It was inevitable, I guess.
Although 9/11 still lives inside us all,
I had to visit 1WorldTrade at some point.
It’s been great watching this building go up and I have posted about it several times.
But almost right away,
capitalism is everywhere and it made me feel uncomfortable.
The tickets are timed, so waiting lines are manageable.
At $32 minimum per head, the building had already grossed over $567,000 in just the first day and a half of visitors.
I thought the idea of entering through the bedrock was really smart and sensitive until we realized the rocks are fake and made of plastic.
It felt like Universal Studios. Or Disneyland.
The elevator took us up inside an historic animation.
We were let out on a mezzanine to an escalator leading down to the windows.
The views are familiar, but a lot of new buildings have sprung up in the past 14 years. You’ll be surprised.
Even the gift shop disturbed me a little.
It felt crass and as retail, it wasn't particularly well done.
Architect Frank Gehry has blocked part of the Brooklyn Bridge.
And then looking down, the gravity of this moment really hit me.
It was time to leave.
A quiet wander through the ground level memorial was as somber and elegant as the tower is vulgar and brash.
But it was said to me perhaps that’s the whole point.
The memorial expresses our sorrow for the people we have lost.
But the tower feels more an exuberant middle finger
to those who would dare try to slow us down.
jj
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