The Oculus (WTC Transportation Hub)
The Oculus is the main hall of the World Trade Center Transportation Hub in Manhattan, New York City. Designed by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, it opened on March 3, 2016. Its total cost reached about 4 billion dollars, and it is sometimes called the most expensive railway station in the world. White steel members like ribs rise from both sides to frame a skylight about 100 meters long, and Calatrava compared the form to a bird released from a child's hands. The interior is made of nothing but white marble and white steel, with almost no clues of color or time. It is a vast junction where the PATH line, 11 subway lines and an underground shopping mall come together, yet late at night or early in the morning, when the crowds thin out, only the white skeleton remains, an unreal space.
See photos and posts for this place on the LIMap map
Nearby liminal spaces
- Old City Hall Station, NYC (0.4 km)
- TWA Flight Center (21 km)
LIMap is a map for finding and sharing liminal spaces: places emptied of people that feel eerie and nostalgic at the same time. Many of these places are private or off-limits, so please follow the notes above and view them only from where you are allowed.