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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Keep shining
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A Latino art exhibition in Denver
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Crescent Lake near Dunhuang, China
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Take me to the river
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Diamond Beach, Iceland
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World Teachers Day
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A sizzling summit hides in the clouds
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A tower of remembrance
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The Cutty Sark turns 150
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Veterans Day
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Quiver trees in Namibia
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Dhaka, Bangladesh
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Cheese! We ll go somewhere where there s cheese!
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Trunks stick together
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The National Museum of the American Indian
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Belted Galloway cows
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Black History Month
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Carnival comes to Olinda
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Travel Sunday: San Francisco
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Eastern grey kangaroos in Australia’s Kosciuszko National Park
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Happy Independence Day!
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Songkran—Thai New Year
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Welcome to the Ring of Fire
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From Sputnik to extraterrestrial storms
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A horse of many colors
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Silent night, sparkling lights, and hearts full of joy
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Khao Sok National Park in Thailand
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Summer winds down in the Hamptons
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Brown bears, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska
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Forward-thinking women of history