A contemplative walk

In 2002, The Battery Conservancy created The Battery Labyrinth to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the 9/11 attack on World Trade Center and the resulting loss of life.  It offers to the public a way to reflect, honor, and heal. One of the oldest contemplative tools in existence, a labyrinth is a circular path providing a continuous route to the center and then returning to where the walker began.

A labyrinth is not a maze, in which tricks are the norm. A labyrinth is instead a journey with a clear destination. The walker is soothed by the repetition of steps and by the simplicity of the path. The walker need not make decisions, for there are no crossroads within a labyrinth.

Outlined with 1,148 Belgian blocks creating seven circular rings, The Battery Labyrinth runs approximately 358 feet to the center core and then 358 out again to the entrance. The gardens around the Labyrinth are populated entirely with native plants; witch hazels, spicebush, blueberries, asters, ferns, Golden Alexanders, and sedges, just to name a few.