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| September 11th Memorials - The Construction Continues |
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Posted: 2:54 PM Sep 10, 2008
Last Updated: 12:18 PM Sep 11, 2008
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World
Trade Center Memorials
Tribute in Light
The Tribute in Light was a temporary art installation of 88
searchlights placed next to the site of the World Trade Center from
March 11 to April 14, 2002 to create two vertical columns of light in
remembrance of the September 11, 2001 attacks. The installation was
launched again in 2003 to mark the second anniversary of the attack,
and as of 2007 has been done every year since on September 11. The
tribute will run again in 2008, but has not been funded for future
years.
Those working on the project came up with the concept in the week
following the attack. Architects John Bennett and Gustavo
Bonevardi of PROUN Space Studio distributed their "Project for the
Immediate Reconstruction of Manhattan's Skyline."
Artists Julian LaVerdiere and Paul Myoda, who before September 11 were
working on the 91st floor of the World Trade Center north tower on a
proposed light sculpture on the giant radio antenna with Creative Time,
conceived of the project "Phantom Towers," and were commissioned by
<i>The New York Times Magazine</i> to create an image of
the project for its September 23 cover.
Richard Nash Gould, a New York architect, went to the Municipal Art
Society with the concept. Gould was part of a firm whose SoHo office
looked on the World Trade Center. Other projects by Gould include
Howard, Darby & Levin in New York City and Polo Sport, Ralph Lauren
in New York City.
On September 19, chairman Philip K. Howard wrote to Mayor Rudy
Giuliani, asking him "to consider placing two large searchlights near
the disaster site, projecting their light straight up into the
sky." After some consideration it was decided to contact lighting
experts in the field of high intensity light displays. A Las Vegas
company was chosen to help design the installation and to supply the 88
fixtures that would be needed.
On clear nights, the lights could be seen from over 60 miles away,
clearly visible in all of New York City and most of suburban Northern
New Jersey and Long Island, Fairfield, Connecticut, Westchester County
and Rockland County, New York. The beams were clearly visible from the
terrace at Century Country Club in Purchase, New York, from at least as
far west as western Morris County, in Flanders, New Jersey, and as far
south near Trenton, New Jersey in nearby Hamilton.
The project was originally going to be named "Towers of Light," but the
victims' families complained that the name emphasized the buildings
destroyed instead of the people killed.
National September
11th Memorial
In August 2006, the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation and the Port
Authority of New York and New Jersey began heavy construction on the
National September 11 Memorial & Museum. The Memorial will be
located at the World Trade Center site, on the former location of the
two destroyed towers. The World Trade Center Memorial Foundation was
renamed the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World
Trade Center in 2007. The winner of the World Trade Center Site
Memorial Competition was Israeli architect Michael Arad of Handel
Architects, a New York and San Francisco-based firm. Arad worked with
landscape architecture firm Peter Walker and Partners on the design
which calls for a forest of trees with two square pools in the center,
where the Twin Towers stood.
The design is consistent with the original Daniel Libeskind master plan
that called for the memorial to be 30 feet below street level
(originally 70 feet) in a piazza. The design was the only finalist to
throw out Libeskind's requirement that buildings overhang the
footprints.
A memorial was planned in the immediate aftermath of the attacks and
destruction of the World Trade Center to remember both the victims and
those involved in rescue. The National September 11 Memorial &
Museum at the World Trade Center is a non-profit corporation with the
mission to raise funds for, program, own and operate the Memorial &
Museum at the World Trade Center site.
The memorial consists of a park at street level with two recessed
square pools located 30 feet (9m) below street level, fed by waterfalls
along the walls. At the center of the pools are recessed squares into
which the water flows. The waterfalls will be the largest manmade
waterfalls in the country. The names of the victims will be
inscribed on parapets surrounding the pools at street level. The design
will place the names of the victims who were in Tower 1 and the victims
on Flight 11, which hit Tower 1 around the North Pool. The names
surrounding the South Pool will include: those killed in Tower 2, the
victims who were in the immediate vicinity of the Towers, the victims
on Flight 175, which hit Tower 2, the first responders, the passengers
on Flight 93, which crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, the
passengers on Flight 77, which hit the Pentagon; those killed at
Pentagon, and the victims of the February 26, 1993 WTC bombing. Company
employees and their visitors will be listed together, but without the
names of their companies. Passengers of the four flights will be listed
together under their flight numbers. First responders will be listed
together with their units.
The National September 11 Memorial Museum will be located 70 feet below
ground. An admission fee is under consideration. The museum will
feature interactive exhibits that are designed to teach visitors about
the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and February 26, 1993
through firsthand accounts and artifacts. The largest asset of the
museum will be the exposed slurry wall, which held back the Hudson
River and remained standing after the attacks.
On March 13, 2006, construction workers arrived at the WTC site to
commence work on the Reflecting Absence design. On that same day,
relatives of the victims and other concerned citizens gathered to
protest the new memorial, stating that the memorial should be built
above ground. The president of the memorial foundation, however, has
stated that family members were consulted and formed a consensus in
favor of the current design, and that work will continue as planned.
In May 2006, it was disclosed that the estimated construction costs for
the Memorial had risen to over $1 billion. At $1 billion, it
would approach the cost of the World Trade Center for which
construction was completed in 1970 in nominal dollar terms. In 2006, at
the request of Governor George Pataki and Mayor Michael Bloomberg,
builder Frank Sciame performed a month-long analysis, which considered
input from victims' families, the Lower Manhattan business and
residential communities, members of the memorial jury, architects and
others. The analysis recommended design changes that kept the memorial
and museum within the $500 million budget.
