Ground Zero: Lower Manhattan As It Looks Today

todd: 23rd Apr 2002 - 17:48 GMT

Peter, where did you take these shots from? I'm looking to try and find a place where I can take a series of similar pictures.
you can email me at seidelts@hotmail.com

Maggi: 2nd May 2002 - 23:47 GMT

It's hard to believe that there were once buildings there. I think these are the first pictures I've seen that really show how big that area is; the construction vehicles look so small in that hole. Thanks for sharing these!

Peter: 3rd May 2002 - 00:19 GMT

also: the photos above are the former foundation site of WTC 1. the entire site for both buildings is exceptionally huge.

elaine: 19th Apr 2005 - 09:38 GMT

Re: Ground Zero: lower Manhattan as it looks today what's it like today today?

Peter: 19th Apr 2005 - 13:12 GMT

similar but different... as in, the space is similar... the ramp you can see biscecting the middle photo is very much still there, and is the only entrance to "the hole" as far as i can tell, save perhaps for a few staircases. almost all of the scattered debris have been cleaned up, and hte walls faced off with cement and steel reenforcements. that area to the right of the middle photo- where the cranes are parked- now houses the rebuilt wtc train station that connects the PATH train system to lower manhattan- the path trains being the light-rail commuter line that goes west across the hudson river into new jersey (path stands for Port Authority Trans Hudson, btw). the station is sort of "temporary" in that it is mostly open-air and will probably be rebuilt in some other form when construction commences on teh site again... though it will most likely be some time... the only thing i seem to ever see on the site is small projects to drain collected rain-water and the scattering of fresh gravel as it erodes/washes out of the hole. ill keep you posted. ill try to make some photos of the site as it looks today, on my cameraphone, when i go through it on the way home this afternoon.

Marc: 20th Apr 2005 - 02:50 GMT

yo john and debra at cryptome.org/cartome.org have some dope pics- these are amazing sites, especially the eyeballing series where they take satellite photos of buildings like fort knox, classified military installations, etc and describe the structures from their perspective- they are both architects and dyed in the wool red socialists who grew up in the socialist garment district of nyc in the 30s.. anyway after 9/11 they rented a helicopter and did a flyby of the fresh kills investigation site, aka the place where all the debris frm the WTC got moved to- and of course the videos show the police, etc destroying what could be considered "evidence", before any insurance company could investigate the port authority's claims.. check out their sites or here's a direct link for pics http://www.not-ground-zero.org/freshkills-photos.htm

make.love.not.war.: 3rd Nov 2005 - 14:39 GMT

wow just goes to show what hatred and intolerance can lead to. PEACE 4EVA!!!

jack: 18th Jan 2006 - 23:07 GMT

peter where you took the photos was in front of my building. 130 cedar street. im dying to get some photos of it. i can tell some stories about that area.

Ashely: 9th Feb 2006 - 21:47 GMT

when i was little i used to go there and ride my bike and one day i went there to get a drink because it was sooo hot out so my dad got me a drink and i remmber that when i walked in it was soooo big and then my dad called my name and till this day i always wanted to go back and see what it looks like but i cant because im still to young so what i want to know is why?why would somone do somthing like this?and now so many kids teens and parents cant take there kids there because of what it looks like!my cuzzins wouldn't even come with me and my father wont even take me!!!!!WHY????

des: 9th Feb 2006 - 22:03 GMT

is this still the clean up or are they constructing already?

des: 9th Feb 2006 - 22:06 GMT

oh!from what i see the pictures are 4 years old.how about a update peter?

Catherine Penfold-Waxman: 9th Feb 2006 - 22:06 GMT

It looks better today than it did. This shot is by Mitch Waxman, taken shortly after Sept 11.

Angela Wilson: 18th May 2006 - 23:35 GMT

OOooh! It has been five years since the incident and I am blessed to see the amount of hard work and energy to rebuild. I've just seen the movie UA 93, the flight that crashed in pennsylvania. I am still upset to how this all happened and felt compassion for the families that were left behind.

Today, I pray that these families are holding up. I know the true God to whom this country stands and believes that He will and is watching over them with angels by their sides. He promise never to leave nor forsake his children.

Pacific: 4th Jul 2006 - 00:57 GMT

really troubles me that your countrys own intelligence agency would orcestrate such an event, all for the greed.

