Tourist Series, No. 7

When the World Trade Center collapsed on September 11, 2001, debris from the towers knocked over a giant sycamore tree that had stood for nearly a hundred years in the churchyard at St Paul's Chapel, on Broadway. The uprooted tree was found lying on a path in the churchyard and had not done amy damage to either the tombstones or the church. A sculptor named Steve Tobin decided to use the roots of the tree for a bronze sculpture. He saw the roots as a metaphor for our connectedness and our strength after the tragic events of September 11. Just to confuse things, this finished sculpture is on display in a courtyard of Trinity Church, which is further south on Broadway, at the intersection of Wall Street. It is a favorite tourist attraction, and families have their pictures taken as they stand in amongst the painted bronze roots.