A Rainy Day in Manhattan!

Trip Day:	92	Latitude:	40°42.61 ' N	Locks Today:	0
Miles Today:	0	Longitude:	074°02.47' W	Locks Total:	8
Total Miles:	1,799	Location:	Liberty Landing - NYC

This was a rainy day in Manhattan, so we donned our raingear and took the 8 0’clock ferry across the Hudson River to Battery Park.  We have done the basic tourist package of New York, so today we stayed in lower Manhattan returning to some of our favorite sites and then pay our respects at the 9/11 Memorial. 

Trinity Church, in the heart of the Wall Street district, was first charted in 1697 in the trading post of New Amsterdam.    This is the third church to stand on the site built in 1846, standing 202 feet long and 78 feet wide and the height of the roof is 80 feet.  The tower stands 280 feet to the top of the cross.  The doors with bronze sculpted biblical scenes are a  memorial to John Jacob Astor III.

The church cemetery has gravesites dating back to 1681,  but perhaps it’s most famous is the tomb of Alexander  Hamilton. 

From Trinity Church steps one looks out at Broadway & Wall Streets.

George Washington took the oath of office at the Federal Hall in 1789—we stood in his footsteps!

Our visit to the Memorial dedicated to the victims of the 9/11 attack left us with a better understanding of what it meant to be a New Yorker on that fateful day. 

 

The families of the victims donated photographs of those lost in the Twin Towers for the museum.

The two memorial pools stand in the footprint of the original towers—52,000 gallons of recycled water flows over the walls each minute.  The names of the 2,983 men, women and children who perished are inscribed in bronze around the perimeters of the two pools.  It is impossible to understand the scale of these fountains in these photos. 

Ground Zero is a hard hat zone with multiple buildings under construction.  One World Trade Center will be the tallest building in NYC when the spire is added it will reach 1,776 feet above street level. 

The museum building will  utilize some of the salvaged steel beams from the original twin towers.  The park  surrounding the memorial fountains is a stunning place to reflect and remember.

St. Paul’s Chapel also has an amazing place in history for it was here on April 30, 1789 that George Washington came after taking the oath of office.  St. Paul’s new history is forever  entwined with the events of September 11, 2001 and is known as the chapel that stood.  The grounds covered with debris from the towers, it became the place of refuge for the firefighters and workers of ground zero.  Food and water were provided on the steps of the chapel and workers rested and slept on the pews.  George Washington’s pew box was used to administer medical assistance. 

At the park on Liberty Landing where the boat is docked stands a monument with the names engraved of New Jersey residents who lost their lives on 9/11.  The two walls are erected to sight across the Hudson where the view of the twin towers stood as landmarks on the waterfront.

Views from the marina at Liberty Landing.