Visiting the Freedom Tower

While my cousin was in town, my parents thought we should visit the Freedom Tower. On the one hand, we wanted to visit the 9/11 memorial and pay our respects to those who perished on that tragic day, but my parents also wanted to take my cousin to the top of the Freedom Tower, so she could get a really gorgeous panoramic view of Manhattan. My father had made all of the arrangements: visit the memorial, tour the 9/11 museum, visit the observation deck, and then dinner at the Freedom Tower restaurant (One Dine). It was a strict schedule, with every movement timed. 

Our journey began at 3:30 pm on a Friday in Manhattan. We decided it would be easiest to take a taxi from Lincoln Center (where my parents were staying with my cousin) down to the Freedom Tower. Our guided tour of the 9/11 museum was at 4:30 pm, however, we were asked to arrive at 4 pm, so we agreed that 30 minutes should be sufficient enough time for us to get to the museum in time. Boy, were we wrong. Perhaps the fates were conspiring against us or we just had plain bad luck, but our cab ride to the Freedom Tower ended up being 1.5 hours! For whatever reason, the West Side Highway just did not move!

So close, and yet, so far…

The time was 5 pm and we had finally arrived at the Freedom Tower and the 9/11 Memorial. We had missed our guided tour, but still had some spare time until we were due at the observation tower, so we ran to the 9/11 museum. We talked to a staff member, explained what had happened, and was then ushered into the museum. We had to pass through security inspections and metal detectors, but once we were given the all clear, we entered the 9/11 Museum.

I elected not to take photographs in the museum out of respect for the dead and the events of 9/11. To be honest, I don't really know that I want to talk about the museum and the nature of the displays on my blog. I will say that I felt quite uncomfortable the entire duration we were there. I was haunted by this uneasiness that I cannot describe. I was also really disturbed to see so many visitors, a significant number of whom took selfies and/or smiling family photographs at the memorial and within the museum. Do they not remember that people died? Seeing such behavior did not sit well with me. It wasn't so much the photography that I found troublesome, but rather, the smiling. 

I am a historian. I love museums and I enjoy studying the past, but this was different. Yes, 9/11 happened 14 years ago, but this is an event that I lived through. Unlike World War II, which is my speciality, this is a traumatic moment in history that I vividly recollect and it felt strange to walk through a museum, which reminded me of things that I already remember. I recall being in my 7th grade English class when another teacher walked in, whispered something into my teachers ear, and both went pale. I remember my English teacher running out of our classroom with no explanation. I remember consoling my best friend in the bathroom hours later, because we were finally told of what was going on and her father worked in the World Trade Center. (He was fortunate enough to escape unharmed). I remember driving to a hill about 5 minutes from my house in NEW JERSEY and watching the smoke billowing from the World Trade Center. I am blessed in that I did not lose anyone in this great tragedy, however, being bombarded at the museum with news imagery, debris, testimonies --- it was just too much. It hit too close to home. I wasn't ready for this and was relieved when my dad said it was time to leave. 

The Freedom Tower

I took this at the base of the Freedom Tower, looking up. I think this is rather amazing.

In order to visit the Freedom Tower Observation Deck, there is a special elevator that one must purchase tickets for and book a specific time for. Although our dinner reservation at the top of the Freedom Tower was at 8:30 pm, the only elevator time available to us was 5:30. (Don't ask -- it's a long story). So, we arrived at the Freedom Tower a little bit before our designated elevator time, passed through security, and was then granted access to the observation deck. 

The elevator ride is not cheap --- $54 per person round trip --- but the view of Manhattan that you then have access to is rather spectacular. I thought the panoramic view that I saw at the top of the Empire State Building was impressive, but the Freedom Tower blew me away! We lucked out in that we had gorgeous weather and thus, we could see everything clearly. I waved to uptown and downtown Manhattan, as well as Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. And of course, I sent warm salutations to my state --- New Jersey! 

The Statue of Liberty

Lower East Side of Manhattan, The East River, and parts of Brooklyn

Manhattan, north of the Freedom Tower

We probably walked around the observation deck for about 20~30 minutes. We snapped lots of photographs and just took in the magnificent panoramic view before us. Yes, the observation deck was quite crowded, but that didn't stop us from enjoying ourselves. It's nice that we took our time and saw everything the observation deck had to offer, however, we still had 1.5 hours to kill up there before dinner! Unable to leave and come back in, my family decided we should just grab a drink at the restaurant bar, schmooze, and wait for our dinner reservation. 

The bar was nice however, the view was a bit obstructed by other people/tables, which was unfortunate. It was a swanky bar and also a pricey one. They had your standard selection of alcohol, as well as a few specialty cocktails. I tried a refreshing citrus based cocktail, which I enjoyed very much. It was very tasty, pretty, and easy to drink. Chatting and sipping cocktails was a lovely and relaxing way to pass the time, as we waited for our dinner reservation.

My drink