One Pantzer in New York

July 2: Not quite so hot New York

Did a fascinating tour of the 9/11 memorial at the World Trade Centre

Started at the “Oculus”, an amazing transportation hub that serves as a representation of New York City’s strength and resilience after 9/11. Designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, the Oculus resembles a dove leaving a child’s hands. Every year, on the anniversary of the attacks, the sun shines directly through the skylight and illuminates the main hall.

This sculpture, commonly referred to as the “sphere” originally stood as a symbol of world peace between the twin towers. It was recovered from the 9/11 rubble and reinstalled in its damaged state in Liberty Park (a green space which is part of the memorial)

There was a Harbourside shopping area, called Brookfield place, right next to the Twin Towers. Our guide showed us what it looked like after the 9/11 attack and how it looks today, after being reconstructed (note the palm trees!)

There was also one tree that survived the attack and it was nurtured back to health

The reflection pools are beautifully done. The flower on someone’s name means it would have been their birthday .

At a certain time of day, it looks like the twin towers are still there, as they are reflected onto one of the nearby buildings. But it is actually the reflection of two different sized buildings…..

The museum exhibitions were really well done. One of them mapped a timeline of the events with items salvaged from the rubble. The first picture below shows a bit of the fruselage from one of the hijacked planes (Flight 11). The second picture shows the stopped wall clock from the Pentagon command centre, a seatbelt and bit of fruselage from Flight 77.

Interestingly, some landmark legislation passed in 2010 provides financial compensation to people who suffered physical or mental illness,injury or death as a result of the 9/11 attacks and established a program to monitor and treat people with 9/11 related health conditions. In 2019, these programs were extended to 2092.

Had a heavy dose of Broadway, seeing a matinee performance of Hadestown, and an evening performance of Purpose…..both were fantastic.

And did you know that New York has about 40 mounted police officers, one of which was outside the theatre tonight.

Another great day ….