NYC, part 1

For the first time in 30 years, I visited New York City last week. Dale and I went over the Fourth of July weekend with two friends, Deb Miller and Jim McLean. I'll roll out some of our photos in the next few days. Above is the view of Hudson Bay from our (dirty) hotel window. We stayed at the Downtown Marriott in lower Manhattan, near the financial district and just three blocks from the site of Ground Zero, where the Twin Towers fell in 2001.

Naturally, Ground Zero was the first place we visited, although for now it is only a construction site. But to think that 3,000 people died at this site during the Sept. 11 attack is truly humbling. A small museum of sorts has been opened about two blocks away. It gives a photographic history of the attacks and shows the plans for the new memorial...

Which is scheduled to open in September 2011. The two ponds in this model will represent the spots where the Twin Towers stood. All around will be soaring skyscrapers, the most prominent of which will be the Freedom Tower, which will rise 1,776 feet. Three more memorial towers will be part of the development.

One of the amazing stories surrounding 9/11 is the survival of St. Paul's Chapel, just across the street from Ground Zero. St. Paul's has the distinction of being Manhattan's oldest public building in continuous use, and the closest house of worship to the site of the World Trade Center. George Washington had a pew in the church. The photo above is of an old cemetery on the church grounds. This
18th century church somehow made it through 9/11 unscathed and was transformed into an ad hoc headquarters for the rescue workers. It's very odd and touching to see this old church still standing and in use so close to the modern buildings that were demolished in the attack.

More later...