Visitors Are Floored (Literally) by the WTC PATH Station Oculus

The newly opened main hall of the PATH station provides a comfortable expanse for weekend visitors. Photo: Carl Glassman/Tribeca Trib

Say what you will about Santiago Calatrava’s design or its $4 billion price tag, the recently (and partially) opened oculus structure at the World Trade Center PATH station is making visitors feel right at home. Sprawled out on the sleek, white marble floor of the main hall, they stare skyward, like stargazers on a summer night. Awed by the sight and selfie potential of the building’s soaring, 160-feet-high steel-ribbed walls, they are the weekend guests in this bird-like train station that no rendering, or perhaps even the architect himself, had imagined.