First Post-9/11 WTC Temporary PATH Station (N)(R) Connection?

[Porter]

I'd visited the original WTC temporary PATH station in 2007 and 2008, and while I distinctly remember the connection (including a small corridor that had been preserved from the original WTC mall), I do not remember any direct connection to the Cortlandt station as the below image shows. Did this actually ever exist?

 

[Kamen Rider]

as you can see, it was basicly nothing more than a hole in the wall of the BMT station leading onto the upper PATH Mezzinine.

 

I did use it once, while out joyriding.

[Porter]

But the image shows a connection with the underpass as well. Could that have been preserved from the original station? It seems odd that I would have missed such a presumably obvious feature. The original station had an underpass that fed directly into the mall via several escalators and a staircase, and I'm wondering if that entire section had been preserved.

[drumz0rz]

Unfortunately, I didn't use the PATH when it was the first temporary station so I don't know specifically what the former N/R connector looked like. My guess is that it was demolished to build out the Dey St. connector which runs from the PATH Oculus hall to the Fulton Transit Center (running under the N/R station).

[West End]

The / Cortlandt Street stop connected directly to the underground WTC Concourse pre-9/11. My sister used this as a teenager to get to high school. The downtown platform was ADA-accessible because it had a small ramp that led straight into the mall. (The uptown platform connected to WTC through a corridor underneath the tracks, similar to the downtown platform at Canal Street.)

 

 

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[Porter]

The / Cortlandt Street stop connected directly to the underground WTC Concourse pre-9/11. My sister used this as a teenager to get to high school. The downtown platform was ADA-accessible because it had a small ramp that led straight into the mall. (The uptown platform connected to WTC through a corridor underneath the tracks, similar to the downtown platform at Canal Street.)

 

I've been looking for photos of this corridor pre-9/11, but found nothing. I couldn't find any of the northern underpass either. Based on the blueprints, it seems that this ramp you speak of had the same elevation as the one connecting to the .

[Porter]

I've discovered something quite striking... The entirety of the Cortlandt Street BMT connections to the WTC had not only survived 9/11, but were brought back into service less than a year later, more or less preserved:

Compare with the original:

And the southern portion:

It seems highly hypocritical that a big deal was made about "preserving" the WTC entrance (basically two signs, the doors, and the floor), which forced a compromise in design (having to go up and then right back down again), yet so much more could have been preserved from the (BMT) Cortlandt Station's WTC connections.

These corridors were evidently in use between 2002 and 2005, so I ask you all, how many of you remember using this station during that time?

[Around the Horn]

Well the artwork was definitely preserved...

[Porter]

5 hours ago, Around the Horn said:

Well the artwork was definitely preserved...

Thankfully so, but I meant the original structures. If you compare the temporary PATH station (2002-2005) layout with that of the original WTC, you'll see that both underpasses were restored to their pre-9/11 state all the way up to their rows of silver doors leading to the mall, including the original WTC escalators, steps, the ADA ramp, fixtures, and such. I understand that they demolished both of them because of the Dey Street Concourse and Oculus designs, but why not just demolish the old and inconveniently configured corridor along with them? It wasn't any more special, and its current configuration makes no sense (a ramp to nowhere and stairs going up when you need to go down instead).

I'm also surprised that the BMT corridors didn't seem to be photographed, whether before 9/11 or before 2005, except for the art installations. Were the original corridors truly so plain and unremarkable that no one thought to preserve history, at least visually?

[LGA Link N Train]

27 minutes ago, Vtrain said:

Has this transfer finally opened?

I believe so

[LGA Link N Train]

1 minute ago, D to 96 St said:

Why did you have to necropost? I'm pretty sure if you look at other threads you would get your answer! Mods, please close this.

Woah hold up!!! This kinda got intresting

[Union Tpke]

1 hour ago, LGA Link N train said:

I believe so

It opens tomorrow.

[Porter]

1 hour ago, Union Tpke said:

It opens tomorrow.

I hope you're right. I was expecting it today.

[Around the Horn]

Yeah it was most definitely not ready today... They were still putting up the metal railings when I passed by. The Oculus entry looks ready to go though.

[Porter]

10 hours ago, Around the Horn said:

Yeah it was most definitely not ready today... They were still putting up the metal railings when I passed by. The Oculus entry looks ready to go though.

Which metal railings? On the southbound platform next to the connection?

[Union Tpke]

12 hours ago, Around the Horn said:

Yeah it was most definitely not ready today... They were still putting up the metal railings when I passed by. The Oculus entry looks ready to go though.

Something hilarious happened on Wednesday. A few people were trying to exit the WTC station via the Emergency Exit. That just led to the unopened free-transfer passageway where some workers were working.

[Around the Horn]

8 hours ago, Skipper said:

Which metal railings? On the southbound platform next to the connection?

It was by the WTC 4 entrance

[Porter]

7 hours ago, Union Tpke said:

Something hilarious happened on Wednesday. A few people were trying to exit the WTC station via the Emergency Exit. That just led to the unopened free-transfer passageway where some workers were working.

Which emergency exit? That passageway is bookended by two blue plywood construction walls.

[DailyDose]

1 hour ago, Skipper said:

Which emergency exit? That passageway is bookended by two blue plywood construction walls.

It's not as of a couple days ago. I passed by the station 3 days ago and saw the connection passageway virtually open and it seemed like you could walk through the turnstiles but there was evidently construction work going on.

[P3F]

Here is a brief video showing the new transfer passageway between the E and R/W trains, along with the new exit from Cortlandt Street into the Oculus.

 

 

[Porter]

That's a beautiful corridor! The did a fine job, and the WTC station looks much better than it ever has. I think that this connection might not have been possible before 9/11 not only because of the WTC Newsstand & Novelties store, but also because there were storage and mechanical rooms related to the original mall occupying that narrow slither of space.

Here's a brief view from the Oculus side that I found:

 

[NoHacksJustKhaks]

The corridor looks amazing, clean and simple, hope it stays well maintained!  

[Porter]

2 minutes ago, NoHacksJustKhaks said:

The corridor looks amazing, clean and simple, hope it stays well maintained!  

I noticed an empty bag of chips on the floor in the video... Sigh. There was even a waste receptacle.

[NoHacksJustKhaks]

4 minutes ago, Skipper said:

I noticed an empty bag of chips on the floor in the video... Sigh. There was even a waste receptacle.

 That could've been a rarity, especially since both stations it crosses are very much trash free, but it's NYC and litter will always exist in some way, new or old, maintained or not. I see it at newer corridors in Fulton Street, second avenue and Hudson yards and im sure it also pops up at renovated stations as well. But as long as stuff like this is kept to a minimum, im sure it will remain fine.

[eaw3c1]

Has the T4 R & W entrances opened along with the E CONNECTOR under T2?