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We were not too sure what to expect at Ground Zero.
We took a bus there and walked around the area for a while, taking it all in. The area is abuzz with activity, from construction workers, to tourists milling around the fringes of the area, to construction vehicles.
When you see how tall the current surrounding buildings are there, and double their size, you realise just how huge the Twin Towers actually were!
The enormity of what happened that fateful day hit us both again. There is such evil in the world.
We spotted the lovely old church, St Pauls', alongside Ground Zero that played a pivotal role in helping those affected on 9/11… it is a beautiful old building, in stark contrast to the much larger and sleeker modern buildings all around it.
With the area having a flurry of activity it takes the sombreness of the place away. We left, feeling the better for having been there and having got a better insight into 9/11. Leave a Comment Address: Ground Zero, Lower ManhattenDirections: By Subway: 2, 3 to Park Place 1,9,4,5 and A to Fulton St-Broadway Nassau 6 to Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall E to Chambers R to Cortlandt Street
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One of the highlights of our previous visit to New York in 1982 was a visit to the World Trade Center and ascent to the top of one of the towers – truly the most amazing city view I have ever seen, thought not one for anyone with a fear of heights (the floor to ceiling glass windows made the view of the street below really dizzying). It was this view that kept playing in my head in the weeks after 9/11, and for a while I felt I never wanted to go back to New York and see the empty space where the towers had been. But after a while I changed my mind and realised that I had to go back, to keep the faith with the city that had made such a huge impression on me years before. And so on our second day of this visit we made our pilgrimage to Ground Zero.
Where the towers once stood, and where that (literally) earth-shattering drama unfolded, is now a huge building site. If anyone could have somehow slept through or otherwise missed the events of September 2001 they would pass by without thinking any more than what an enormous construction project this must be. But if you pause for more than a few minutes, the signs are there – an information board detailing the events of that awful day, a group of tourists listening to a guide explain what happened where, and here and there a memento fixed to the chain link fence that surrounds the site.
For a really good overview of the scale of the building work here, that will lead eventually to the raising of a new tower, the Freedom Tower, walk west along Vesey Street and ascend the escalator to the footbridge. Another way to see what’s going on, even if you aren’t in New York at all, is to check out this webcam.
To learn more about 9/11, the recovery work in the months after it and plans for the future of this part of downtown, you could visit the Tribute World Trade Center at 120 Liberty Street. We felt though that our visit to St Paul’s Chapel (see separate tip) gave us the strongest possible impression of that short but momentous period in New York’s history, one that no museum could better, so we gave this a miss, though I have read good reports of it.
So after all my doubts, I am ultimately pleased that I came here and saw Ground Zero for myself – but I will be even more pleased to come back in the future and see the Freedom Tower soaring over the city where once the Twin Towers stood.
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 Cross made from debris
from the Twin Towers by toonsarah,
4 more photos
For eight months, hundreds of volunteers worked 12 hour shifts around the clock, serving meals, making beds, counselling and praying with fire fighters, construction workers, police and others. I had failed to appreciate until now quite how many ordinary Americans had selflessly given up their time, and in many cases left home and family, to devote themselves to this relief effort. Today, memorials of that harrowing time are on permanent display here. As you walk around the church you will see various exhibits that pay tribute to those who served here. Among the sights are a moving collection of teddy bears and other stuffed toys – people all over the country sent these so that each recovery worker could have one beside them as they slept on cots in the church, between their shifts at Ground Zero. Another area displays mementoes of the victims, while another pays tribute to the official services such as fire fighters and police, and yet another has colourful paper birds sent in sympathy by the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The cross in my main photo was made from steel and other remnants salvaged from the collapse of the World Trade Center.
Even if it weren’t for the role this church has played in the recent history of the city, it would still be worth a visit. It is Manhattan's oldest public building in continuous use. When was completed in 1766, it stood in a field some distance from the growing port city to the south, but today is surrounded by the skyscrapers of the city’s financial district. George Washington worshipped here and his pew is much as it was in his day. During the post 9/11 period it was used by podiatrists treating the feet of the volunteers – an apt reminder of Washington’s foot soldiers. Other famous past worshippers include George Clinton, the first Governor of the State of New York; Prince William, later King William IV of England; Lord Cornwallis, famous his surrender at the Battle of Yorktown in 1781; Lord Howe, who commanded the British forces in New York; and Presidents Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, and George H. W. Bush.
Outside in the churchyard you can see the stump and roots of the sycamore tree that shielded the chapel and churchyard on 9/11, thus preventing it from damage or destruction by the falling towers. There is also a memorial bell, a gift from the City of London to New Yorkers.
The church is open Monday – Saturday, 10.00 AM – 6.00 PM, and Sunday 8.00 AM – 4.00 PM. Please do go and see this poignant exhibit. Directions: On Church St. between Fulton St. and Vesey St., opposite the east side of the World Trade Center site. Nearest subway station is Rector St (lines R & W, or line 1)
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Any who take a trip to New York would be well served making a quick trip to the World Trade Center site. Nothing but a big hole exists there now, though the contruction work associated with the new Freedom tower is now on-going as of my last visit in August 2006.
