Skip to main content
Mental Floss

The World Trade Center Remnant Hiding in Plain Sight Beneath NYC

Thousands commute through the modern Oculus daily, completely unaware they’re walking past an untouched piece of 1970s history.
ByNitya Rao
Share on FacebookShare on XShare on Reddit
Google Discover
The modern WTC Cortlandt subway station today. Deep within the surrounding transit complex, a single corridor from the original 1970s World Trade Center concourse still survives.
The modern WTC Cortlandt subway station today. Deep within the surrounding transit complex, a single corridor from the original 1970s World Trade Center concourse still survives. | Gary Hershorn/Getty Images

Did you know there's a travertine marble hallway under the E train entrance? No, this isn't the title of a Lana Del Rey track; it's one of the last remaining, walkable pieces of the original World Trade Center hiding in plain sight.

Every day, thousands of commuters pass through the stark white, futuristic Oculus daily. But hidden within its modern subterranean corridors lies a survivor: an intact stretch of 1970s hallway, complete with its original stairway, flooring, and glass doorway bearing search-and-rescue paint from September 11, 2001.

A Time Capsule Beneath the Oculus

This section of the World Trade Center subway concourse, located just past the turnstiles leading out of the E train to the Oculus, is easy to miss amidst the hustle and bustle. At the same time, it's unmistakably distinct from its modern surroundings.

Like the original Twin Towers and the massive underground mall beneath them, this passageway was built in the 1970s. Through decades of history—from the 1993 bombing to the 2001 attacks—and later reconstruction, it remains a relic of the city's resilience. It stands as an important reminder of the first responders who once walked these halls after the attacks, searching, saving, and leading survivors through this rare stairway to safety.

A plaque posted at the location explains why it looks so different from the rest of the station, noting that: "This World Trade Center subway entrance area retains the same design and appearance of this space as it existed prior to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001."

How the Corridor Survived

Debris lie in front of the World Trade Center PATH train exit February 22, 2002 in New York City.
Debris lie in front of the World Trade Center PATH train exit February 22, 2002 in New York City. | Getty Images

Tucked away at the northeast corner of Ground Zero—farthest from where the Twin Towers collapsed, allowing it to avoid total destruction—the 50-foot-long corridor joins the subway platform with the PATH station and surrounding shopping center. Small but mighty, it still features the same sandy floors, metallic doors, directional signs, and ramp it's had since the '70s.

Unlike the glass-encased exhibits in the nearby National September 11 Memorial & Museum, this space is living history. As the sign at the site also points out: "This space was used by thousands of daily commuters and visitors to the original World Trade Center, and now maintains this same function as part of the World Trade Center Transportation Hub."

If the tan, textured floors chosen by original architect Minoru Yamasaki and the retro "PUSH" and "PULL" doors don’t catch your eye, the bright orange graffiti on the glass surely will. Far from subway art, the spray-painted "X" and the MATF 1 initials were left on September 13, 2001, by search-and-rescue teams from FEMA's Massachusetts Task Force 1 as they marked cleared areas.

Next time you pass through, look down at your feet: you can see the exact line where the warm travertine marble meets the cool gray tiles of the modern station. It’s a literal bridge between New York's past and present.

More Like This:

Home/HISTORY