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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Mardi Gras flower power
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Daylight saving time begins
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A long path to freedom
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‘Ocian in view! O! The joy.’
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Children at play for International Day of Friendship
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Greece celebrates its independence
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Dark Sky Week
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Earth at Perihelion
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Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia
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Monet still makes an impression
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Observing a squirrelly day
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International Nurses Day
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India Republic Day
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New York City skyline
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Once upon a midafternoon dreary…
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It s leap day!
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Social climbing
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Sydney Harbour Bridge in Sydney, Australia
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Meandering through Patagonia
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Bridge over the River Tara
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Indigo bunting
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Diving into the underwater nirvana
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In Sicily, history is everywhere
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Goats don t grow on trees
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Celebrating National Dentist Day
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Golden jellyfish in Jellyfish Lake, Palau
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Old underground cellar, Bavaria, Germany
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Endangered Species Day
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A unique perspective from Italy’s ‘golden sands’
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A century since Tut s tomb was discovered