The Forgotten Beach Near the Twin Towers
If you visit Battery Park today, it’s hard to imagine that this bustling area of modern skyscrapers and memorials once had a beach. But in the 1970s, right where the Twin Towers stood, a stretch of sand became an unlikely oasis for New Yorkers.
How the Beach Came to Be
This accidental beach, known as Battery Park Beach, wasn’t planned. It formed in the mid-1970s during the construction of the World Trade Center. Excavation for the towers left behind sand that created a shoreline. Locals quickly turned it into a recreational spot, enjoying volleyball games, sunbathing, and quiet escapes from the city’s constant noise.
A Place for Memories and Movements
For people like Suellen Epstein, who lived nearby, the beach was a special retreat. She remembered spending sunny afternoons there, soaking in the rare tranquility Manhattan offered. But it wasn’t just about leisure. In 1979, the beach became the site of an anti-nuclear rally that drew thousands. Activists like Jane Fonda spoke passionately, while artists like Pete Seeger performed, making it a moment of both protest and unity.
Art Meets Nature
The beach also inspired creativity. Public art projects funded by Creative Time in the late 1970s turned it into a canvas. Sculptures like Nancy Rubins’s tower of discarded objects and Agnes Denes’s wheatfield offered striking contrasts to the urban skyline. These installations symbolized the delicate balance between nature and development.
A Lost Oasis
By 1983, the beach started to disappear as Battery Park City was developed. By 2000, it was fully transformed, and after 9/11, the area took on new significance. The beach now lives on in photos, a reminder of a fleeting time of peace, creativity, and resilience in the ever-changing heart of New York City.
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