Re: A visit to Ground Zero

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: Vincent,
: I noticed when I was near the Atrium that immediately opposite the river was Exchange Place in Jersey City.  I used to work there some of the time and had many workmates there on the 31st floor facing east (facing NYC) with big full windows.  They must have seen it all.  I'm certain some of them looked up when the first plane flew by because that would have been so unusual. And there's no doubt they all saw all the rest.  My god!!  I haven't talked to any of them, though.  I think I'm afraid to.

: Cheers,
: Sarah

: : Sarah,

: : Would like to add to your very detailed account that at night they would turn on the lights and it would seem like you were on a movie set.  It's bright enough that you would think it was daylight.  The burnt black building is you were referring to was one of the exits / entrances that I sometimes take while commuting.  I myself have taken the Fulton St. station but now instead take the Wall St. station in part to avoid the acrid smell.  You can see the numerous boarded up windows on some of the buildings from the interection of Cortland St. and Broadway facing west.

: : My wife normally takes one of the interconnecting walkways to the Atrium on her way to work at the South Tower of the World Financial Centers.  The Atrium is/was a very beautiful place where some people would take their wedding photos.  Debbie is in the process of "packing up" because her bank's lease had expired in September/October.  She has a great bird's eye view there but it is too upsetting for her to see for an extended period.

: : If you happen to have the time you should take the NY Waterway Ferry at Pier 11 (FDR drive & at the eastern end of Wall St. -  think they might have recently opened a new location near the Statue of Liberty pier) that will take you to NJ (Hoboken, Harborside &/or Colgate).  It costs ~$3 one way and will swing past the Southern tip of Manhattan and offer a very close look at Ground Zero.  One other option might be the Staten Island ferry for they should also pass by Ground Zero though not as close.  The best part of this is that the ride is free.  

: : There is a picture gallery pertaining to the World Trade Center on West Broadway somewhere.  People from all over have sent WTC pictures for display.  They are selling copies of the pictures for $20 each which goes toward the victims of the WTC attacks.  When we drove by last weekend the lines were very long.

: : Finally there are some amateur pictures I would like to pass along to anybody who is interested in Ground Zero.  We have a close friend who just moved out of the Gateway Plaza last weekend...

: : http://216.194.72.43/bob/FrameSet.htm

: : Regards,
: : Vincent

: : 
: : : Dear all,
: : : I thought you might be interested in knowing I went to Ground Zero with my folks on Friday.  They were visiting en route from Frankfurt to Denver -- yes, via JFK.  

: : : Anyway, we went Friday early afternoon.  You exit at the Fulton Street exit from the Lexington Ave. subway and there it is.  You see it right in front of you and boy do you smell it!!  What we saw were the remains of I don't know which buildings, but the nearest one was a burned-out shell, completely black.  Also, I am quite certain that we were at the location of where a video was shot of the second plane flying into the South Tower -- the angle, the buildings all registered in my mind quite strongly (as I had watched that one over and over in disbelief) and I felt like ducking while standing there.  

: : : I've never seen a burned building so completely burned through.  And the air smelled of a hard-to-describe mixture of burned metal and other things, I really can't describe it but it was pungent.

: : : From there, we walked south to try to go all the way around.  At one spot we could see we were parallel with where I think the North Tower stood, but as there was fencing with a net all around, we couldn't see much.  It all looked more like a construction zone -- well, a de-construction zone actually.  One huge crain was dropping a wrecking balls on the top of the core nub of one building, which was more or less fused together.  As the ball fell onto the building, a brown cloud emerged from the ruins.  On officer explained to us, this is smoke from continuous burning.  There was a LOT of dust and stuff in the air at all times, but each time they removed something or smashed something, they opened up the core of what is about 600-1000 degrees F still, and when air got in it smoked.

: : : As we continued south, along Broadway past Wall Street, the air was still acrid.  The buildings seem to exude the smell.  We then moved west toward the Hudson River and got to a point where we could more easily see the remaining wall of one of the Towers.  I had seen a much taller wall piece from across the river some weeks ago while driving south on I-95 and it was a stupendous site.  This was smaller but still riveting.  The way the sun shone through the windows...  

: : : At the eastern edge of the complex we found a small memorial place overflowing with teddy bears, which more than flowers seems to be the symbol of "RIP" from friends and families.  And of course there were pictures...  A bit further up, we came to the west-facing entrance of the atrium.  This opens out to a courtyard and several buildings still standing but now empty and being cleaned.  The eastern-most building (not sure of the numbers) was missing much of it's corner, and from there we could see another building with an open gash from top to near-bottom down the north-facing wall (facing where the towers had stood).  The atrium is the beautiful arching glass structure you have probably seen in photos, as it opened out towards the Hudson River with the two Towers behind it. Very tall, arching, clear glass atrium -- very beautiful.  Inside had been shops, cafes, etc. including one where I had my leaving party when I left PwC in March.  On Friday, I could see where I sat having drinks with my friends, but now above and beyond was shredded metal and open sky and ruination.

: : : The smell wasn't there on that side, for some reason it was worst in the Financial Center.  Probably because of the wind.  Lots of people were wearing masks because the air was still thick on all sides.  On the west side, we were not allowed to take pictures; this was probably the closest to the Twin Towers as one could get and it was still a crime scene, so no pictures.  The crime scene of the murder of nearly 5,000.

: : : And the sun was setting immediately behind the Statue of Liberty behind us.  

: : : I'm so glad I finally went.  I wish I had gone a month ago, it might have still looked more "impressive" and I would have been able to see more.  By the way, we were amongst hundreds walking their way around the area, in pilgimage as we were...

: : : Cheers,
: : : Sarah M.


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