This past Saturday, I had the opportunity to spent time at the new 7 World Trade Center. The New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS) held tours of their office on the 40th floor. There was also a special talk on Saturday about the lighting features of the building. I have now posted photos from the tour, as well as some from last year from a visit to the 45th floor, where there was a photography exhibit. The 45th floor was, and I think still is unfinished. Various other photos of the building are also included.

This is the entrance to the NYAS office on the 40th floor:

WTC7 - more photos

Costs

I think it’s useful to see the 45th floor (unfinished) compared to the 40th floor (finished). It cost $700 million for Larry Silverstein to build the new 7 WTC, but that’s with all the floors unfinished. What’s not figured in that price tag is that each floor needs to be finished and set-up for whatever needs the tenants have. The designers/architects who finished the space for the NYAS were on hand on Saturday. They explained that it cost $12 million to finish the 40th floor for the NYAS. In all, there are 42 floors of space to lease in the building. (along with the mechanical space used by Con Edison)

$12 million * 42 = $502 million.

$700 million (cost of the building) + $502 million = $1.3 billion

Silverstein received $861 million from insurance on the old building, however he had $400 million remaining in mortgage to pay off for the old building. He was left with $461 million. And, he still has to pay the the ground lease for WTC7 and the rest of the complex. ($102 million annually) - that’s $612 million since 9/11/2001

Also, it cost $1.4 billion to restore the adjacent Verizon Building, which was heavily damaged by the collapse of WTC7. Fiterman Hall, located next to WTC7, is currently undergoing deconstruction, and will be replaced with a new building. I’m not sure how much all that costs.

Do the math. In all, very substantial costs involved due to the collapse of WTC7, rather than people making a profit from insurance proceeds.

Anyway, the photos are posted here: (be patient for the page to load all images)

• WTC7 - gallery

Same photos are also posted on Flickr (this may be faster):

• WTC7 - Flickr set

In my previous post, I noted a large flag that now adorns Pentagon, near where Flight 77 crashed. Late last night, I was driving past the Pentagon again, and found out the purpose of the flag:

Earlier today, the Pentagon was open to the general public for tours. Taking advantage of this opportunity, I was able to see the indoor memorial and chapel. Unfortunately, photography is not permitted on Pentagon grounds, with no exceptions today. To help provide visuals, I have included some images freely available from the DOD.

As the tours were not widely advertised, the lines were short and security screening quick. Today, the outside of the Pentagon was adorned with a large American flag, which normally isn’t the case (flag wasn’t there yesterday). Next to the building entrance to the memorial is a charred, brick of limestone in the wall that is engraved with “September 11, 2001″. This piece of limestone was charred by burning hot jet fuel and fire from American Airlines Flight 77. This stone marks the spot where the plane crashed into the building.

Inside the memorial are several commemorative panels. On the left wall is a panel that displays a Purple Heart medal, which was awarded to each active member of the military who was killed in the Pentagon. A panel on the right wall displays the medal awarded posthumously to civilians killed there. The back wall features two panels that list the names of all the 184 victims, with a center panel that features tribute statements. In an adjacent room is the small Pentagon Memorial chapel, which features decorative stained glass windows.

As for the outdoor memorial, the tour guide explained that its construction should be completed in Spring 2007. I have passed by the Pentagon late at night, noticing the bright lights and construction crews still working.

While on the tour, I gazed out from the Pentagon towards the Citgo gas station and Sheraton hotel to see how good or poor the line of sight was. From the Pentagon, I could barely see the top of the Sheraton hotel, with the view obstructed by another building in front of the Sheraton. According to FBI testimony at the Moussaoui trial, the Sheraton did not have any security video, with nothing for the FBI to take. Even if it did have something, the line of sight is so poor, there is no way it could have captured the impact. The view of the Citgo wasn’t great either, with fencing for the Pentagon Memorial partially blocking my view. But, being familiar with this particular gas station, it isn’t oriented in quite the right way to allow its security cameras to capture anything of the crash of Flight 77.

Normally, only schools, veterans, and other groups that make tour reservations in advance are given tours of the Pentagon. Though, this marks the second year since 9/11 that the Pentagon has been open to the public. I expect the same next September.