For my job, I generally work directly out of a client's location rather than our office. Since September I have been downtown at the World Financial Center which is directly adjacent, on the west side, to the World Trade Center site. I take the W train directly from home to Rector street. I kind of like working downtown, even though the commute is a little on the long side--the buildings have a lot of character and the streets are not over-crowded with people.
Here is the view, seen from the north, of the 3 towers of the World Financial Center. I work in the middle tower.
Here is the World Trade Center site as seen from a hallway in the building I work in. A lot of tourists come in to try to take pictures. Even tour groups come through. They are doing construction on what will be Tower 4 right now and you can see the squares where the memorial will be. If you go to http://www.wtc.com/media/images/wtc-construction there are some really good pictures of the construction in progress. There is even a shot of glacial rock formation in the site.
Inside the building I am in, there is this lobby type area called the Winter Garden. It's really quite beautiful there. They hold all sorts of free events, like music and dancing. A lot of people show up and the floor is covered with all the people sitting. There are a lot of stores in the building too...Ann Taylor, Gap, Banana Republic...makes a great escape from work during the day!
This is a shot from on the far side of the Winter Garden. There is a huge patio and we are right on the Hudson River. When it's warm outside, they have BBQ on the patio and a lot of restaurants have outdoor seating. There is a Ciao Bella, and in the few warm days we had when I first started working here, S met me after work and we got gelato and walked up the river a bit. It's really a gorgeous and relatively hidden bit of Manhattan. The spot is called the Esplanade and it has some cool public art, sculptures, great views of the statue of liberty and of all the sailboats docked there, and has a lot of seating for just hanging out next to the river. All the buildings in the background are part of Jersey City. There is also a dock where you can catch a short ferry ride to Jersey City or Times Square and a few other destinations. I would say this is one of my favorite places in the city (in the Summer--too cold in the Winter!).
This is a small public space called Zuccotti Park that I pass on my way to and from work. I love the lights on the trees, but I don't think they will be up too much longer since they were kind of a holiday thing. Its a great spot for people to eat lunch outside. If you can see it, there is a very large, red sculpture in the back of the park. It's a 70 foot tall sculpture by Mark di Suvero, called Joie de Vivre.
Also next to the park is this famous sculpture: Isamu Noguchi's Red Cube. Sorry the picture is so dark, I think I was blocking the flash with my finger (that's the drawback of having a tiny camera). This guy also did the relief sculpture at the entrance of the Associated Press building in Rockefeller Plaza, called News. Check it out at this awesome Flickr page I just found: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/451876063. This person's Flickr page is full of amazing pictures from around New York with great descriptions.
And we are getting closer to home...this is Trinity Church, the back of which is at my Subway stop. This church was built in 1846 and is one of the first examples (and finest examples, according to their website) of Neo-Gothic architecture in the United States.
This is the graveyard at the side of the Church. Alexander Hamilton was buried here in 1804. There are many other gravestones from the 1700's. If you are interested in that kind of thing, you can find more information, including a detailed map of the churchyard where you can click on each gravestone for details, on their website at www.trinitywallstreet.org and look under the history menu.
Well, that is it. You have all the highlights from my current work location. I'll be sure to update you at my next client site if it's some place good, although that isn't usually my luck (last work locations: Connecticut and Bryn Mawr, PA).
I leave my place by 7:30 and head to the subway.
I get out of the subway at Bryant Park in midtown Manhattan and wait for the crosstown bus or the free ferry shuttle.
Here's the view of the city around the park.
The bus takes me to the NY ferry station on the Hudson River.
Everyone waiting in the building for their ferry to show up.
My ferry docks at slip 3.
That shiny blue building on the left is where I'm going.
Here comes my boat.
We pass by a huge cruise ship crossing the river.
Here is a view of downtown NY on the left and downtown Jersey on the right.
Getting close to shore.
Entering my building.
Here's my first stop...morning coffee.
The view of the city on the way home. It's only daylight when I leave on Fridays!
I got off the ferry shuttle in Midtown East so I could meet S for dinner.
We have a new favorite Thai restaurant and a Friday night habit of eating the drunken noodles.
