Seeing One World Trade Center is both awe inspiring and full of sadness. It is the main building of the rebuilt World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan. It is also known as the Freedom Tower.
It is the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, and the sixth tallest in the world. The building, including its spire, reaches a total height of 1,776 feet. Its height in feet is a deliberate reference to the year when the United States Declaration of Independence was signed.
Our tour guide told us that on September 11, 2001 he was on a train into the city and lunch with his son was planned. His son worked on the 20th floor of the South Tower. The train was stopped and passengers were told there was an incident in the city. Thankfully his son made it out but has never been back in the city. His good friend who was on a higher floor was one of the ones that jumped and he has just not been able to return.
The cubic base has a footprint identical to the original Twin Towers. The surface of the base is clad in more than 2,000 pieces of shimmering prismatic glass. But there’s a new tallest tower coming to town: the Nordstrom Tower being built on West 57th Street, which will rise to a height of 1,795 feet and a title of the Western Hemisphere’s tallest building.
Two reflecting pools stand within the footprints where the Twin Towers once stood. The names of every person who died in the 2001 and 1993 attacks are inscribed into bronze panels edging the Memorial pools.
White roses are placed on the name when it is their birthday. Yellow roses are placed to denote an anniversary. Still thinking about that beautiful place brings tears to my eyes.
This callery pear tree was recovered from the rubble at the World Trade Center site in October 2001. It was badly burned and had only one living branch. In November 2001, the tree was moved by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation to the Bronx for care.
The tree was not expected to survive, but it showed signs of new growth the following spring. In December 2010, the tree, then 30 feet tall, was returned to the World Trade Center site. It has become known as the "Survivor Tree". It has been described as "a reminder of the thousands of survivors who persevered after the attacks".
From the memorial we headed to see the new train station that replaced the one destroyed on 9-11.
This controversial station took 12 years to build and detractors say it is a symbol of both governmental waste and architectural excess.
It's centerpiece is the Oculus.
Designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava it is a mind-boggling glass-and-steel structure.
It serves 250,000 Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) daily commuters and millions of annual visitors from around the world.
I found it to be an architectural gem of these times. I wonder what it will be thought of in 100 years.
Amazing ceiling for the most expensive train station ever. I loved it!
The tour continued. There was so much to see and hear about but true to my history I step outside the box. I spotted this Jenga game looking structure, took a photo, did some research and found out it is a 60 story building with apartments that sell for millions of dollars. It was designed by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron — which also built Beijing’s “Bird’s Nest” Olympic stadium.
There was time for a stop by St Paul's Chapel. It is a chapel of the Parish of Trinity Church. Built in 1766, it is the oldest surviving church building in Manhattan.
Inside, the chapel's simple elegant hall has pale colors, a flat ceiling and cut glass chandeliers. The chapel survived the Great New York City fire of 1776.
The pulpit is exquisite.
George Washington worshipped at St Paul's. He had his pew in the north aisle and an oil painting of the Great Seal of the United States hangs over his pew.
The churchyard has long been a pastoral oasis in busy lower Manhattan despite it being wedged in by skyscrapers.
The Chapel was turned into a makeshift memorial shrine following the September 11 attacks. Whew! Our tour is about 2/3 done. What a whirlwind.
This Statue is called ‘9/11 Cross, A Symbol of Hope’. The statue is located near St. Paul’s Chapel of Trinity Church near the 9/11 memorial. The statue represents the original perfectly proportioned cross formed from the wreckage of the twin towers in the rubble of 9/11 that was later erected on this site. The original cross was moved to the 9/11 Museum. This cross was sculpted by Jon Krawczyk. It's inscription is below.