress and the Supreme Court.

Schools, federal courthouses and office buildings in many parts of the country were ordered closed and hundreds of trials and grand jury hearings were halted, at least until Wednesday.

The heightened security measures came after two hijacked aircraft crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center and a third smashed into the Pentagon. The death toll from the air attacks was expected to be catastrophic.

President Bush delivered a statement saying the United States had taken all appropriate steps to protect the American people and would hunt down and punish those responsible for the attacks.

In Chicago, office buildings and businesses and stock and commodity exchanges were ordered evacuated soon after the attacks. One of the first to be emptied out was the Sears Tower looming over Chicago’s downtown financial district, the tallest U.S. building.

Officials said there had been no specific threat aimed at any of the buildings, but they were shut down as a precautionary measure as were many U.S. airport terminals.

Chicago’s two major futures exchanges, the Chicago Board of Trade and Chicago Mercantile Exchange, suspended all trading after New York trading was also halted.

Even the theme parks operated by Walt Disney Co. in the Orlando area, attractions that draw millions of tourists a year to central Florida, were shut down for the day as a veil of heightened security fell over the country.

Major businesses in the Atlanta area, including Coca-Cola Co., CNN Center and BellSouth Corp., were closed to all but essential personnel.

In Los Angeles, major downtown offices, including the Citibank Tower, the Arco Tower and the Bank of America building, were ordered closed, said workers leaving the buildings.

Disneyland and its sister California Adventure theme park were also closed in the nearby city of Anaheim.

The Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit, headquarters of General Motors Corp., the world’s largest automaker, was among office buildings in the city that were evacuated on a voluntary basis.

A U.S. Customs official in Detroit said the city’s Ambassador Bridge, a major border crossing to Canada, was temporarily closed after the morning attacks as was a tunnel connecting Detroit with the Canadian city of Windsor.

Many major U.S. shopping malls were also closed in the aftermath of the Tuesday morning attacks, including Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, the country’s largest shopping center.

“The safety of our guests, tenants and employees is our top priority,” said Maureen Bausch, vice president of marketing and business development for Mall of America. “While we have not received any threats, we believe this is a prudent precaution.”

Operators of hydroelectric dams across the West closed visitor centers and limited access as a precaution after terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., Tuesday.

The Grand Coulee Dam and powerhouse in central Washington state were locked down, tours were canceled and the visitor center was closed, Craig Sprankle, a spokesman with the Bureau of Reclamation said.

The bureau also was limiting access to its Hungry Horse project in Montana, he said.

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This story was published this afternoon as part of a special 8-page extra edition wrap focusing on today’s tragic events. Entitled “Terrorism Hits the U.S.,” the wrap focused on the most important events of the day, the history of World Trade Center, terrorism and other safety concerns. It wrapped today’s second daily and was distributed to major single copy retailers and high traffic commuter areas by early afternoon.

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