Community Gets Look at Design for
Reconstructed Winter Garden

The World Financial Center’s Winter Garden is on its way back. The widely-adored, glass-enclosed space, which had served as a thoroughfare for commuters, an indoor playground for downtown kids and an eclectic performance space, was badly damaged on Sept. 11 by part of the collapsing north tower. The North Bridge over West Street, which led directly into the Winter Garden, was crushed, leaving a gaping hole in the building. But the structure is getting a face lift, including a sleek new eastern facade and entrance designed by Cesar Pelli & Associates, the firm that created the Winter Garden. The design features a two-story glass wall that will integrate with the glass dome when viewed from a distance and will be lit from the inside at night. "As on the west side, the east side will glow," Larry Graham, senior vice president for operations and development at Brookfield Financial Properties, said when he presented the design to Community Board 1’s Battery Park City Committee on May 7. "We’re very pleased with the design." He said the Winter Garden was scheduled to reopen in September. Contractors are replacing the dome’s glass panes, constructing new interior columns, rebuilding part of the grand staircase and replacing and adding