12 Years Later: Remembering 9/11

September 11, 2001. New Yorkers were heading to the polls to vote on the next mayor of the city. It was a morning full of promise and baseball fans were excited about the Yankees' chances of making the playoffs, the Mets thinking about the future, and the start of the new football season. In other words, it was a day not much different than those September days we've been experiencing in the New

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Lower Manhattan and World Trade Center Views

Corbin Building, the Fulton Center, and 195 Broadway from Dey Street





The WTC Transit Hub from Greenwich Street at Vesey





Looking down Greenwich St at the WTC Transit Hub and 3 and 4 WTC





Detail of the 1WTC base cladding





4WTC exterior finished; the building needs interior work, but is in its final form.





Looking up at 1WTC and 4WTC.





Ornate detail work on 140 West

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Remembering 9/11 Eleven Years Later

On a morning not all that different than the one forecast for today, it was a bolt from the blue. The skies over New York City were a crisp bright blue with nary a cloud in a sky. It was a morning full of promise.

September 11, 2001 and New Yorkers were heading to the polls to vote on the next mayor of the city. People were talking baseball and the upcoming football season, just as they are

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The Rebuilding of Ground Zero, Part 164

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will be visiting the World Trade Center site this afternoon to view progress at the site as part of a trip to New York City that includes two fundraisers for the 2012 campaign.

The trip will disrupt the commutes of tens of thousands of people who use the PATH station at the WTC (myself included), but the President needs to do more than just

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The Rebuilding of Ground Zero, Part 161

Construction remains at a near standstill on the WTC Museum. The anticipated September 2012 deadline will be missed and it's looking like mid 2013 is the earliest that anyone should expect the museum to be opened. That's perhaps being optimistic considering the money involved and that the Port Authority and the Museum Board, which includes Mayor Mike Bloomberg are fighting over the development

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The Rebuilding of Ground Zero, Part 159

Today, the Freedom Tower (1WTC) will regain the title of the tallest skyscraper in New York City. It will soar more than 1,250 feet above the street, eclipsing the Empire State Building.
Crowning the world's tallest buildings is a little like picking the heavyweight champion in boxing. There is often disagreement about who deserves the belt.

In this case, the issue involves the 408-foot-tall

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Six Years To 100 Stories

One World Trade Center is essentially at 100 stories (or it will be by next week). The two tower cranes are already above that level, and the steel is continuing to be erected on the tower as it nears preparation for the antenna/spire that will ultimately rise to 1,776 feet.

It's been a long and painful journey to this point, and the following video is a time-lapse of the construction from its

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The Rebuilding of Ground Zero, Part 156

1 WTC (the Freedom Tower) is poised to be the tallest building in New York City within the next two weeks. It's just a matter of time before the steel perimeter reaches its apex and work can proceed on the roof and antenna levels. "The World Trade Center perimeter steel is up the 100th floor," said Foye, at a press conference following the authority's monthly board meeting today. "I think if not

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The Rebuilding of Ground Zero, Part 155

The Freedom Tower (1WTC) is approaching its topping out. The tower is probably a week or two away from completing the bulk of construction. While the tower's antenna would remain to be built, the rest of the tower would be in the process of being fitted out for occupation.

Meanwhile, the NYPD has come up with a new security plan that makes little sense and would do more to disrupt traffic in

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The Rebuilding of Ground Zero, Part 153

The cost for the Freedom Tower (aka 1WTC) is now expected to top out at nearly $3.8 billion dollars. That's $700 million more than the last estimate given, and billions more than the originally estimated cost for the tower. It now ranks as the most expensively constructed skyscraper in the world.

Much of the cost is due to the increased and enhanced security and safety measures built into the

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The Rebuilding of Ground Zero, Part 152

Once again, rebuilding at Ground Zero is threatening to come to a screeching halt. This time, Larry Silverstein is warning that rebuilding of 3WTC, which was designed by Richard Rogers, would be capped at a stump of 7 stories, because he can't find tenants and wont build it out on spec. The discussions with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the lower Manhattan site, are

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