Dear Friedrich and Laurie,
We talked on Saturday about the Millennium Hilton Hotel where Regee and I stayed for three nights while we were up in New York for the 4th of July celebrations. I think you stayed somewhere nearby when you were in NYC last week. Anyway, here are some photos I took of the general area around the hotel.
Right across the street from the hotel is the huge Oculus structure, otherwise known as the World Trade Center Transport Hub, which was designed by the Spanish architect, Santiago Calatrava. He said that it represents a dove flying up from the hands of a child; but a number of unkind critics have likened it to a "pair of claws scuttling across the sands of Lower Manhattan" and the "carcass of a beached whale." Beauty is in the eye of the beholder! Personally, I found the Oculus stunning inside and out.
If you walk across the street from the hotel and into the Oculus, you can connect underground to all PATH trains and the Subway system, to One World Trade Center (formerly Freedom Tower) and, via a long, long passageway known as the West Concourse, to Brookfield Place on Vesey Street, another huge office, dining and retail complex. You can then walk outside to the brand new marina and to the Battery Park City Ferry Terminal.
If you click on "Read more" below, you will see some photos of the above-ground and underground routes that we took from the hotel to Brookfield Place.
If you click on "Read more" below, you will see some photos of the above-ground and underground routes that we took from the hotel to Brookfield Place.
Alternatively, from the hotel you can walk above-ground past the Oculus, past the National September 11 Memorial Plaza and One World Trade Center, to Brookfield Place (above) and the marina. Whether you walk underground or above-ground, you will find it hard to believe that this was once the site of Ground Zero. The multiple new buildings, and those still being constructed, are a marvelous testament to the resilience of New York and its gritty inhabitants.
View of the Oculus from our hotel window. You can see the rounded
glass dome of Brookfield Place in the distance down by the water.
Looking back towards the Oculus and the hotel
National September 11 Memorial Plaza
One World Trade Center entrance--notice the word
"World" is missing--except for the "d". What?
"World" is missing--except for the "d". What?
One World Trade Center--1776 feet tall.
1776 was a symbolic height for original architect, Libeskind
Entrance to Brookfield Place from Vesey Street
Underground
If you want to read about the World Trade Center Transport Hub, have a look at:
Inside the Oculus, there was an exhibition of
the Sistine Chapel called "Up Close"
the Sistine Chapel called "Up Close"
"Up Close"
I liked the juxtaposition of the digital lady on the left and
Michelangelo's beautiful lady with a parchment scroll
A view of the "eye" (oculus in Latin) which will be flooded with
a "wedge of light" every September 11
To understand the "wedge of light" concept, you should look at this short video. I promise you will not be disappointed. While the critics might have their own views, the concept behind the "eye" is profound and inspiring.
The complex cost over $4 billion and rumored to be
more like $6 billion after extensive repairs for water damage to Carrara marble
Commuters are not impressed because the entrance and exits are compressed and overwhelmed at rush hour. If you want to read a review of the Oculus ("Soaring Symbol of a Boondoggle") by the NYT architecture critic, have a look at:
Huge screens run along the walls of the Concourse. It is a bit eerie
to see a whale swimming towards you!
Looking back from inside Brookfield Place to One World Trade Center,
the Oculus and Millennium Hilton Hotel
Inside Brookfield Place, you have a grand view of
One World Trade Center through the glass roof
It is definitely tropical in Brookfield Place! There are high-end
shops and eateries on the ground and second floors
shops and eateries on the ground and second floors
Night view of the Oculus and One World Trade Center
The history of the planning, architecture, multiple controversies and final construction of the Oculus and the National September 11 Memorial Plaza and connected facilities is absolutely fascinating. It will have to be the subject of another blog.
Suffice it to say that you can spend a whole day here wandering around the Plaza, going up to the top of One World Trade Center, visiting all the shops and eateries, maybe taking a ferry ride, and then leaving from a train station that has to be one of the most spectacular in the world.
And, finally, if you want to read about one of the last buildings (mock-up below) that will be going up in this area, have a look at this fascinating article in Wired Magazine:
This is a "view" from Tribeca where the architect, Bjarke Ingels, lives.
The building is "stepped" and appears to lean in towards the Freedom Tower
(Above blurry image taken from unattributed Google Images photo)
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