In this, the most vertical of cities, The Skyscraper Museum pays homage to the pivotal role of the high-rise in the development of the city. Through exhibitions, programs, and publications, the small museum explores tall buildings as objects of design, products of technology, sites of construction, and places of work and residence.
The dazzling interior uses polished stainless-steel floors and ceilings to give a sense of towering canyons. Temporary exhibits feature architectural models and photographs showcasing the evolution of skyscrapers; permanent exhibits pay tribute to the World Trade Center and the current rebuilding plans.
The African Burial Ground National Memorial commemorates those who laid down the first foundations of the city. In 1991, when workers were excavating the foundations of a new Federal courthouse building, the skeletons of about 400 men, women, and children were found.
The site, it transpired, was part of a colonial burial ground for slaves. The memorial was erected in 2007 to honor an estimated 15,000 slaves buried here from the beginnings of New York as a Dutch colony in the 1600s to the abolition of slavery in 1865.
