Reconstruction after the Sept 11 attacks included not just rebuilding on the site of the Twin Towers, but replacing the transit hub station there as well. The new vision for the transit hub includes the Oculus, a building designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. A defining feature of the Oculus is a skylight at the peak of its roof, which is opened on clear days, flooding the space below with light and giving patrons a view of the new One World Trade Center building. And every Sept 11, the skylight is left open to the elements for 102 minutes—the duration of the attack on the World Trade Center. The elegant transit station is often busy with travelers making a quick stop to shop or eat, since most of the space is dedicated to retail, as it had been before the attacks on 9/11.
Inside the Oculus
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
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Canada s $20 view
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Farmers Day
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Who left the tub running?
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The Pearl of Siberia
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The smoke before the bonfire
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Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch on the institution s 175th anniversary
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A cutting-edge art gallery opens in Paris
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Lizard of mystery
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Rumelihisarı in Istanbul, Türkiye
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National Mushroom Month
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A day of death and rebirth
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Common raven
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Behold the blood moon
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Welcome to the Year of the Pig
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Is there a bug-egg emoji for this?
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Aw shucks, It s Oyster Day
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It s Independence Day
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Sweetheart Abbey, Scotland
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Corjuem Fort in Goa, India
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International Jazz Day
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Shhh, the movie is about to start
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Holey moley–it’s National Doughnut Day!
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Cranborne Chase, England
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Black History Month
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Too awesome to be a planet
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A grand event
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High tide at the walled city
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Southern right whales sail home to South Africa
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Sunbeams across Tartu County, Estonia
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2022 FIFA World Cup