The park has a capacity of 750 people and is the roof of the Vehicular Security Center. A "living wall", measuring long and tall, is located on the park's northern
facade adjoining Liberty Street. A sapling from the
Anne Frank tree is located alongside the ramp at the southeastern corner of Liberty Park.
5 World Trade Center is being built in the empty lot adjacent to the park. It is the former site of the
Deutsche Bank Building. The park overlooks the
National September 11 Memorial & Museum and has a connection to the
Liberty Street Bridge. The
St. Nicholas Church, destroyed in the
September 11 attacks, is being rebuilt in the park, with a new design by
Santiago Calatrava, who also designed the
Transportation Hub.
Location of The Sphere '', September 2018|219x219px
The Sphere, a large cast bronze sculpture by German artist
Fritz Koenig, had stood in
Austin J. Tobin Plaza between the
World Trade Center towers in
Manhattan. Recovered from the rubble after the
September 11 attacks in 2001, whole but visibly damaged,
The Sphere was re-erected in Battery Park, near the Hope Garden. When construction began to restore Battery Park's Lawn, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ), which owns
The Sphere, considered placing the sculpture in Liberty Park, which will be located between the 90 West Street building and the
World Trade Center Memorial site. Construction on Liberty Park did not start until 2013, so a location was needed to place
The Sphere until Liberty Park was completed. , PANYNJ had not made an official final decision on where to place the sculpture once Battery Park construction commences, forcing the sculpture to move. Until Liberty Park opened,
The Sphere was to go into storage. When Liberty Park opened in June 2016, the question had not been resolved. On July 22, 2016, the Port Authority voted to move the sculpture to Liberty Park, and in August 2017, PANYNJ relocated the sculpture to Liberty Park. On September 6, 2017, the Sphere was unveiled in its permanent home in Liberty Park, overlooking the World Trade Center site.
''America's Response Monument'' sculpture '' The ''
America's Response Monument'', a life-and-a-half scale bronze statue commemorating the actions of
U.S. Special Operations Forces in the first few weeks of the
War in Afghanistan, was unveiled to the public during the Veteran's Day Parade in New York City on November 11, 2011. The statue was dedicated in a ceremony led by Vice President
Joe Biden and Lieutenant-General
John Mulholland, commander of
U.S. Army Special Operations Command and formerly commander of Task Force Dagger during the initial days of the War in Afghanistan. Soldiers representing the United States Army Special Operations Command attended the dedication ceremony. A piece of steel from the original World Trade Center is embedded in the base. It is the first public monument to honor the
United States Army Special Forces. The $750,000 cost of statue was donated by hundreds of private citizens, including some survivors of the September 11 attacks. The statue was temporarily located in the West Street Lobby inside
One World Financial Center in New York City opposite
Ground Zero.
St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church On July 23, 2008, the
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey reached a deal with the leaders of the
St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church for the Port Authority to acquire the lot that the church had occupied, for $20 million, $10 million of which is coming from the Port Authority and the other $10 million of which is coming from
JPMorgan Chase. In March 2009, the Port Authority stated it quit talking with the church and canceled building St. Nicholas altogether. The Port Authority claimed that the church was asking for too much, and that they might delay the whole World Trade Center project. The Archdioceses says that they just wanted the church back, and a third of the building would be a memorial for 9/11, and a place where people of all faiths could pray and remember those who died in the attacks. Architect
Santiago Calatrava was awarded the task of designing the new St. Nicholas. His plans drew inspiration from the great
Byzantine churches of
Hagia Sophia and the
Church of the Holy Savior in Chora, both in
Istanbul. The church will be constructed in Liberty Park; the site for the new church is east of the original site at 155 Cedar Street. , construction of the new church was scheduled to begin in early 2014, and to end in late 2017. The new church was created from steel and concrete but the exterior is clad in stone. Construction of the new church began in early 2014, and after numerous delays, was completed in 2022. ==References==