Skyler Starling: 9th Sep 2006 - 13:33 GMT

thosepictures are amazing. I've seen "the flight that fought back.""United 93 down" and others but nothing like this.

Patty: 16th Sep 2006 - 11:47 GMT

I look at these photos and see how so many lives were taken "GOD BLESS THEM ALL"I don't believe any thing else should ever stand there.

ross: 30th Sep 2006 - 21:12 GMT

hey im from Engalnd and i was reall y touched by the event. and i think they should build a big monument with all the names of the people who lost their lives.

ross: 1st Oct 2006 - 19:30 GMT

911truth.tripod.com/truth.html check this out...

under: 18th Feb 2007 - 22:43 GMT

yeh and i wonder if united states to blame may this was a setup by bush....makes you think for accuse to go to war...

Kady: 1st Apr 2007 - 21:57 GMT

I was just there a week or so ago. I couldn't get many pictures of the ongoing construction, but I have several of the memorial set up at the WTC PATH station. Here's a few...

Amber: 5th May 2007 - 03:22 GMT

I really think that the photos are nice, My sisters aunt died in the world Trade Center in tower 2 on 9/11, but anyways they are nice photos of ground zero.

vic: 7th May 2007 - 04:35 GMT

im doing a class report on this and these pic were very helpful. i showed my friend and she said she felt teary eyed thnx for opeing our eyes

charlene: 14th May 2007 - 22:34 GMT

really nice pics...love the one with the fire men...love new york.

Miss Love: 27th Jun 2007 - 14:47 GMT

After all this time, looking at this pictures my eyes still get tears in them and my heart still go out to all of those lives and families.
It is just so sad.

Claire: 31st Jul 2007 - 11:21 GMT

They are good photos. I still get really sad about 9/11. My heart also goes out to all of those who lost somebody that day.
God bless x

Sarah: 11th Sep 2007 - 09:59 GMT

Moving photos. My thoughts are with all the people who lost a loved one, a friend, a collegeue. It saddens me that so many people had to go through the motions of such a terrible day.

S. CHEEK: 11th Sep 2007 - 12:32 GMT

DIDO TO THE THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS EVERYONE HAS HAD ON THIS UNFORGOTTEN DATE NO ONE FORGET THE LOVED ONES LOST THE LOVED ONES WHO SERVED AND STILL SERVING TODAY WHETHER ITS MILITARY, POLICE, OR FIREFIGHTERS.

wallace: 11th Sep 2007 - 16:28 GMT

11th of september 2007:
the shots of the construction site are amazing. great angles

trish: 5th Oct 2007 - 00:37 GMT

wow great photos
peter if your still around
could u emial me at tgdr4@msn.com
we are visiting the site taking the staten island ferry this sat oct 6th
would like to ask you about the city and how toget places..

M. NICK: 5th Oct 2007 - 17:03 GMT

I see that they are doing a very nice job there.they should build a monument there,for all the people who died in the buildings.

Cynthia: 20th Oct 2007 - 04:54 GMT

i would like to see photos as of today, october 19,2007, of what ground zero looks like, thanks!

Cynthia: 20th Oct 2007 - 04:58 GMT

i would appreciate if anyone who has recent photos as of today could send me some at shortielady2006@aol.com! thanks again! have a great day & weekend to all!=)....

Peter: 10th Dec 2007 - 16:43 GMT

you know, i really hate it when people repeat blatantly knee-jerk (and ultimately, meaningless) mantras like "Never Forget what happened that day!" ...as if its going to just, you know, skip right out of our memory or something. its a reminder to remember something we (or at least i) cant ever forget, even if i tried.

it just sounds cloying, and is reminiscent of our nation's general propensity towards saber-rattling.

why are we supposed to remember? so we can keep rationalizing this pointless war? so we can, for the zillionth time, picture the towers falling in our minds, with the death, destruction and people jumping? so we can rally and shout "go america!"?

yes, by default, i shall never forget, but i am wary of those that are constantly reminding us to remember.

Bob: March 7th 2008: 7th Mar 2008 - 23:20 GMT

Are you serious? If you seen a termite in your house, would kill just that one or would you tear the house apart and kill every one of those bastards? That's just one reason we are over there fighting. Remember this, not one of our troops is over there because the govt. made them go, they want to be there, and God Bless Them for being so unselfish. We are gaining on alquida (spelling?) and I'm feeling better about it, I don't know about anyone else. And I'd also rather take Hell to there country than make more people suffer in ours. Like the song says "If it were up to me I'd show it everyday". For all the people who have fallen and their families, my prayers are with you always. GOD BLESS THE U.S.A.

