As of a couple of weeks ago, I have a new job (more to come on that some other time.) One thing about my new job is from my desk I have a grandstand view of what is probably the most famous construction site in the world right now – that of the new World Trade Center.
I can’t deny the first time I saw the view I felt a little uncomfortable. 9/11 was obviously one of the most tragic days in modern western history, and here I was looking at the site where thousands of people died in just a couple of hours. However without forgetting, New York moves on and the WTC site looks more like a construction, rather than demolition, site these days.
There is, however, one building made unusable 5 1/2 years ago that is yet to be leveled – the Deutsche Bank building. Its story is somewhat horrific, but just as I started work at my new office demolition began piece by painstaking piece.
Initial construction has started though on the Freedom Tower (the centrepiece of the new WTC) and on at least one of the other towers. It will of course take years for all of these buildings these to be completed, not least because of the controversy which still surrounds so much of the project
One part which is finished though is the new Building 7, the original Building 7 was also destroyed on 9/11. The new WTC 7 is a beautiful piece of architecture, and I hope provides many with the hope that one day in the not too distant future the WTC site will once again be a place of opportunity.
More photos are available in the WTC album on my Flickr site. I’ll be taking more photos over the coming months so check back there if this stuff interests you.
Mike Roberts