I took this photo sometime in late 2000 when I was in grad school. Our class went to NYC with a professor to go on several studio visits at artist’s lofts. I remember it as a really nice cool day so I think it was in the fall semester, but I can’t be sure at this point. As we were heading down the stairs to the next loft in the building, I saw this view from an open window in the stairwell. I thought it was okay when I developed the film and I made a couple of prints in the darkroom. When I remembered I had taken this picture in the fall of 2002, close to a year after the attacks, I pulled out the negative and scanned it. The meaning and importance of it had completely changed.
In the summer in 2001, I moved to Washington, DC after graduating from UCONN with my MFA. On September 10th, 2001 I met one of my photo heros, Lee Friedlander, while at work at Adamson Editions in their old space on 7th St. NW. He stopped by for a visit while in town for the opening of a group show he was in at the Corcoran. I only remember the exact date due to what happened the next morning on September 11, 2001. I was at work two blocks over from the FBI building when we heard about the planes hitting the World Trade Center on the radio. After hearing later about the plane that hit the Pentagon, we decided it would be a good idea to leave the area as it was so close to many possible targets. Wade and I realized we had been on the Metro under the Pentagon on our way in that morning only an hour or so before the plane hit there. John, Wade, Kristen and myself headed out to the street to walk over to the house of David and Laurie our bosses. David, had left earlier that morning at 6:00 am, was on his way to NYC to review proofs with a couple of photographers we were making prints for.
The downtown streets were crowded as you might imagine, but it was kind of quiet. People were in a confused daze. I remember no one being particularly paniced, just really confused. It wasn’t until we got to David and Laurie’s house that we found out that both towers had both fallen. CNN kept running all that footage over and over. Planes hitting the building…buildings falling down. There was a camera pointed at the burning hole in the side of the Pentagon as well. Many angles, same scene. We were all trying to reach our families to let them know we were fine. The phones were all tied up and it took forever. David had been on the NJ turnpike when he heard and turned around to head back to DC, he made it back later that afternoon. We sat around glued to the TV trying to get more detail on what was going on.
This picture I took about a week later. I was part of a group show with my grad school class mates in Connecticut that was opening the weekend of September 15th. The opening was cancelled, but I had already bought my train tickets and made plans to meet up with friends. The train get pretty somber and quiet as we got into viewing distance of Manhattan. You could see the plume of smoke from where the WTC towers had been. I didn’t even think to take and pictures. I did however on the way home on the 17th. This view is from the train as it came into Queens before going underground to go below Manhattan and into New Jersey. In the center you can see the smoke plume. I really haven’t shown these images other that on an old version of this site about five or six years ago. Thought today might be a good time to share them again.