Gound Zero Revisited

I did a long blog post in March of this year about Ground Zero, where the World Trade Center Twin Towers stood in Lower Manhattan in New York City until they were destroyed on September 11, 2001, in a terrorist attack. I also had photos and information in that post about the FDNY Memorial Wall located on the wall of the Engine 10 Ladder 10 firehouse, which is located on Liberty Street, across from Ground Zero on it's south side.

When I was in Manhattan last week I took some new photos to show what is presently going on in that area. As you can see in the photo above there is a large, mainly opaque construction fence all around the Ground Zero perimeter. Large construction cranes are visible, but not much else from this vantage point. The large transparent looking building on the right is the newly rebuilt 7 World Trade Center, which stands in almost the same exact location it did when the entire World Trade complex stood. It was the last building to fall on 9/11, due to fires that weakened it when Twin Tower One collapsed near it.



On 120 Liberty Street stands the Tribute WTC Visitor Center. It contains exhibits of images and artifacts that reveal the events of 9/11, the tragic consequences and the brave response.

Tickets for daily one and a half hour walking tours, that are conducted along the World Trade Center site, can be purchased at the Tribute WTC. The tours are led by people whose lives were profoundly changed by September 11th.
From the Tribute WTC web site:
"Tribute Center Walking Tour Guides are drawn from the September 11th community, (survivors, lower Manhattan residents, recovery workers, volunteers who assisted in recovery and family members). All tours make five stops while traveling around the site. Most of the tour takes place indoors, traveling along the windows of the World Financial Center, looking out onto Ground Zero. Guides share key facts and reveal specific events of the day while weaving their personal experiences of survival, loss, and healing, throughout the tour, giving visitors an unparalleled opportunity to connect with history first-hand."


There was also a tribute to the USS NEW YORK a new US Navy battleship constructed with seven and a half tons of steel from New York City’s fallen World Trade Center. Her motto is: "Strength forged through sacrifice. Never forget." It will have its commissioning in the fall of 2009 in a special ceremony and will also have public viewings at that time. The official date of the commissioning ceremony will be announced on the web site.

The next three photos show the view through the Liberty Street side of the construction fence, near the ramp construction crews use to enter.

Click on all photos to enlarge if you wish to see more details.

The Deutsche Bank Building located at 130 Liberty Street, seen in the photo below, was heavily damaged on 9/11 after being blasted by the avalanche of debris, ash, dust and smoke that spread from the collapse of the Twin Towers. The building has been in ruins ever since, and is slowly being demolished floor by floor. Sadly, two firefighters lost their lives there in August 2007 when a seven-alarm fire broke out on the 17th floor of the building. The skyscraper, once 41 stories, had been reduced to 26, with crews removing a floor a week, when the fire broke out and quickly spread to ten floors. The deceased firefighters were among those who responded to the fire, and they were unfortunately trapped and died from suffered severe smoke inhalation.

If you looked at my March blog post, I spoke a lot about the FDNY Ladder Company 10 and FDNY Engine Company 10 that is also located on Liberty Street, and the FDNY Memorial Wall Plaque that was FDNY Memorial Wall, a gift from the law firm of Holland & Knight, to honor members of the New York City Fire Department and the Holland & Knight partner who perished on 9-11-2001.

I was very touched when the creator of the beautiful and informative website dedicated to the FDNY Ten House web site contacted me awhile ago, and asked if he could put a link on his web site to that blog post. This gentleman lives in Indiana and began the web site in 2002 after he made an emotional visit to Ground Zero. He wanted to honor this firehouse and preserve the information he was gathering about it. His story can be read here.

Because of the demolition going on of the Deutsche Bank Building which is near the Ten House, there is now protective scaffolding all around the west side of the firehouse where the inspiring FDNY Memorial Wall plaque is located. That makes it more difficult to view the memorial at this time, but you can see photos both in my March post and the FDNY Ten House web site .

As you can see flowers and personal tributes are still being left at the dedication plaque at the site of the memorial wall .

One new addition to the FDNY Memorial Wall since my last visit was this commemorative plaque containing photos of the 343 firefighters who perished on 9/11.

As we approach Veterans Day in the US we are reminded of the duty and sacrifice of the brave men and women of our armed forces who served to protect and defend us.

I thank them, and pray for all those in the armed forces who are now actively deployed to keep us safe. May God watch over them and our country, and may peace one day prevail!