Anyhoo, so I took the downtown train straight to Wall Street. Now we imagine things to be in a certain way before we see them, or we imagine people to be of a certain kind before we actually meet them. I often form a mental perception of things. So I had imagined Wall Street to be a crowded, busy place where I would find investment bankers dressed in Armani suits strutting around. Instead what I saw was a narrow street swarming with tourists. Obviously because I went on a Saturday! So I found myself in the middle of Wall Street, with the Trump building and Tiffany’s on either side.
And with the Trump building on my right and Tiffany’s on my left, I caught a glimpse of Trinity Church:
I walked towards it and at the intersection of Wall Street and Broad Street I saw a huge United States flag looming in front of me. And that my friends is NYSE:
And at the intersection, on the left was the JP Morgan building:
And on the right was the Federal hall with a statue of George Washington in front:
I walked further down Wall Street towards Trinity Church on Broadway and I found myself on the other side of NYSE:
I went across Broadway and inside the Church. At the entrance of Trinity Church:
Here are a few pictures that I clicked inside the church:
And this was the cemetery on the side of the Church:
Here's how Wall Street looks from the entrance of the Church:
Doesn't it look really narrow? Sort of reminds me of Burra bazaar in Kolkata. Ok don't laugh. I couldn't help but notice the similarity! After all, both are business districts! :D
And then I marched towards the charging bull - the moment that I had waited for ever since I set my foot on NYC soil was finally here:
I walked towards the WTC site on the other side of Broadway and I saw this cube outside Brown brothers Harriman:
So I had to do this :D
After demonstrating my strength at the cube, I proceeded to the WTC site. I cannot even begin to imagine the kind of panic that would have set in on 9/11 when the two towers came crashing down in the financial hub. Construction of the new towers is in progress:
For a $5.00 student pass, I browsed through the gallery started as an initiative by WTC survivors and families.
Inside the WTC memorial gallery - two guns, both 357 Magnum revolvers, encrusted in melted concrete, were recovered from Federal evidence lockers at the World Trade Center
Photos and puppet salvaged from the home of a Battery Park City resident
An actual elevator sign board from one of the WTC towers
Names of people who died in the 9/11 attacks
Pictures of people who died in 9/11 attacks
This quilt was prepared by young children and became a means of emotional recovery for them and the firemen who received it post 9/11. It expresses their appreciation of things that are important to them in their daily lives. Pretty moving huh?
Oh I also saw the American Stock Exchange:
and World Financial Center:
Waterfront at Battery Park:
The sphere behind me used to be in the plaza between the WTC towers. It's deformed now.
Eternal flame that was lit on September 11, 2002
Then I proceeded to take the Staten Island ferry. It takes you from Manhattan to Staten Island and back for free! On the way I saw this:
That's a real man! He had painted himself. And was standing in that pose for hours. At least I saw him twice in 2 hours and he was in the same pose. And that's how he earns his daily bread. And we think we have a tough job!
Finally saw the Statue of Liberty, albeit at a distance! Here's a view of Manhattan from the ferry:
And one of Brooklyn bridge (Again, it reminds me of Kolkata's second Howrah Bridge!)
and when I got off the ferry, this man was still there in the same pose!
And thus came an end to M's day out in NYC. Oh I forgot to mention that I snacked on a burrito bowl at Chipotle. So at the end of the day, even though my feet ached for a massage, I was one happy soul! :)
