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Park51 AI simulator
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Park51
Park51 (originally named Cordoba House) was a development originally envisioned as a 13-story Islamic community center and mosque in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The developers hoped to promote interfaith dialogue. Due to its proposed location, two blocks from the World Trade Center site of the September 11 attacks, the proposed building was widely and controversially referred to as the "Ground Zero mosque", and the issue was amplified as an astroturf campaign to influence the 2010 United States elections.
The project would replace an existing 1850s Italianate building that was damaged in the attacks. The original design was by SOMA Architects principal Michel Abboud, who wrestled for months with the challenge of making the building fit naturally into its lower Manhattan surroundings. He felt it should have a contemporary design, but also look Islamic. His design included a 500-seat auditorium, theater, performing arts center, fitness center, swimming pool, basketball court, childcare area, bookstore, culinary school, art studio, food court, and a memorial to the victims of the September 11 attacks. It also included a prayer space for the Muslim community that would accommodate 1,000–2,000 people.
In late September 2011, a temporary 4,000-square-foot (370 m2) Islamic center opened in renovated space at the Park51 location. In summer 2014, it was announced that there would instead be a three-story museum with a prayer space, as well as condos, at 49–51 Park Place. The plans were changed again in September 2015 when the owner announced a 667-foot (203 m) 70-story luxury condominium building at the site. In May 2016, financing was secured for a 43-story condominium building with room for an Islamic cultural museum adjacent to it.
The condominium building, called 45 Park Place, started construction in 2017 and was nearly completed by 2019. Construction of the Islamic cultural space, slated to contain 16,000 square feet (1,500 m2) of space and measure 71 feet (22 m) tall at 51 Park Place, had not begun as of 2025[update].
Plans to build what was then called "Cordoba House" were reported in The New York Times in December 2009, at a location that was already in use for Muslim worship. Early response to the project was not pronounced, and one libertarian commentator provided positive coverage. The plans were reviewed by Manhattan Community Board 1 in May 2010, at which time they attracted some national media attention. The project's organizers stated that it was intended to be "a platform for multi-faith dialogue, striving to promote inter-community peace, tolerance and understanding; locally in New York City, nationally in America, and globally." They said that it was modeled on the noted Manhattan Jewish Community Center at 76th Street and Amsterdam Ave. The proposal triggered an intense nationwide controversy.
The original Cordoba House sparked a controversy among well funded experts,[clarification needed] already engaged in what some have labeled as misinformation campaigns, warning of the threat of radical Islam. Numerous other protests, which have reached millions of Americans, were sparked by a campaign launched by conservative bloggers Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer, founders of Stop Islamization of America, who dubbed the project the "Ground Zero mosque", and a national controversy ensued. Conservative media also involved in protests against Islam following the September 11 attacks had published material during previous campaigns.
In 2010 the Supreme Court ruled on Citizens United. This allowed unlimited funding of special interest groups in American politics as long as the groups did not coordinate with political parties. The campaign against Park51, marked the first explosion in what critics call dark money into American elections. These campaigns amplified opinions of supporters argued that arguments against the building are based on the notion that Islam, rather than Islamic radicals, was responsible for the attacks on the World Trade Center. The New York Times reported that Muslim religious facilities previously existed at the World Trade Center itself before the attacks.
The project was originally called Cordoba House, then renamed Park51, in reference to the street address on Park Place. Later, the Imam leading the project introduced some ambiguity by again referring to the project as "Cordoba House". The Park51 website then clarified that Park51 is the community center, while Cordoba House is the "interfaith and religious component of the center".
Park51
Park51 (originally named Cordoba House) was a development originally envisioned as a 13-story Islamic community center and mosque in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The developers hoped to promote interfaith dialogue. Due to its proposed location, two blocks from the World Trade Center site of the September 11 attacks, the proposed building was widely and controversially referred to as the "Ground Zero mosque", and the issue was amplified as an astroturf campaign to influence the 2010 United States elections.
The project would replace an existing 1850s Italianate building that was damaged in the attacks. The original design was by SOMA Architects principal Michel Abboud, who wrestled for months with the challenge of making the building fit naturally into its lower Manhattan surroundings. He felt it should have a contemporary design, but also look Islamic. His design included a 500-seat auditorium, theater, performing arts center, fitness center, swimming pool, basketball court, childcare area, bookstore, culinary school, art studio, food court, and a memorial to the victims of the September 11 attacks. It also included a prayer space for the Muslim community that would accommodate 1,000–2,000 people.
In late September 2011, a temporary 4,000-square-foot (370 m2) Islamic center opened in renovated space at the Park51 location. In summer 2014, it was announced that there would instead be a three-story museum with a prayer space, as well as condos, at 49–51 Park Place. The plans were changed again in September 2015 when the owner announced a 667-foot (203 m) 70-story luxury condominium building at the site. In May 2016, financing was secured for a 43-story condominium building with room for an Islamic cultural museum adjacent to it.
The condominium building, called 45 Park Place, started construction in 2017 and was nearly completed by 2019. Construction of the Islamic cultural space, slated to contain 16,000 square feet (1,500 m2) of space and measure 71 feet (22 m) tall at 51 Park Place, had not begun as of 2025[update].
Plans to build what was then called "Cordoba House" were reported in The New York Times in December 2009, at a location that was already in use for Muslim worship. Early response to the project was not pronounced, and one libertarian commentator provided positive coverage. The plans were reviewed by Manhattan Community Board 1 in May 2010, at which time they attracted some national media attention. The project's organizers stated that it was intended to be "a platform for multi-faith dialogue, striving to promote inter-community peace, tolerance and understanding; locally in New York City, nationally in America, and globally." They said that it was modeled on the noted Manhattan Jewish Community Center at 76th Street and Amsterdam Ave. The proposal triggered an intense nationwide controversy.
The original Cordoba House sparked a controversy among well funded experts,[clarification needed] already engaged in what some have labeled as misinformation campaigns, warning of the threat of radical Islam. Numerous other protests, which have reached millions of Americans, were sparked by a campaign launched by conservative bloggers Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer, founders of Stop Islamization of America, who dubbed the project the "Ground Zero mosque", and a national controversy ensued. Conservative media also involved in protests against Islam following the September 11 attacks had published material during previous campaigns.
In 2010 the Supreme Court ruled on Citizens United. This allowed unlimited funding of special interest groups in American politics as long as the groups did not coordinate with political parties. The campaign against Park51, marked the first explosion in what critics call dark money into American elections. These campaigns amplified opinions of supporters argued that arguments against the building are based on the notion that Islam, rather than Islamic radicals, was responsible for the attacks on the World Trade Center. The New York Times reported that Muslim religious facilities previously existed at the World Trade Center itself before the attacks.
The project was originally called Cordoba House, then renamed Park51, in reference to the street address on Park Place. Later, the Imam leading the project introduced some ambiguity by again referring to the project as "Cordoba House". The Park51 website then clarified that Park51 is the community center, while Cordoba House is the "interfaith and religious component of the center".