The Sphere
More photographs at the Wikimedia Commons category.
The Sphere is a historic site in New York, at a modelled elevation of 2 m. High Mountain stands 268 m to the north-northwest, 20 miles off. The nearest named place is America's Response Monument, a historic site less than a tenth of a mile away. Palisades Scenic Byway passes 10 miles off.
The story
The Sphere (officially Große Kugelkaryatide N.Y., also known as Sphere at Plaza Fountain, WTC Sphere or Koenig Sphere) is a monumental cast bronze sculpture by German artist Fritz Koenig. The world's largest bronze sculpture of modern times stood between the Twin Towers on the Austin J. Tobin Plaza of the World Trade Center in New York City from 1972 until the September 11 attacks. The work, weighing more than 20 tons, was the only remaining work of art to be recovered largely intact from the ruins of the collapsed Twin Towers. After being dismantled and stored near a hangar at John F. Kennedy International Airport, the sculpture was the subject of the 2001 documentary Koenig's Sphere. Since then, the bronze sphere has become a memorial for the attacks. The sculpture was installed in Battery Park between 2002 and 2017, when the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey moved it to Liberty Park, overlooking the September 11 Memorial and its original location. The sculpture, rededicated at its permanent location on August 16, 2017, has been kept in the badly damaged condition it was found in after the September 11 attacks.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Dates from 1971.
Wikidata Q2164298, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What the record says
- Built
- 1971
- Height
- 7.64 m
- Material
- bronze
What to expect
- Step-free access
- Yes
How to reach it
- 10.2 mi off the Palisades Scenic Byway, National
- 10.8 mi off the Bronx River Parkway
- 28.6 mi off the Merritt Parkway, National
Named places within 25 miles
- Liberty Park: 0.0 mi
- West Thames Park: 0.1 mi
- Pumphouse Park: 0.2 mi
- Zuccotti Park: 0.2 mi
- Kowsky Plaza: 0.2 mi
- 9/11 Memorial & Museum: 0.1 mi
- MĒRCER LABS: 0.2 mi
- Museum of American Finance: 0.4 mi
- Skyscraper Museum: 0.4 mi
- National Museum of the American Indian: 0.4 mi
- Liberty Community Garden: 0.1 mi
- Millenium Park: 0.3 mi
- Robert Wagner Greenstreet: 0.7 mi
- Wedding Garden: 0.7 mi
- Yoya's Park: 0.9 mi
- Rose III: 0.1 mi
- Joie de Vivre: 0.2 mi
- Double Check: 0.2 mi
- The Upper Room: 0.2 mi
- Red Cube: 0.2 mi
- One World Trade Center: 0.2 mi
- Barthman's Sidewalk Clock: 0.2 mi
- Saint Paul's Chapel: 0.3 mi
- New York Stock Exchange: 0.3 mi
- Woolworth Building: 0.3 mi
- Bird Island: 1.2 mi
- WNYC Transmitter Park: 3.1 mi
- Audubon Park: 3.8 mi
- Hallett Nature Sanctuary: 4.4 mi
- Riverbend Wetlands Preserve: 4.9 mi
- Pier 4 Beach: 1.2 mi
- Pebble Beach: 1.3 mi
- Newport Sand Beach: 1.7 mi
- Gansevoort Peninsula Sand Bluff: 2.0 mi
- Beach/Kayak launch ramp: 2.2 mi
- Grassy Hill: 1.7 mi
- Outlook Hill: 1.7 mi
- Slide Hill: 1.8 mi
- Discovery Hill: 1.8 mi
- Kings Bluff: 3.8 mi
- Pier 3 Greenway Terrace: 1.2 mi
- Picnic Peninsula: 1.3 mi
- Pier 5 Uplands Seating Area: 1.3 mi
- Freedom Field: 2.5 mi
- Street Seats: 4.4 mi
- Palisades: 2.7 mi
- Palisades: 4.1 mi
- Palisades: 6.9 mi
- Coogan's Bluff: 9.3 mi
- Palisades: 13.1 mi
- Ambergill Falls: 4.0 mi
- Fallkill Falls: 4.0 mi
- Binnen Falls: 4.2 mi
- The Loch: 6.5 mi
- Hemlock Falls: 14.6 mi
- LeFrak Point Lighthouse: 1.4 mi
- Sandy Hook Lighthouse: 17.2 mi
- Lighthouse Keeper's Quarters: 17.2 mi
- Sands Point Lighthouse: 18.3 mi
- Execution Rocks Light: 18.5 mi
- Vince Lombardi Service Area: 7.9 mi
- Larry Doby Service Area: 12.4 mi
- Thomas Edison Service Area: 16.8 mi
- Grover Cleveland Service Area: 16.8 mi
- Barber: 17.8 mi
- Feltville Historic District: 19.6 mi
- Tulip Springs: 14.9 mi
Summits around it
The highest named summits within 24.2 miles of The Sphere. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| High Mountain | NNW 332° | 268 m | 20.4 mi |
| Waughaw Mountain | NW 313° | 263 m | 24.2 mi |
| Beech Mountain | NNW 330° | 260 m | 21.4 mi |
| Mount Cecchino | NNW 331° | 230 m | 20.1 mi |
| Mount Nebo | N 11° | 208 m | 23.8 mi |
| Poacher Peak | NNW 329° | 185 m | 21.7 mi |
| Moon Hill | NNW 329° | 180 m | 21.4 mi |
| Stony Hill | WNW 300° | 179 m | 13.9 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:00 | 18:32 | 19:08 |
| June solstice | 05:26 | 19:50 | 20:31 |
| September equinox | 06:44 | 18:19 | 18:55 |
| December solstice | 07:17 | 15:49 | 16:32 |
Local time (America/New_York).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: Apr–Oct.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 34 | 36 | 43 | 54 | 63 | 72 | 78 | 76 | 69 | 58 | 48 | 39 |
| Precip in | 3.6 | 3.2 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 3.6 | 4.4 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — NY City Cntrl Park, 5 mi away.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikipediaWikidataOpenStreetMap element node/561042174
Day trips start here
- Manhattan/Financial District · 0 mi
- Downstate New York · 1 mi
- Manhattan/Chinatown · 1 mi
- Manhattan/Lower East Side · 1 mi
- Manhattan/SoHo · 1 mi
- Manhattan/TriBeCa · 1 mi
Take the scenic way to The Sphere.
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