Manhattan Unlocked Historical and Architectural Walking Tours: WTC progress

"No other city is so spitefully incoherent"

--James Baldwin

Welcome to Manhattan Unlocked Walking Tours

Discover the hidden-in-plain-sight histories and have fun decoding the streetwalls of Manhattan across iconic neighborhoods. Manhattan Unlocked answers the question: "why is this building next to that building, and that building next this building?"

About Us

Manhattan Unlocked began as a blog over a decade ago to decode the complex and captivating histories behind New York's constellation of neighborhoods that stretch nearly five miles from the Battery to Central Park--what most people consider New York City. It was a journey to test the waters for a book project, and the results were promising enough to dive into the search for the single-story history and "unified theory" behind New York City's instantly recognizable, wholly enigmatic built environment across its many neighborhoods. One method of research and exploration involved immersive, streetscape walking tours for key neighborhoods, especially those along the path of Broadway and Fifth Avenue, from the Battery to Central Park.

Our Walking Tours

Join Us on a Walking Tour...Click the big blue button below for more details, and to book any of the following tours:

Midtown Manhattan Art and Architecture Walking Tour

Midtown west, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Park Avenue

Holdouts! Based on the Book by Alpern & Durst

Midtown east, Grand Central, Rockefeller Center

Recreate the Most Requested Walking Tour of 1840s New York

Astor Place, NoHo, SoHo, Chinatown, Foley Square

A Disastrous History of Housing the Poor

Foley Square, Chinatown and The Lower East Side

Explore the Ruins of a Forgotten City in the Middle of Manhattan

Madison Square, Nomad, the Flatiron District, Chelsea

In the meantime, the old blog for "testing the waters" remains below.

Click Here to See Tours

Friday, November 26, 2010

WTC progress

Just a quick post and a few pictures to show the progress at the WTC site, the soon to be Reflecting Absence memorial in the footprints of the towers. They tested the waterfalls a few weeks ago.

I haven't gotten choked up about September 11 in a long time, but the size of the memorial is staggering when you see it for the first time. It was difficult to view, but I guess it's supposed to be.

That's part of the footprint of the South Tower, I think that's a generator and lights being hoisted up.

The South Tower footprint/Reflecting Absence being born...

The view from the Winter Garden. I've been at this spot maybe a dozen times since September 11 and for years the feeling was like you were looking at a construction site. With the memorials in view now, the feeling here is starting to change.