9/11 Museum, the High Line, Empire State Building

Hello everyone,

Today was our final day in New York City, and we picked a few favourites to finish off our time here together.

Firstly we caught the subway downtown and went to the 9/11 Museum, which Rob and I have both been to previously when we each visited, but Rob really wanted to do again as it is very well laid out. We first went to the reflection pools which sit exactly where the foundation of the north and south twin towers did. The plaques at the pools bear the names of the 2977 people who were killed that day.

Once we entered the museum we wandered through the underground area which still has some of the slurry wall where the Twin Towers’ foundations were. We saw the last column that was removed from the foundation, some stairs people escaped down and some of the aerial from the top of the north tower. We then went into the Memorial Gallery which has photos of all those who died, and we looked up a man called John Sylvester White whose birthday it was today, as we had noticed a white rose next to his name at the memorial. He would’ve been 70 today, and his relatives described him as a lovely person who would help people. He operated the elevators inside the building and had done so for 27 years. His wife and daughters had moved to Florida and he was to join them later that year.

The World Trade Center complex was actually comprised of seven buildings, but the Twin Towers were the standouts. In the 1950s as more tall buildings were built in midtown, this drew businesses away from lower Manhattan. The Downtown Lower Manhattan Association envisioned a project to revitalise the area and draw businesses back down near Wall Street, and in 1973 the complex was completed. They were the tallest buildings in New York at the time of their collapse, and the tallest in the world when they were built.

We went through the main section which was a history of the day with lots of information, videos etc. Just as when I had visited last time, 2-3 hours in I found myself very overwhelmed and feeling emotional, Rob said the same. We watched footage of the many people jumping out of the towers, and listened to audio of people calling their loved ones for the last time and taking over United 93 from the hijackers. Seeing people jumping out of the towers is one of the vivid memories I have of 9/11 from Australia as an eight year old. I remember my brother asking why people were doing this and Mum trying to explain to him when he was just six years old. It was one of those days where as a kid you realised the world wasn't as happy and sparkly all the time as you thought it was.

Eventually the exhibition was then about the hijackers and their training to fly planes etc, but I didn't read much of this at all as they don't deserve any attention. We then went into a gallery about "after 9/11" and read about the how the memorial came to fruition etc. The memorial and museum were opened in 2011. I visited in late 2016, but I think some of the galleries have been changed and updated since I last visited. Terrifyingly, something we read towards the end was that 20,000 separate humans remains were located during recovery, and that more than 40% of victims' families never received any identifiable remains of their loved ones. There were tissue dispensers throughout the museum and it was just as well, because some of these facts and videos left you needing them! Sadly, many others have experienced chronic illness or since died due to exposure to toxins in the air that day too.

After a full on three hours, we both agreed it was worth visiting again but we caught the train uptown to do something a bit more cheery. We had a bagel each at a cafe and then walked the High Line. Again, both of us had walked this previously, but both of us had walked it in the winter when all the plants were dead. The High Line is an elevated walkway in the Meatpacking District and Garment District which has been converted from an old railway line into a park. When I last visited there were no plants and flowers blooming, but lots of artwork and sculptures. Today it was full of flowers and greenery, and lunchtime sunbathers in the 24 degree weather. We really enjoyed the walk but agreed it was much more crowded than in winter. At one point there was one piece of artwork, a pair of binoculars. When Rob looked into them his eyes were projected onto a board facing the road!

At the end of the High Line was a new building that opened in 2021 with 'Edge NYC' observation deck. This building is used as Stark Enterprises in some of 'The Avengers' movies. Here there was also a collection of sun lounges and a big screen playing Premier League, so we sat and watched for a while. I remembered this end of the walk being hard to find (we started up this end last visit) so now that it's all built up it seems more popular and easier to find.

We headed back to the room for a rest and then headed to the Empire State Building for a 6pm visit. Again we had both visited before, but this time we came for daylight views, sunset views and night views. All up we stayed for three hours and it was well worth it. The views, sunset and city lights were all stunning. We could see for miles. There were a few other new buildings in the view that weren’t here when I was last, too!

We've loved our time in New York together picking our favourite things to do and a few new ones, as we had only visited separately before. It's gone very quick and we are off to Washington DC tomorrow. I can't wait to see my friend Maria and her baby bump, her husband Eric and their dog Wonton!

Love to all
Claire
Xoxox