Well, it’s that time of year again — time to start up the “Remembering 9/11” stories. And it being the fifth anniversary of the attacks, we can expect a whole lot of remembering.
Salon has a good piece today (though, to my dismay, they also have a special logo for their anniversary coverage) on how the attacks of 9/11 have changed architecture and urban planning. Jersey barriers, giant concrete planters and other methods of trying to stop truck bombs have created a visual reminder — and an ugly one at that — that we are living under siege. It’s funny, I don’t even really see them anymore unless they get in my way. And they do get in the way. A lot.
I looked at the slideshow included with the article and realized how many of those barriers have just faded into the background for me. But most of them weren’t there five years ago.
Bonus — if you look at the second-to-last photo in the slideshow (the last thumbnail on the page), of the new WTC 7, you can see the building where I worked on 9/11 and how close it is to the site. The tan building in the foreground is the Church Street Post Office, which sustained a good deal of damage. The building just to the right of that is where I worked (though I wasn’t there that morning because I was at home, dealing with Verizon). One of the aircraft engines landed on the sidewalk in front of the building, and there were pieces of fusellage on the roof. Several of my early-arriving coworkers had to run for it.
In the lower left corner is where WTC (IIRC) 5, which housed the mall, stood, and behind that was the North Tower. There was a poster of Jessica Simpson in the window of the Borders fronting Church Street — I remember that because when I went back after the attacks, that poster was still there, and if you only looked at the Borders, it looked almost normal. As long as you didn’t look up.