The Written Podcast: New York (Part 7) – The Freedom Tower

After already being overwhelmed with Times Square, taking plenty of pictures, and having a browse around the shops when they opened two hours after I had arrived there, I went ahead and began the plan I had quickly put together back in my hotel room and go downtown to the Freedom Tower.

With a quick glance at Google maps, I discovered that it was too far away to walk, so a yellow cab was a necessity. I had a momentary flashback to yesterday afternoon when the yellow cab driver was weaving in and out of traffic and literally driving down the hard shoulder. Well, at least we didn’t crash, I guess. Either I walk to the Freedom Tower and take up a huge chunk of my day or I take a cab and utilise the whole day, there was only one logical option.

This brought up another flashback to a conversation I had with my mum a couple of weeks ago describing the time when she visited New York, how easy the cabs are to catch. “Stick your hand out and they’ll come to you,” she said. “It really is that easy.” And so that’s what I did, once I found a yellow cab without a passenger, which was surprisingly hard to do despite the incredibly high number of yellow cabs in the area at any one time. It took me a couple of minutes to find an unoccupied cab, and went for it. I stuck my hand out, he noticed me there, and nodded to say I was free to hop in. “Freedom Tower, please,” I said as I twisted around to grab my seatbelt whilst he punched the location into his satnav. And off I went, fully expecting another rollercoaster ride. It wasn’t; but instead a smooth ride all the way down. It was actually a relaxing ride, and one where I discovered a TV in the back which was playing some sort of chat show on.

What’s unique about this TV is it is playing an exclusive channel specifically dedicated to yellow cabs, called Taxi TV. You cannot watch this on any other TV except within the confines of a cab, and is there to keep the passenger(s) occupied on long journeys or if the traffic is truly so dense it takes a while to go from one play to another. I quite enjoyed that cab experience, mainly because it was a lot less terrifying. He deserved my tip instead of paying him just to so I can get away from him.

The Freedom Tower is the tallest building in New York City. It was a truly remarkable building. Built with the latest technology, it adds a revitalised and modern look to the city skyline. It was specifically designed to showcase moving on from what happened, to prove that they stuck to their word when they said they would rebuild and be better than before. The Freedom Tower captures that goal perfectly. Seeing it from the ground, looking up, it was spectacular.

Surrounding the area were the two memorials. Waterfalls built within the holes the twin towers once stood, and it was a sombre atmosphere, but one filled with respect. There have been numerous documentaries and books published detailing the events from beginning to end on that terrible day, but when you’re actually standing there, seeing where those towers once stood, you forget those documentaries and find yourself asking “what happened?” and “what must it have been like to be here on that day?” It doesn’t matter how many documentaries or books there have been or will be, no one will truly know, and I felt the unified respect of everyone around me as I watched both water falls whilst walking around the perimeter, reading everyone’s names who tragically lost their lives. The area was clean and tidy, there were no one trying to push the limits of what they can get away with, it was a dignified gathering of strangers, paying their respects. That was a powerful moment to feel and witness, and one I will forever remember.

The Freedom Tower had, understandably, a lot of security within, synonymous to that of any airport, so it took a few minutes to pass through and step into the elevator which would ascend upwards to the top floor. Stepping out, following the crowd around into the main area, my jaw dropped to the floor below. New York City was right there, in front of me.

I took so many photos whilst atop the skyscraper, the most notable was the one which involved the Empire State Building, the original most famous skyscraper in New York City, and the second tallest. Seeing the Empire State Building from afar, I thought it’d be nice to have a picture from atop of there, looking across to the Freedom Tower, so I’ll have one from each, looking out across to the other. And, from the 87^th floor of the Empire State Building, I’d be able to see a different perspective of New York City, most notably the entirety of Central Park, something I couldn’t see properly from the Freedom Tower.

Here is that picture looking out across to the Empire State Building.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)