I was visiting family in New York City for Thanksgiving weekend when I literally stumbled upon the most wondrous spectacle I have seen in a long time and it happened of all places while trying to find the exit to the World Trade Center PATH station that is still very much under construction.
Opening the doors I was instantly transported to architect Santiago Calatrava's stunning and inspiring pedestrian tunnel that recently opened to the public as the first part of what will be the World Trade Center Transportation Hub. The heavenly design features Calatrava's signature articulated ribs on the ceiling and an all-white look that gives the tunnel an otherworldly feel to it.
The 600-foot-long tunnel connects commuters from the PATH station directly to the shopping, restaurants and offices of Brookfield Place (formerly World Financial Center), the ferry terminal and other areas of Battery Park City.
While walking down the pathway towards Brookfield Place, on the right side are overblown images of everyday New Yorkers with quotes from them about their thoughts on living in a changing city. There is also a sign describing how portions of the original World Trade Center slurry walls dating from 1970 and portions of the Hudson River Bulkhead from 1890 were removed to enable construction of the pedestrian pathway.
Eventually there will be shops lining the pedestrian tunnel as the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has partnered with retail developer Westfield Group, which will lease and operate the shops. The tunnel will also eventually connect Brookfield Place and the PATH station to the newly renovated Fulton Street Transit Center where riders can connect to the A, C, J, Z, 4, 5, E, R and 1 trains.
The World Trade Center Transportation Hub is expected to be completed in 2015 at a cost of $4 billion. It will serve approximately 200,000 PATH and subway riders a day.
Here are more photos of the new pedestrian pathway:
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