My first day in the big Apple, we went to see Ground Zero. It was amazing to me how at the same time it seemed as if so much work and so little work had been done....
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This was a private memorial that AMEX has made for the 11 employees of their's that were lost that terrible day. This memorial was so moving to me - so much meaning... It's called "Eleven Tears" (see below for more information on the memorial)
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Eleven Tears
Eleven silver strands of light,
Eleven facets of a gleaming heart,
Eleven tears, forever falling, on
Eleven names in a tranquil pool.
While the government is still years away from constructing even the simplest memorial to the thousands who died on September 11, 2001, American Express has commissioned and constructed a work of art to honor the 11 AMEX employees killed in the terrorist attack.
Entitled 11 Tears, it occupies a lobby corner of American Express’ corporate headquarters at the World Financial Center. The work was designed by landscape architect Ken Smith, a native of Iowa who now lives and works in lower Manhattan. It “unites sky and ground, heaven and earth” and incorporates natural elements: water, light, quartz crystal and black granite. At the center is a 600 pound tear-shaped piece of Brazilian quartz, which was carved to have 11 sides, one for each victim.
The massive crystal is set into a stainless steel ring and suspended from the ceiling by 11 thin cables. Beneath the point of the upside-down tear is an 11 sided black granite pool; each side is inscribed with the name of an employee and a few words, selected by those who knew them best, to summarize the people they were.
At random intervals, 11 drops of water fall from the ceiling into the pool, creating intersecting ripples, “symbolizing the connections among the close-knit group of colleagues and friends.” The fountain is surrounded by benches of matching black granite.
Visitors sitting there and looking through the windows find themselves gazing directly at the site where the 11 died, working as American Express travel counselors on the 94th floor of One World Trade Center
Eleven silver strands of light,
Eleven facets of a gleaming heart,
Eleven tears, forever falling, on
Eleven names in a tranquil pool.
While the government is still years away from constructing even the simplest memorial to the thousands who died on September 11, 2001, American Express has commissioned and constructed a work of art to honor the 11 AMEX employees killed in the terrorist attack.
Entitled 11 Tears, it occupies a lobby corner of American Express’ corporate headquarters at the World Financial Center. The work was designed by landscape architect Ken Smith, a native of Iowa who now lives and works in lower Manhattan. It “unites sky and ground, heaven and earth” and incorporates natural elements: water, light, quartz crystal and black granite. At the center is a 600 pound tear-shaped piece of Brazilian quartz, which was carved to have 11 sides, one for each victim.
The massive crystal is set into a stainless steel ring and suspended from the ceiling by 11 thin cables. Beneath the point of the upside-down tear is an 11 sided black granite pool; each side is inscribed with the name of an employee and a few words, selected by those who knew them best, to summarize the people they were.
At random intervals, 11 drops of water fall from the ceiling into the pool, creating intersecting ripples, “symbolizing the connections among the close-knit group of colleagues and friends.” The fountain is surrounded by benches of matching black granite.
Visitors sitting there and looking through the windows find themselves gazing directly at the site where the 11 died, working as American Express travel counselors on the 94th floor of One World Trade Center
From there we went and had lunch right on the water, looking out towards Brooklyn....
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and then we decided to do better than just look over at Brooklyn - we got an ice cream and decided to walk to Brookyln across this little structure....
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this was the view looking back towards Manhattan:
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Out towards Lady Liberty:
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Chiara on the Bridge:
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Me on the bridge with the water out behind me:
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We headed back to Westchester to Chiara's house where I quickly fell asleep after a long day in the big city! We had big things happening the next day for sure.... stay tuned!
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