rebuilding

by sam on 09/13/2016

A little more going on downtown before I return to the normal. Friday night, I went downtown for an appointment, and I was there a bit early, so I was able to walk over to the oculus, which had opened right around the same time I left for my trip. I had seen photos of the interior, and I’ve seen the exterior construction over the years, and…of course, I had been somewhat deflated by its transformation from imaginary bird with open wings to somewhat more grounded…dinosaur with massive spiky exoskeleton…

But upon walking inside the massive space, it really did take my breath away.

And yes, you can criticize the commercialism, but you know what? It replaces a much less beautiful shopping plaza that was destroyed. I spent a few minutes talking to one of the concierges (yes, it has concierges), and he seemed genuinely enthusiastic about everything that was going on. Every time we go through a travesty like Penn Station we should be reminded that we can (and do) do better with our public spaces. Even if this isn’t everyone’s taste, it’s grand and ambitious.

Then, of course, when I finished up my evening, they were testing out the tribute in lights. Always beautiful.