Wednesday 11 September 2013

Version City #15 - David Bowie sings Paul Simon

It became a little ritual of mine that, on the final evening of a visit to my relatives in New York, I would spend a couple of hours at the top of the World Trade Centre, watching the sun set on the city, before catching up with the family for one last dinner before I headed home the following morning. At the time, they lived on 23rd Street, but in the summer of 2001 they bought an apartment in Tribeca, which, thankfully, they hadn't yet moved into by the September of that year.


By chance, I came across this photo a few days ago. I took it on the final evening of my trip in 1996. The apartment that my family were destined to acquire, five years later, is in the brown building, at the very bottom and centre of the frame, with sunlight hitting the upper floors and what looks like just a small white roof between it and the base of the image.

4 comments:

C said...

A wonderful, but poignant photo. It must have been a very emotive time for your family over the pond. It still seems like a totally surreal event to me now, even from this geographical and retrospective distance.

Old Pa's Corner said...

Brilliant Bowie does the PS classic, god can you imagine if they had moved in.
Saw Documentary last week about building the new Towers these iron workers are just amazing walking on girders hundreds of feet up with no harness...make me dissie thinking about it...been up the Empire State but did not make The Twins.

The Swede said...

It was a tough few hours, as my cousin and her husband both worked in the Financial District and there was no communication getting through. She was off that day and he had to walk home through the dust and smoke of Lower Manhattan. I visited New York the following month (I'd actually booked my flights on September 10th).

flycasual said...

NYC is very dear to my wife and I and I visited the WTC in feb 2001. I have photos of the buildings with views out over Manhattan too which get me everytime. I remember watching this concert with a lump in my throat, Billy Joel and Neil Young were especially moving but this was perfectly delivered. Fantastic picture by the way, if a little unsettling.

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