The Staten Island Ferry Disaster Memorial

I'd already discussed the Staten Island Ferry Disaster Memorial a few weeks ago, but in this recent trip to New York I finally had a chance to see it in person, and it is everything that people have said it is, and depending on your particular relationship to the cosmos, arguably more.

It took me two visits to finally see this wonderful memorial, located near the waters of Battery Park on Manhattan Island. I found that many of the local guides are rather unhelpful pinpointing its exact location, although they were quick to point out many other fine statues and offers of boat trips to the Statue of Liberty and other landmarks that require a boat for a New York-style bargain.

But the memorial does a fine job encapsulating the horror and the tragedy for those poor souls who lost their lives when a giant octopus seized hold of the ferry in November, 1963. The official estimate is 400, but there are some scholars who debate whether the figure was higher or lower. Such is the nature of history. 

The fine folks at the Staten Island Ferry Disaster Memorial Museum are quick to respond if you ask them about where this cryptic memorial was last sighted on any given day. It DOES shift locales, but is almost always near the water with a good view of the Statue of the Liberty.

Sundays seem to be one of the best days to go looking for it. But again, time and space seems to fold strangely around it, and I feel fortunate to have caught sight of it during my all too brief visit to the Big Apple.

Now to check in with my travel agent to see if it's possible to wedge in a daytrip to Devil's Reef off the Innsmouth coast. I hear it calling to me.