September 03, 2003
Ground Zero, August 2003
During my vacation, I traveled to NYC to visit with my best friend from high school and her husband. Upon her offer (and my secret wish), she took me downtown to see Ground Zero. I don't like taking pictures, but in this case, I needed to.
The last time I was in the city was for my friend's wedding in September 2000. I stayed at the WTC Marriott and the day after her wedding, we briefly explored the WTC mall (I was amused by the Ben & Jerry's inside) and had breakfast at a little restaurant outside the World Financial Center. In fact, I bid my friend and her spouse good luck and best wishes on the grand front steps of that hotel.
Besides all that, her cousin (another high school friend of mine) worked in the South tower and, on that fateful day, her and her coworkers evacuated as soon as the plane hit the first tower. In addition, because I grew up in North Jersey, in a town where one could see the NYC skyline at night from certain places, there are too many other connections to count.
It is important not to ever forget.
Approaching the site from the north east, this west looking picture is of the top of the PATH station which is being built. There were tarps blocking the view of the worksite for most of the block.
Another PATH station picture.
Writing along the fence. The Port Authority has signs along the fence stating that any rememberances will be removed. In addition, there used to be a rememberance wall, but it isn't there now. So folks have taken to writing on the metal fence which surrounds the site.
The cross.
Crowd pictures. These aren't New Yorkers walking by. I was really surprised to see people there just like my friend and I were. Also what struck me was that the area was quiet and people spoke in hushed voices and just remembered. Looking south, on the fence the Port Authority has placed signs with the names of the victims, descriptions of the site, etc.
Crowd facing north.
Long shot of the mural and buildings to the south west.
We then go around the corner, past the trinket sellers and head due west. Here is a good shot of the retaining wall.
Far shot of the cross.
Shrouded in black.
We then take a glassed in walkway across the West Side Highway. This picture is of the pit looking north as viewed from the walkway.
And again.
This last photo is from the Winter Garden in the World Financial Center, which was heavily damaged in the attack. The photo is of the West Side Highway overlooking the site by the east (the windows are actually the opening where the walkway to the WTC used to be). If you do get to the area, I would recommend seeing the site from this vantage point. Not only is the Winter Garden pretty, but this is the best view. Viewing the site from this vantage point makes me wish that the whole site could be made into a park, rather than rebuilt.
After this photo, my friend and I walked around the World Financial Center a bit and went outside to enjoy the harbor. Even though there were people walking in and out of the buildings, I noticed that many of the outdoor shops and restaurants were still shuttered, including the one that we had breakfast at three years ago.
Posted by joy at September 3, 2003 10:12 PM | TrackBack
Sure is a sad sight, I saw it about a month ago and I couldnt believe how much damage happened, seeing it on tv, just doenst show the size of the site.
Posted by: Colin at September 3, 2003 11:31 PMI live in North Jersey, will never ever forget that day.
The town I grew up in you could look down a side street and see the towers anytime you wanted.
If I take the NJ Turnpike home from work I would pass the skyline and see those two towers, now it just looks empty.
I remember driving home from work that day, we all got sent home, I remember coming down route 80 and seeing the smoke and the shock and anger I felt.
Posted by: James at September 4, 2003 09:16 AMAs an Angeleno, I had a hard time grasping the enormity of what took place that September 11th. I just didn't know New York well, and I was still in shock at the thought of everything.
Part of what really brought it home to me was two things I saw when I went home to LA on the train that week. The first thing was an airliner banking towards LAX -- they had just started allowing passenger flights again -- and I realized that I'd never be able to see that silhouette again without seeing the footage of the planes hitting the Towers.
The second thing I saw was my own skyline, the Los Angeles skyline. It's still there, I thought. My skyline is still there. But for millions of people -- their skyline has been destroyed. Even when the smoke clears, it will be like a smile with the two front teeth missing. I thought about how I'd feel if someone did that to my skyline, and I nearly burst into tears on the train.
Later, when I read what online acquaintances wrote about the smell of death from the rubble, the destruction of human life and the destruction of the skyline came together for me.
Posted by: Dragonblink at September 5, 2003 12:21 AMMy family and I visited NYC last Friday and we didn't have a chance to walk around ground zero, but we did drive by the area. I thought I had missed the viewing wall, but as your pictures state, it is no longer there. Thank you for your pictures. They have allowed me to see what I had missed.
Posted by: Amy at September 8, 2003 04:02 PM