Peter: 7th Mar 2008 - 23:37 GMT

bob: i was poised to go to great effort to provide you links to mass-media sources that refute almost everything you say- about the misplacement of blame in iraq, about soldiers who refuse to go back, about lives and families of patriotic americans torn apart by our government's blatant sham and lie of a war.

but then i got to your closing "GOD BLESS THE U.S.A." statement, and thought "you know, this guy is an ignorant american; it wouldnt be worth my time because he wont bother to read it, much less be open-minded enough to care".

but damn, man. do you live under a rock? i took the above photos, and i watched the wtc fall right in front of my own eyes, and i neither agree with ANYTHING you say, nor do i empathize with ANY of your deluded hallucinations about freedom and patriotism, and i wholeheartedly hope that every american soldier over there is brought back as soon as possible before theyre forced to die painfully torturous deaths for a lie of a war that is continued simply to provide an excuse (cover up) for ongoing (and very well documented) american deviousness in world politics.

its people like you who believe such a simple line as "al qaeda [thats the prioper spelling, btw] ran around the trade center like termites and killed a buncha good ole americans!" that make the fight for the truth and acceptance of reasonable doubts about the american government nearly impossible.

open your eyes. start here: www.911truth.org

and if any of that strikes your fancy, and you can come back here and discuss it with me and prove youre not a total lost cause, i assure you that the pleasure would be mine to discuss it until you understand.

Tom: 8th Apr 2008 - 13:29 GMT

hi, i'm from the u.k, so u probably won't care what i think, but sod it. I dnt kno the politics of your country v.well, but wether it's a cover up or not, the terrible truth is thousands of lives were lost that day, people who didn't deserve to die. Look I ain't gettin into a debate about 9/11 conspiracies, people can look at whatever evidence is available and be grown up to make up their own opinions, but as above lives were lost, and to me that means more than any silly allegations or accusations, as a u.k citizen i've heard things like there were bombs in the building, the french filmmakers jules and gideon naudet who made a 9/11 documentary were in on it, but none of that matters. what matters is how much courage,love, and determination people showed in the aftermath of the tragedy. As an outsider your country became even stronger, as a country you defied al-qaeda and said you may have taken our buildings you may have taken our peoples lives, but kno this we are a united front and we will hunt you down and make you pay for the hurt and suffering you have caused to so many people in our country. Well like i said at the start you may not care what i think, but i believe as an ever changing world, we need to stop terrorism.

Peter: 8th Apr 2008 - 15:50 GMT

tom: i think its ludicrous to simply look at the "thousands of lives lost that day" without trying to dig deeper into the why and how of it. i think it disrespects both those who died and those of us who continue to live in the aftermath, either here in new york city, in america as a whole, and generally, the entire world.

yes, the "courage, love, and determination" matters, is respected and is appreciated... but thats just a drop in the bucket. singling those factors out as the only empirical worth of 9/11 is like telling someone with an awful flu that they merely have a cough.

furthermore, as an american, i do not think our "country became stronger" at all. quite the opposite. neither do i think we "defied al-qaeda" (what, exactly do they have to do with 9/11 anyway?). neither do i think that america is a "united front" in the least. do non-americans think we are? i think if you asked just about any american, of any political/religious/social background, we'd all agree that were hardly unified. especially in regards to international politics.

then we have the iraq war, which perhaps you think is our retaliation for 9/11. here, i remind you that over 60% of americans are opposed to this misguided, pointless war.

and in regards to your statement "we will hunt you down and make you pay for the hurt and suffering you have caused to so many people in our country"... who are we hunting down? why are we hunting them down? are they really "paying"? how? is revenge the answer? is their death any better/worse/justified than those who died on 9/11? is revenge on a people that, though arguably dispassionate towards human rights, may have little to no connection to 9/11 the answer?

i dont think so.

your overly-generalized blanket statements spouting revenge, misplaced nationalism and "stopping terrorism" are part of the problem. when people, like yourself, rally around emotion and focus on the glossy surface and never bother do dig (or think) much deeper than what status-quo thought or media reports continually spout, were never going to get any answers. nor are we going to get any solutions.

as a new yorker, american, and world citizen, i do appreciate the elements of your comment that im sure you intended to be a compassionate, empathetic, supportive reply. but it does worry me to know that there are countless people out there in the world that believe exactly what you think, and are content to cater towards misplaced american nationalism without casting a suspicious eye at the events that happened on 9/11, the mystery surrounding them, and the illogical aftermaths our snap reaction continue to cause on a global scale. im not trying to spout any particular "conspiracy theories" here, myself, but if you dont think something fishy has been going on, then you really havent bothered to look at the facts and pause for a moment and truly think about them.

