From 9/11 to the Tenements.... Our country's history.... old and new!

Quite an emotional, fun and educational day.... all rolled up in one!  Hopped the train to get us to Ground Zero and the 9/11 Memorial.  Jerry and I had been here two months after the initial tragedy... I remember the odor, the stunned silence of people still, truck after truck being filled with debris (knowing that in that debris, there were probably human remains that had been pulverized) and I still can see a lady standing there with her rosary and praying as each of those trucks went by. The site is now so different.  They have created a memorial that is built right over the area.... and around the memorial park, new high rises are being built (one of which, the one that is most recognizable, is having a spire on top, and as we are here, it is being floated down from Canada...When placed on the building, I think it said the building will be the tallest in our hemisphere).  The pool fountains are beautiful... one for each tower...North and South...and with the names of all who perished (rescuers and workers) etched in the granite.  The actual Memorial Museum is not yet open... but I was able to get a few pics through the windows of pieces of the original towers.
A little know item in the park... at least to outsiders like us...there is also a special pear tree on the grounds call the "Survivor Tree".  It was originally there when the Towers stood.  9/11 workers found the tree, just a huge 8 foot fall stump in the wreckage.  The tree was brought back to health at another park, and grew to, I think, about 30 feet.  Even while recovering at the Park, when Hurricane IRENE (not Sandy), it was again uprooted... but...  true to it's name, it survived.  It was  moved in December 2010 back to the park... supported by temporary guide wires while it is taking root.  It survived Sandy...
We got back on the train and headed toward Little Italy.... time for lunch... and it was delish..topped off with a canoli! They had a display outside the restaurant... and the stack of garlic bread was like a magnet for Jerry...
Went to another bakery that was known for their famous canoli's. We each ordered a mini one and, well, theirs were pretty darn good. We have not been disappointed so far! We had tickets for the Tenement Museum. Time to get hoofing!  They have the tours divided up into individual families that lived there, life styles, store fronts... AND you need to make RSVP's in advance.  The place fills up.

I cannot say enough about the museum.  I feel like a broken record, but, I wish I had been more interested in history when I was in school.  In 1863, this tenement apartment building was home to nearly 7000 working immigrant working class families. When built there was no running water, no toilets...Eventually, I don't remember when, outhouses and a newly developed system of removing the was created.  Water, though, had to be lugged up the stairs in buckets. There is so much more I could share...but, I'll spare you!

How we treated immigrants... well, in some respects, it is still not much different.  Some were well thought of... while others treated with disdain... gee... sounding familiar isn't it!  I never realized how much the Irish were looked down on.... yet, German's, they were well liked.  The Tenement Museum didn't allow pictures, but I tried to grab a few. This building was forced to lock up all the upper floors in 1935, rather than continue to modify the building (the last modification the city required was to remove the wooden staircase, cuz it was a fire hazard), the landlord evicted the residents, boarded the upper windows, and sealed the upper floors, leaving only the stoop-level and basement storefronts open for business.  In 1988, a woman interested in created a museum/memorial to these hard working folks, discovered this gem and with help from many created this place.  

Okay.... enough... Am looking forward to putting Christmas Decorations up when we get home.... Can you believe that? 

 

 

That is just a crane on top... not the spire!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Layers of life in the tenement walls.  They actually counted in one place, 35 layers of paint.  Wall paper, dark and dreary, few windows, and each apartment consisted of a parlor, kitchen and bedroom... and sometimes up to 10 members of a family lived in one...
 

 

 

Our weekly Metro pass has really gotten a workout!