Is it ten years already?

Yes I suppose it has been that long and yet for many people it seems like only yesterday when the horrible attacks took place on US Soil.  For those who lived it, it became the modern version of “where were you when JFK got shot” as the world continually would ask “where were you on 9-11-2001?”.  On the day of the attacks I was a temporary consultant working with a small advertising agency and I came up from the subway to find my fellow citizens all facing downtown staring.  It was like out of a movie as all were still and no one really knew what was going on.  We all soon learned and it was an event that I never want to experience again.  As the anniversary came to pass I wanted to share some photographic memories that I found while going through folders.  The first few images are from the streets as I looked up at the now absent Twin Towers.  They were shot in March of 2000 and were done to share with some new out of state and country friends who were very anxious to enjoy NYC and its wonders.

This second shot is pretty much the same one as the first but done with a slightly different perspective.

Then I went to Brooklyn and stood on the promenade near my old college to get a full on cityscape.  This view is very different today as you might imagine but not only for the missing Twin Towers but now also since it includes a number of other new buildings on the East Side waterfront.  There is always something being built in NYC it seems.  I probably should have taken the PATH train to the Jersey City but I didn’t end up doing that and hence this is the only image I have of the city in this fashion.

I took on a project in July of 2004 that found me taking the PATH train into Jersey City and the train still ran down from the old WTC Station.  At the time it would pass an exposed “Ground Zero” which was now no longer a pile of wreckage but was more of a construction site.  It was never easy to snare a shot from the train but I did try. I think I was still using my old Kodak Digital camera at that time.

This next shot was taken when I was working at an office for a super short time (I was a fill in person and the gig sucked to be honest).  The only positive was the chance to look over the Ground Zero site construction as it was happening.  I snapped a photo since I knew my time at this office was short.  Glad I got it for memory purposes.

A different angle on the shot above and sadly dusk was upon us so it was a little dark and hard to get an awesome visual.

Fast forward to 2010 and the construction of the new World Trade Center has begun and while I would have liked to get quite a few more of it as its been progressing I only have a scant few.  I am sure that someone will be putting out a book about the whole thing eventually so we can all enjoy the new grandeur there.  I hope you like what I did snare just the same.  This first shot was taken in October of 2010 and as you can see there were a few floors up already in terms of beams.

My next shot is a super fast forward to June of this month when I was down in the area for some meetings with some music people and I was really stunned at how much had gone up.  I think we were at about fifty floors or more by this time.  That is some serious working going on don’t you think?  I do.  I also think that it is looking awesome.  It’s going to be called One World Trade Center which I like much better than the original name they wanted to give it.  That was “Freedom Tower” if you have not been watching any of the news reports about the rebuilding process as its been happening.

Here’s a shot from Fifth Avenue and 14th Street.  I was meeting a friend for lunch and hoped for a nice perspective from this vantage point.  We’re about a mile away in this shot and you can see how its very close to towering over everything else.  I cannot wait until 2010 when it is finished and people can go inside to see it.

These are all the pics that I have by the anniversary date of 9-11-2001 but I will add some more in the coming months and hopefully some from a little bit closer.  Stay tuned.   For now take a look at some memorial presentations that can be found on some fencing just across the street from the now shuttered St. Vincent’s Hospital.  When the attack happened the hospital treated many of the wounded civilians and emergency responders.  I am still amazed that this place has closed down.

Closing up I would just like to say “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible – With Liberty and Justice for all”.  Stay safe America and by all means my friends, treat each other well.  Love each other.  Life is too short for anything else.  To those friends and family and other connections who were affected the most by this terrible incident ten years ago, know that you are in my thoughts on this anniversary.