Visitors to the World Trade Center’s Oculus on Thursday paused as a precise shaft of sunlight, known as the “Way of Light,” swept across the transit hub at 10:28 a.m., the exact minute the North Tower collapsed on Sept. 11, 2001.
The annual moment of remembrance produces a dappled band of brightness along the Oculus floor that appears as two vertical columns of light, suggesting the silhouette of the twin towers. The path of light tracked directly beneath an American flag suspended in the space overhead, drawing quiet attention from commuters and tourists who gathered for the brief display.
The alignment occurs each Sept. 11 at precisely 10:28 a.m., a time commemorated as the moment the North Tower fell after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. The effect is produced by sunlight entering the Oculus’s retractable skylight and striking the building’s interior axis, where the pattern of light falls in a manner that some observers have described as evoking two standing towers.
The Oculus, a soaring transit and retail hub that serves as the entrance to the World Trade Center complex, was originally conceived with a roof that could open more fully in a wing-like motion. That concept was scaled back during the building’s development because of cost and structural concerns, officials have said. The structure’s final design, however, still allows for the annual convergence of sunlight and architecture that creates the remembrance display.
Onlookers described the moment as solemn and quiet, many taking photographs or standing in silence as the light traced its path. The event is one of several public commemorations in New York on Sept. 11 that mark the anniversaries of the attacks, including official ceremonies at the nearby memorial pools and other gatherings across the city.
Architects and observers have noted for years how the Oculus’s geometry interacts with the sun on certain dates and times, producing distinct lighting effects. On Sept. 11, the alignment has acquired particular resonance because it coincides with the exact minute the North Tower collapsed, and it has become an annual focal point for remembrance at the site.
The Way of Light is one of several ways in which the rebuilt World Trade Center complex and its public spaces mark the events of Sept. 11, 2001, integrating architectural design, memorial elements and public observance to create moments of reflection each year.