Open for Business: Random Moments in the Life of the New WTC Mall

Salesmen look into the main hall of the Oculus from their store Smythson, one of about 70 shops that opened in Westfield World Trade Center mall on Aug. 16. Eventually, there will be 113 stores in the mall. Photo: Carl Glassman/Tribeca Trib

With more than 300,000 commuters and countless visitors pouring through the new Westfield World Trade Center each day, the soaring, ribbed Oculus and long, connecting underground passageways are now a hub of high-end trade as well as transportation. On Aug. 16, the glistening, 365,000-square-foot-mall and 69 of its 113 stores debuted to great fanfare, initiating a dizzying daily swirl of commerce and movement throughout the sprawling space.

For a photographer like myself, such hubbub offers a wealth of visual possibilities. The video slide show below is one personal perspective, an attempt to capture this redevelopment milestone in fleeting, random and often quiet moments. — Carl Glassman