This blog entry has become a recollection of our visits to One World Trade Center over the course of eleven years! Please join me in never forgetting…..
On my very first trip to NYC with my mom and the girls in the fall of 2000, I recall walking around a good portion of the 16-acre World Trade Center site gazing up at the monolithic towers from directly in front of them and from around every corner. They were magnificient structures which, to me, defined the NYC skyline setting it apart from all others.
I don’t recall why we didn’t go inside the WTC on our first visit, but we didn’t and that’s something I’ll always regret. With the shopping malls and subway underneath and all of the businesses inside, I’m sure it was quite the place to visit not only for those reasons but also because they were ranked the world’s fifth and sixth tallest buildings at the time of their destruction on Sept. 11, 2001.
Here are a few facts I found interesting:
*50,000 people worked in the buildings
*200,00 visited or passed through every day
*the complex had its own zip code, 10048, with 8 letter carriers assigned to it
My second trip to NYC was shortly after 9-11 in November of 2004 when I was accompanied by all of the kids, my mom, and my mil. We, again, made our way to the World Trade Center site which I recall everyone, even New Yorkers’, referred to as “Ground Zero.” This was a very emotionally charged visit as we stood at the site recalling the horrific events of 9-11.
On my third trip to NYC this past February (2010), several tour guides made a point of explaining the location is *NOT* “Ground Zero” which is how most of us non-New Yorker’s would typically refer to the location. However, New Yorker’s refer to the site as The World Trade Center site and kindly ask the rest of us to call it by its correct name.
Right next door to the 9/11 Memorial Preview site you’ll find the Original Stage Door Deli. If you stop in for a meal, dessert, or beverage, you’ll be supporting a business which has struggled to remain open since the destruction of the Twin Towers. You can read their story at the link above. Below is a picture of Tim and Josh taking a minute to sit down and reflect on the area while waiting for our meal. This is Tim’s first visit to NYC and Josh’s second visit. While he wasn’t quite old enough to realize the devestation 9-11 wreaked upon the area the first time he was here, this time he is old enough and he does realize the meaning of this area.
Venture upstairs and you’ll find the Back Stage Deli’s eating area which overlooks The World Trade Center site. Because you really can’t see inside to the construction area from the ground due to the boards covering the perimeter’s security fence, you’ll want to take a look from up here if seeing the actual site is on your list.
Around the corner from One World Trade Center is a very small museum, the 9/11 Preview Memorial Site, which is home to some very moving exhibits. Wrapping around a couple of walls is a photographic
chronology recounting the hours of September 11, 2001. One can not help but have their thoughts return to the events of that horrific day when scanning the photos. I clearly remember exactly where I was, what I was doing, and what I was thinking at the time of each photograph. Here are a few of the memories which surfaced as I looked upon these photos:
*I remember my mom calling to ask if had seen the news, which I had not.
*I remember turning on the TV to watch and immediately wanting to shelter the girls from the live coverage.
*Emily remembers sitting beside me and me asking her to go wake up Amanda.
*I remember later in the day debating whether or not to take Amanda in to her flute lesson. I did.
*I remember the eerie silence of no overhead air traffic as Emily and Josh played in the park while Amanda was at her flute lesson.
*remember the uncanny quietness of the day as people presumably stayed indoors glued to the news coverage.
*I remember the long lines at the gas stations as people in a panic rushed to fill up their gas tanks, just in case.
*I remember the endless “all circuits busy” recording and the dreaded “busy signal” as we tried and tried and tried to get ahold of our NYC friends.
*I remember the evening’s conversation with my aunt who lives in Germany as we pondered the possibility of she and our NYC friends coming out here for a visit; a bit of respite in Big Sky Country.
*I remember fervently praying for many things – the rescue workers, NYC officials, victims’ families, survivors, President Bush and other U.S. leaders, the safety of our three friends who lived in NYC, and the list goes on.
On this visit as was the case on the last visit, there were people crying silently as they studied the exhibits. When we visited this year, I was particularly drawn to a young woman probably in her late twenties who was having a very difficult time as she lingered at a specific exhibit. Given the nature of her grief, I’m guessing she lost a loved one on 9-11. There is a closed off room at the back of the exhibit hall where you can record a message about how 9-11 has impacted your live. It’s an ongoing “living” exhibit which you can also sit and listen to messages people have left, if you want. In addition to these things, there is also a diorama showcasing the World Trade Center building future building plans.
In 2004, when we visited this same 9-11 Memorial Preview site, I recall seeing many designs being voted upon, none of which moved me. A lot has changed since 2004. On our 2010 visit, the diorma in the picture below was displayed as the winning design and I don’t believe it was one of the originally suggested designs.
“
Reflecting Absence,” is an extremely moving depiction of the memorial area as it will be one day. I was particularly touched by the planned reflecting pools which will be built in the footsteps of the North and South Towers and the description of the area which will impact many of our senses. If you’re at all interested in the details, the Reflecting Absence link above is well worth reading, imo. When the World Trade Center buildings and memorial are complete, I hope to visit NYC again to stand at the reflecting pools paying my respects to those whose lives were taken on 9-11.
Fourth Trip – December 5, 2011 : The girls and I had the opportunity to visit One World Trade Center again in December 2011 when Michaela asked us to meet her in NYC for a girls’ Christmas shopping trip!
Here are a few things I noted from this particular trip when eight of us (most of whom had never met before) gathered from all over the world to share in the solemn experience of visiting the memorial site.
1. Reconstruction continues:
2. The reflecting pools are a tranquil oasis in the midst of a bustling city.
3. The edges of the reflecting pools are a listing of the names of those whose lives were lost on 9-11 and the interior of the reflecting pools reminds us of the foot print of the One World Trade center buildings which were lost that day.
4. The 9-11 Preview memorial site continues to evolve since the last time we were there. Now, there are additional remnants of the past:
It continues to be a place dedicated to remembering those who fell offering hope for those who carry on….
5. This lone, picturesque tree which survived the attack speaks volumes. It is braced, but resilient.
6. The new buildings are beautiful……..
FIFTH TRIP – November, 2012. This was literally an unplanned trip as our plane from FL to MT had a layover in NYC which resulted in some sort of flight cancellation. The airline put us up for the night, but we only used the motel room for storing our luggage while we went sight seeing from 11:00 p.m. until 4:00 a.m.. We went back to the motel room for a quick shower before heading back to the airport! One could NOT have asked for better weather. We barely needed a light jacket. There was no tunnel effect wind (or whatever they call it)! The sky was clear. It was one of the most peaceful trips we’ve had to NYC :). The views from atop the Empire State Building were breath taking on such a clear night! We could have stayed there to look out for hours, but we had to hurry along to show Trevan all of our favorite sites!
Please join me in remembering 9-11 and let us not forget to pray for our troops as they continue to wage the war against terrorism!
While I don’t personally know very many military families, I do know one which we’ve been blessed to know for the last 15 or so years. The “G” family used to live near us and their daughters used to come to our house for piano lessons until the military moved them to a base several hours from our home and then to another base clear across the country and more recently to a base clear across the world in Japan. If you’d like to meet the “G” family, please visit their CHOOSING JOY blog. There you’ll get a first hand glimpse into the life of this military family’s life where Micahel, the husband and father, is just beginning a nine month deployment to Afghanistan leaving his family to finish settling into a new house, town, and country. Their eight year old son’s prayer for his dad to “have a safe war” brings tears to my eyes each time I see it posted at the top of their family blog.