No matter how many times I visit, I am always moved to go there and pay my respects. The makeshift memorials that pop up all around the area are amazing. The offerings that the survivors have left are a poignant reminder of what happened there. Remnants of what was taken on that day. Every piece is a story. Every flower a hero who was lost.
On the fences around the site are plaques with the names of the fallen. As a 9/11 survivor, this place will always be special in my heart. Though it's been five years since that day, I still break down everytime I go there. I hope it moves you as it moves me. Address: World Trade CenterDirections: No one will ever forget where it is.
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Its funny...we woke up super early today ready to start our first day in the Big Apple and borrowing a map from our friend, headed off into the unknown! I dont know how other people feel about it, but since the terrorists hit NY and London, I dont always feel completely relaxed being in those places, just hoping that they wont strike again when Im there. So we jumped on the metro and headed downtown. We were sure according to the map that Ground Zero would be very close to where we were standing. There was construction going on all around us and we really were a bit confused as to why we hadnt seen a huge big gaping hole in the ground yet. And then we DID!!! But it wasnt half as big an area as I thought it was....in fact, it wasnt very impressive at all. I know that sounds a little odd that i would want something which was generated from something so atrocious to be a good tourist spot, but at the end of the day I thought I was going to be amazed.
We just stood there for a good 15 mins looking around at all the other buildings towering over the hole and images played in my mind of the news clips I saw from that day with people running in terror...it really must have been a very frightening moment not knowing where to go. It was a beautifully sunny but cold day and the whole area looked very impressive. Leave a Comment Directions: Get off the subway at 'Chambers Street' which is on the 1,2 and 3 line and walk south for a little while.
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The twin towers of the World Trade Center were more than just buildings. They were proof of New York's belief in itself. Built at a time when New York's future seemed uncertain, the towers restored confidence and helped bring a halt to the decline of lower Manhattan. Brash, glitzy, and grand, they quickly became symbols of New York. The World Trade Center was designed by the famous Japanese American Architect Minoru Yamasaki. The north tower was opened in Dec. 1970 and the south tower in Jan. 1972; they were dedicated in April 1973. They were the world's tallest buildings for only a short time, since the Sears Tower in Chicago was completed in May 1973. However, the towers were ranked as the fifth and sixth tallest buildings in the world at the time of their destruction on Sept. 11, 2001.
September 11, 2001, is a day that remains indelibly etched in the hearts and minds of New Yorkers, Americans, and countless millions of people around the world. Thousands of tourists stream into lower Manhattan daily to observe the work at the site of the former World Trade Center, also referred to as Ground Zero.
World Trade Center site is located in Lower Manhattan, and most of the site (where its buildings except 7 World Trade Center were located) is bounded to the north by Vesey Street, to the west by the West Side Highway, to the south by Liberty Street and to the east by Church Street. In the northern portion of the site across Vesey Street, the former location of 7 World Trade Center is bounded to the west by Washington Street, to the north by Barclay Street, and to the east by West Broadway. Address: Vesey-Liberty-Church-West Streets,New York, NY 100Phone: 212.227.7722Directions: By subway: A, C, J, M, Z, 2, 3, 4 or 5 to Fulton Street/Broadway-Nassau. Exit onto Fulton Street and walk west to Church St.E to World Trade Center.Website: www.wtcsitememorial.org/ Other Contact: Fax: 212.227.7931
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St. Paul's is a tiny little church that miraculously survived the collapse of the World Trade Center.
Inside is a memorial to the days and months following 9/11, when the chapel served as a relief station and support center for the thousands of firemen, policemen, and volunteers. It is a very moving set of exhibits that really shows the "unwavering spirit" of all those who came from all over the world to help.
Besides St. Paul's rather sad recent history, it's got plenty more; St. Paul's Chapel is Manhattan's oldest public building in continual use, having been completed in 1766. It's also the only colonial-era church left in Manhattan. A highlight is George Washington's pew. George Washington worshiped here on Inauguration Day, April 30, 1789, and attended services at St. Paul's during the two years New York City was the US capital.
But the ancient past has given way to the very recent, and St. Paul's is now devoted almost solely to 9/11, which is certainly understandable. Leave a Comment
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 World Trade Center site; Fire
Engine on call by rmdw
Do go, but observe a respectful silence while you're there. If you'd like to see a satellite view of the World Trade Centre site then click here. Leave a Comment
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I had no intention of going to Ground Zero - because I consider it to be a graveyard and its a place to be respected....but I had to go by it to get to the store Century 21.
I didn't like it.....had tears in my eyes just thinking about "that day" and all the lives affected - what made it worse? The T-shirt sellers, the tourists taking photos and worst of all people selling photos in flip albums of the two towers burnin.- it breaks my heart that people are making money over such a tragedy in such poor taste.
Needless to say I didn't take a photo of the area. For those of you who are curious - it's all fenced off and resembles a construction site.
For those of you who are planning to go - please have some respect. Leave a Comment
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Do not pay for a tour company to take you to the WTC site. Like most things in New York City, this is best experienced on foot. Nearest subway exit is Chambers Street. The actual WTC site is fenced off due to ongoing construction. Around the corner from it, there's a wall with a placard showing the names & photos of the NYC firemen who perished that day. Leave a Comment Directions: Church Street, New York City, NYWebsite: www.wtc.com
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