The Winter Garden Atrium is a 120-foot (36.6 m) tall 10-story glass-

vaulted In architecture, a vault (French ''voûte'', from Italian ''volta'') is a self-supporting arched form, usually of stone or brick, serving to cover a space with a ceiling or roof. As in building an arch, a temporary support is needed while ring ...

pavilion on

Vesey Street Vesey Street ( ) is a street in New York City that runs east-west in Lower Manhattan. The street is named after Rev. William Vesey (1674-1746), the first rector of nearby Trinity Church. History The intersection of Vesey and West Streets wa ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

's Brookfield Place (formerly World Financial Center) office complex. Designed by

Diana Balmori Diana Balmori Ling (June 4, 1932 – November 14, 2016) was a landscape and urban designer. She was the founder of the landscape design firm Balmori Associates. Early life and education Born in Gijón, Spain, Diana Balmori spent most of her ...

, the Atrium was originally constructed in 1988, and substantially rebuilt in 2002, after it was damaged by the

collapse of the World Trade Center The collapse of the World Trade Center occurred during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, after the Twin Towers were struck by two hijacked commercial airliners. One World Trade Center (WTC 1, or the North Tower) was hit at 8:46&nb ...

during the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

. The Atrium houses various plants, trees, flowers, and shops. The rear of the building opens onto the World Financial Center Plaza and the North Cove Yacht Harbor on the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

History

The Winter Garden Atrium, along with the rest of the World Financial Center, was designed by architect César Pelli in 1985. It was inaugurated on October 14, 1988 and had a total cost of $60 million. The Atrium was originally connected to the

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...

via a

pedestrian bridge A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at a ...

that spanned West Street. It was severely damaged in the September 11, 2001 attacks as almost all the glass panes were blown out by the dust clouds and debris caused by the

, but was rebuilt during the first year of the Financial Center's recovery. Reconstruction of the Winter Garden required 2,000 panes of glass, 60,000 square feet (5,400 m²) of marble flooring and stairs, and sixteen Washingtonia robusta palm trees at a cost of $50 million. Reopened on September 17, 2002, the Winter Garden was the first major structure to be completely restored following the attacks. President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

was present at the reopening ceremony. The pedestrian bridge was destroyed in the same attacks and was replaced by windows facing the former site of the World Trade Center.

Exhibits

Since its construction, the Winter Garden Atrium has hosted concerts and symphonies as part of the World Financial Center Series. Upon its reopening in 2002, the atrium held ballets, concerts, a performance by the

Big Apple Circus The Big Apple Circus is a circus based in New York City. Opened in 1977, later becoming a nonprofit organization, it became a tourist attraction. The circus has been known for its community outreach programs, including Clown Care, as well as its ...

, and a production of ''The Downtown Messiah'', a modern interpretation of Handel's classical oratorio, directed by

Richard Barone Richard Barone is an American rock musician who first gained attention as frontman for the Bongos. He works as a songwriter, arranger, author, director, and record producer, releases albums as a solo artist, tours, and has created concert event ...

. In early 2003, the

Lower Manhattan Development Corporation The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation was formed in November 2001, following the September 11 attacks, to plan the reconstruction of Lower Manhattan and distribute nearly $10 billion in federal funds aimed at rebuilding downtown Manhattan. ...

installed an exhibit documenting the recovery process of the World Trade Center in the atrium. The exhibit included early designs of Libeskind's

Freedom Tower One World Trade Center (also known as One World Trade, One WTC, and formerly Freedom Tower) is the main building of the rebuilt World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Designed by David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & M ...

. Later that year, the eight finalists in the competition for the new buildings had their designs unveiled and displayed in the atrium. The Winter Garden continues to serve as a venue for art exhibits, music, and shows, as well as hosting movie screenings during the

TriBeCa Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. Tribeca was f ...

Gallery

File:WFC Winter Garden Atrium October 2008 2.jpg, Exterior of the Winter Garden Atrium from the riverside in 2008 File:FEMA - 4224 - Photograph by Bri Rodriguez taken on 09-27-2001 in New York.jpg, The damaged Winter Garden after the 9/11 attacks File:Winter Garden Atrium January 2017 01.jpg, Interior of the Winter Garden Atrium in 2017

References

External links

Calendar of Events
{{Authority control Brookfield Place (New York City) World Trade Center César Pelli buildings Buildings and structures completed in 1988 Buildings and structures in Manhattan History of New York City Buildings and structures destroyed in the September 11 attacks Aftermath of the September 11 attacks Event venues established in 1985 1988 establishments in New York City

History

Exhibits

Gallery

See also

References

External links