I first arrived in the Port Authority Bus Terminal, which is arguably the worst place in New York City (or as John Oliver says, “the single worst place on planet Earth”) but just about the only way to get in or out by interstate bus, and it happens to be conveniently right across the street from where my friend, Shawn works – the New York Times building. The plan was to meet up with him there to get his house keys and maybe a brief tour of the office, then get settled in their apartment while Shawn went to his band practice that evening.

The interesting thing about Port Authority is that it’s right smack in the touristy glory of Times Square. It’s like the Valley of Ashes off of which the glamor of West Egg leeches. Since much of the place goes underground, descending feels like traversing Dante’s nine circles of hell. Don’t just take my word for it – here’s some more documentation on Port Authority.

Yelp Reviews (2 out of 5 star average at the time of writing)

John Oliver’s bit:

I read something a while back about how asking a person for directions while traveling is much more interesting than asking one’s phone, so I found my way to an information desk. There was a woman behind (presumably bullet proof) glass who looked up from whatever she was doing to distract herself from being in Port Authority and seemed disappointed that I came to ask a question. There was a phone next to the glass, and I gestured to it and picked up the phone and asked if I was supposed to use it to communicate with her. She shook her head and looked more annoyed. I shouted loudly through the glass: “Can you tell me which way it is to the New York Times building?” She pointed in the general direction.

Just outside the door were two opposing tides of rush hour pedestrian traffic that plowed the sidewalk clear of anything that wasn’t moving. I got shelter behind some stationary object that parted the seas and took this snapshot, while I narrowly escaped getting mauled.

Shawn gave me a T Magazine tote bag and a brochure on the architecture of the building. I learned that the theme of the design is transparency. Also, the horizontal slats across the windows are ceramic tubes, which, if laid end to end, would stretch from New York City to Providence.

The lobby was sparse and open with an interactive installation with screens that displayed curated snippets from the news archives. The transitions were cleverly animated.

In the center of the building was a courtyard with floor-to-ceiling glass on all four sides. The grass grew long enough to lay flat. There were two doors on either side of a walkway, but even employees are not allowed to enter. I suppose it’s only landscapers who get to go in.

The cafeteria tables are surrounded by all Eames chairs.

Here’s Shawn in action. He had to check a couple of e-mails before we left.

The next day, I met up with our friend, Gromano for lunch. He works in the digital department for Conde Nast. Some days in the new One World Trade Center building but mostly in a building across the way. As he says, they like to keep the digital people “over there”.

I walked around the 9/11 memorial for a bit. I found it pretty impressive – very Vietnam Veterans Memorial -esque.

Here’s the outside of the building, apparently the tallest in the Western Hemisphere.

Something was happening outside – not sure what. There were about 100 cops on motorcycles waiting around, then they all rode off at the same time.

I got a visitor badge like this at each security desk.

Here are some sights from inside the tower:

Shawn and Gromano’s offices were actually quite similar, though I don’t think they have seen each other’s respective workplaces since they’re usually working in their own at the same time. Both had meeting rooms where people clipped up printed thumbnails of layouts to the wall and moved them around. Both had “smart elevators” on which one indicates the destination before entering the elevator, and said elevator determines the best route for all the passengers and tells each one which car to take. These swanky skyscrapers provided a nice sanctuary from the chaos of Manhattan.