After 12 years of reliance on reporters and critics for an inside view of Santiago Calatrava’s World Trade Center Transportation Hub, the public, starting on Thursday, will have a chance to assess the new Oculus pavilion. (Don’t come to the front door, however. For now, enter either through the balcony of the west concourse, under Fulton Street, or from the base of 4 World Trade Center, at Liberty and Church Streets.)
Just before the curtain was raised inside, The New York Times asked readers what they saw when they looked up at the exterior of the zoomorphic pavilion. Here is a sampling of the responses:
“A $4 billion cold-looking piece of art.” — Rosita Kaufman, 59, Manhattan
“When I see things like this, I believe that the potential of the human being in terms of inventiveness and capability is huge.” — Silvy Col, 52, Manhattan
“A turkey carcass the day after Thanksgiving.” — Kevin O’Connor, 62, Manhattan
“When I look at the transit hub, I see the Second Avenue subway, still unbuilt after 50 years.” — Philip Herter, 56, Murray Hill
“More like a chicken carcass, and pricey at that.” — Carlos H Gil, 67, Briarwood, N.Y.
“White elephant bones.” — Robert Goldman, 67, East Village
“It looks like a monster attacking the site, the most inappropriate structure for ground zero.” — Louis Kramberg, 67, Rego Park, N.Y.
“It looks like the remains of a whale, maybe, a great, big, beautiful blue whale.” — Maria Garcia, 45, Manhattan
“The new transit hub resembles a pair of discarded Venetian blinds hanging out of a garbage can.” — Robert Taylor, 61, Jersey City
“I haven’t seen it yet, but it appears to direct one’s attention upward to soaring heights, and with the light rays coming from above, the space has an ethereal, poignant, heavenly feeling.” — Barbara Ireland, 71, Sherman, Conn.
“Reminds me of the concrete columns that lined the W.T.C. buildings.” — Joshua Gordon, 27, Plainview, N.Y.
“I think of the $4 billion price tag and how some of that money might have helped the September 11 victims’ families.” — Joseph Merrill, 52, Manhattan
“Urban carrion.” — Jonathan Lanman, 66, Millbrook N.Y.
“I always wonder where the elegance has gone in architecture. In the eye of the beholder, I know, but this thing looks like a junk pile.” — James Ferguson, 63, San Diego
“The Oculus Pavilion resembles a bleached, nearly inverted rib cage.” — Brennan Ortiz, 23, Pelham Parkway, the Bronx
“The stegosaurus looks like angels’ wings to me, lifting those we lost.” — Liz Longley, Manhattan
“I see fares going up to pay for it.” — Shiva, 43, Bay Ridge