Bright Lights, Big City

One of the reasons I arrived in New York on July 4 is that I had always wondered what America's Independence Day celebrations were like. The only good thing about this decision, in retrospect, is that the traffic is almost non-existent because lots of New Yorkers head out of town for the long weekend. If it wasn't for the occasional shop assistant wishing me a happy July 4, I wouldn't have known the date. As for July 4 celebrations, they too were pretty hard to spot. The big thing is Macy's fireworks, launched from six barges in the East River and New York Harbour. I battled the crowds to make it there on-time, but frankly it was hardly worth it. The fireworks we have in Australia are far more spectacular because we incorporate the environment into the show, launching fireworks from building tops, bridges, as well as barges. Although I was in view of the George Washington and Brooklyn bridges, the fireworks were only launched from the barges. And fireworks are fireworks. With a running time of 30 minutes, I was bored after 15.

So I left early, and walked and walked and walked across the southern tip of Manhattan looking for a train station. By sheer chance I ended up at Ground Zero. I must admit that the site was one of the lowest items on my list of things to see, if at all. The site is pretty big, and I spent some time looking at it and reading the various information boards, before taking the subway from the WTC train station. Of most interest to me was a little sign in the train station declaring that from that point on, everything was as it was before S11. It was surreal and kinda creepy to walk through tunnels lined with the same marble that was used throughout the bottom of the complex. Because of the central location of the WTC site, and its train stations, I wondered how difficult it must be for some commuters to use that station, in light of what happened there.

On my first full day in New York, I had planned to visit one of the museums right after buying some theatre tickets. I was tipped off by another guest at my hotel that the trick to buying last minute tickets is to not go to the Time Square TKTS booth where there might be an hour wait. There is another booth at Fulton St Seaport where I only had to wait about 20 minutes. So handy.

But as luck would have it, I had a lot of difficulty on this first day trying to understand the rail network. Instead I wandered through the financial district, much as I had done the night before. It was so cool finding the skyscrapers I had read a little about, like the Woolworth building, 40 Wall St, and smaller buildings like the Federal Gold Depository (which featured in Die Hard With a Vengeance, and might have featured in a remake of Thunderball if Kevin McClory had his way).

I headed towards Century 21, right across the road from the WTC site. Everyone raves about Century 21. The prices are good, but there is a lot of crap merchandise there. Sure, I could by size 28 (or 42) Versace jeans in orange corduroy for only $50... But who really wants size 28 orange corduroy jeans, Versace or otherwise?

When I left Century 21, I took another look at the WTC site. It is more disturbing in daylight because even now, almost four years later, I could see the damage to the surrounding buildings. One very tall building looks like it is nearing completion when in fact it is slowly being dismantled. When I passed by a few days later I took photos of an adjacent building where almost every window facing the towers had been taped up. Just around the corner, every window is intact on the same building's adjacent side. The replacement structure for 7 World Trade Center, which collapsed not long after the towers, is nearing completion. NY Songlines has something interesting regarding what happened to this building. Apparently, Rudy Guliani had located his emergency command post in 7WTC long before the attacks, against the advice of the fire department, who were concerned about the huge gas tanks to be stored in the building to power emergency generators. These gas tanks ignited when the towers collapsed. It was the ensuing fire, and that alone, that caused 7WTC to collapse.

I finished Tuesday evening with my first Broadway play, The Pillowman, starring Billy Crudup and Jeff Goldblum. The story was very disturbing, concerning child abuse and a serial killer of children. But the performances were excellent, and the production first-rate. After the show, fans wait at the stage door to meet the actors. There was a huge crowd at the theatre next door where Monty Python's Spamalot was playing. David Hyde-Pierce, from Frasier, was doing his best to greet the throng of starfuckers that surrounded him. When he went back inside, all of those people converged on Jeff Goldblum, leading him to ask the crowd if anyone there had actually seen The Pillowman. The whole scene was one of the stranger things I have ever seen. And no, I didn't approach any of the celebrities. I was happy to stand a few feet back and watch everyone else. Anyway, after "Hello", I wouldn't know what to say.

I finished the night by walking into Times Square. Wow. With all the neon and advertising, it was so bright, it was like daytime. I saw Howard Johnson's diner, but decided against going in. That was a mistake, because the diner closed within a week after 60-something years of business.