Even after walking past Ground Zero to work for the last three years, I still mentally picture it as a stalled construction site around an empty hole because of the many delays and controversies in rebuilding the World Trade Center. And so its progress still sneaks up on me. Just last week, while waiting for cart food, I realized for the first time that I couldn't see the top of the 3 WTC without tilting my head up.
I created this page to put some of the various WTC/Ground Zero photos I've taken over the years, including the Tribute in Light memorial at Rector Street and the various rallies.
I looked through my personal archive to find the oldest photos I've taken of the WTC site. In August 2011, I tried recreating those photos by eye. The before and after can be seen below. Click and drag the line to see before-and-after.
Dan Nguyen has been a resident in New York for three years. He is a journalist at ProPublica