Josefine: 18th Apr 2008 - 08:27 GMT

hey, I´m frome sweden and at our english lesson were going to work about ground zero. I would like, in all respect, to know something about what is going on there today. are some new buildings planned? or is it going to be a memory place?

God: 18th Apr 2008 - 15:37 GMT

It would be great if they just left it as a memory place. Last time they showed it on the news, was about 3 months ago. And it was still nothing rebuilt, nothing touched. Just like on September 11,2001. God Bless All.

Peter: 18th Apr 2008 - 16:05 GMT

are you crazy, or just seriously uninformed? nothing rebuilt, nothing touched? thats not true at all! i commute through the WTC site/station every day, and theres so much going on there... sure, its a slow process, but its a radically different place than it was 6-7 years ago, for sure, and changes substantially month by month. they just moved a huge chunk of the temporary path station several hundred feet to the northwest in order to make room to begin the new permanent station there.

it seems like the rest of america- those that arent connected to the wtc at all, and dont see it daily- seem to think that the site should have gone from rubble to a completed memorial within a year. get real. this is one of the more ambitious construction projects nyc has ever seen, coupled with a huge cleanup effort as well as trying to do it in a way thats sensitive to the historial nature of the site... its complicated.

and left as a "memory place"? just leave 16+ acres of some of the world's most valuable real estate sitting vacant as a testament to something terrible? i think most new yorkers would agree with me that its time to move on some. you can rebuild and show respect simultaneously, you know.

anyway, heres a quick overview:

september, 2001:

summer 2005:

many images spanning 12/15/07 - 1/04/08:
www.panynj.gov/info/wtc_progress.html

please do your research before you start spreading false-truths about such a volatile topic...

anon (adsl-068-209-117-167.sip.asm.bellsouth.net): 26th May 2008 - 22:39 GMT

wish i could go to ny

Country Boy: 8th Jul 2008 - 04:54 GMT

Peter, am sorry I didn't see this months ago so I could respond then. Thank you for your photos and update on the progress at "ground zero". I apologize for everyone for not being as updated or as "informed" as you are. No need to call us names, however. I visited the 991 truth site and really found nothing but requests. Requests to question the info that was made available, requests for support (money) and help to deliver a message that something (still not sure what) was being pulled over on everyone. This sounds somewhat similar to the battle cry of a current presidential candidate. He says he will bring change but never says what, you (the website) says there is some other truth but never tells it.. As far as the Iraqi war. I'm not happy that we have young men there, my grandparents were not happy to have sons in France and Germany either. Ask your jewish friends if Germany had any weapons of mass destruction.. they did, his name was Hitler. We helped rebuild their country and now we get some of our finest medical instruments, automobiles etc from there.. ironic.

Peter: 8th Jul 2008 - 12:54 GMT

tangential pseudopolitical rant? check! ignorance of actual facts? check! invocation of godwin's law? check!

Shannon: 13th Aug 2008 - 06:34 GMT

Peter: I dig every point you're making and wish there were more like you (us) out there. The backwards ignorance evident in previous comments is terrifying...really! The propaganda machine with much help from FOX news has been working over time looking for fools like these.

kelly: 14th Sep 2008 - 20:14 GMT

i just wanna say september 11 was a sad and scarey day for everyone and i just wanna say that im sorry to all the familys and friends who lost someone that day. It would be nice to see gound zero left as a memory place with a wall with everyones name that died there that day and make it a place where familys can go and be with there loved one or make it a garden with flowers and just leave it be and not to rebuild.

eyeofodin: 14th Sep 2008 - 20:41 GMT

If you would like to follow the construction of the Freedom Tower (the tallest of the towers to replace the twins), here is the link http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=419362 Go to the last page if you would like to see how far along the construction is. It is definitely starting to pick up speed, and the design, imo, is gorgeous, as well as the other buildings being built on the plot.