On September 2, 2008, construction workers erected the 7,700 pound
first column for the memorial, near the footprint of the north tower.
America's Heroes
Memorial
Opened in September 2002 after Pentagon repairs were completed, the
America's Heroes Memorial and chapel are housed where American Airlines
Flight 77 crashed into the building. The memorial includes a book
of photographs and biographies of the victims. It also includes five
large black acrylic panels: one displays the Purple Heart medal awarded
to military members killed in the attacks, another shows the medal
given to civilians, two back wall panels are etched with the victims'
names, and a center panel shows tribute statements. The small chapel,
located in an adjacent room, has stained glass windows with
patriotic-themed designs.
The Pentagon
Memorial
The Pentagon Memorial is an outdoor memorial; it is scheduled to be
dedicated in September 2008, and will be open to the public. Another
memorial to victims of the Pentagon attack is located in Arlington
National Cemetery. The site of the memorial will be the first actual
9/11 Memorial; law enforcement function for the memorial falls under
the jurisdiction of the United States Pentagon Police.
The Pentagon Memorial is being constructed from a design by Julie
Beckman and Keith Kaseman of New York City (with design support from
Buro Happold) that was chosen following a design competition. The
memorial will honor the 184 victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks
at The Pentagon. At the heart of the memorial will be 184 illuminated
benches, arranged according to the victim's ages, from 3 to 71, in a
landscaped 1.93-acre plot. The benches representing the victims on the
plane will face skyward, and the benches representing the victims that
were inside the building will face the Pentagon (in both cases, the
line of sight follows the flight's path). As part of the landscaping,
there will be approximately 80 Paperbark Maple trees planted.
The Pentagon Memorial Fund, Inc. has a goal of raising $32 million. The
construction of the memorial is estimated to cost $22 million, with
another $10 million set aside in an endowment to provide maintenance of
the memorial. As of May 2007, $13.8 million had been raised for
construction of the memorial. Donations include $250,000 from American
Forests towards planting trees at the memorial, and $1 million from the
government of Taiwan.
Construction began on June 15, 2006, and will be dedicated and opened
to the public on September 11, 2008. By November 2006, site
excavation, re-routing of existing utility lines had been completed,
and water lines laid for the fountain pools. By May 2007, the
foundation of the perimeter wall was built and concrete pilings poured
for each bench.
Flight 93 Memorial
Flight 93 National Memorial protects the site of the crash of United
Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked in the September 11, 2001
attacks, in Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania, about 2 miles north of
Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and 60 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. A
temporary memorial to the 40 victims was established soon after the
crash, with a permanent memorial slated to be constructed and completed
by 2011. The current design for the memorial is a modified version of
the entry Crescent of Embrace by Paul and Milena Murdoch.
Temporary Memorial
The site of the crash is enclosed by a fence and is closed to the
public except for victims' family members. The temporary memorial is
located on a hillside 500 yards from the crash site. The memorial
includes a 40-foot (to commemorate the 40 passengers) chain-link fence
on which visitors can leave flags, hats, rosaries, and other items. The
items are collected by the Somerset Historical Center and stored until
a permanent memorial is built.
Next to the fence are several memorials such as a bronze plaque of
names, flags, and a large cross. The temporary memorial also includes a
row of small wooden angels, one for each passenger or crew member.
There are also handwritten messages on the guardrails at the
memorial. At the memorial site, there is also a small building
where visitors can sign a guestbook. The building is staffed by
National Park Service volunteers, called ambassadors, who answer
questions. In the years following the attacks, approximately 150,000
visitors each year have come to the memorial site.
Permanent Memorial
On March 7, 2002, Congressman John Murtha (PA-12) introduced a bill in
the United States House of Representatives to establish a National
Memorial to be developed by a commission, and ultimately administered
by the National Park Service. On April 16, 2002, Senator Arlen Specter
(PA) introduced a version of the "Flight 93 National Memorial Act" in
the Senate. On September 10, 2002 the bill passed both houses of
Congress. The final bill specifically excluded the four hijackers from
the passengers to be memorialized. When signed by President George W.
Bush on September 24, 2002, it became Public Law No. 107-226, and the
site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. By
September 2005, the commission was required to send to the Secretary of
the Interior and Congress recommendations for the planning, design,
construction, and long-term management of a permanent memorial.
The proposed boundaries of the National Memorial extend from
Lambertsville Road to U.S. Highway 30. It will be about 2,200 acres, of
which about 1,000 will be privately held, but protected through
partnership agreements. The memorial itself would be a 400-acre "bowl"
shaped area, with 1,800 surrounding acres as a buffer. In
December 2002, landowner Tim Lambert donated six acres at the crash
site, and entered discussions with the Conservation Fund regarding 160
additional acres. Using some funds donated from receipts for the
film United 93, the Families of Flight 93 organization purchased three
acres in the summer of 2006. The organization is also seeking $10
million in federal funding to use for acquiring land. In November
2006, the Conservation Fund acquired 100 acres as buffer land which are
to be managed by the Pennsylvania Game Commission. PBS Coals Inc. sold
900 acres to the the families organization in March 2008.
The commission decided to select the final design for the memorial
through a multi-stage design competition funded by grants from the
Heinz Foundations and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The
competition began on September 11, 2004. More than 1,000 entries were
submitted. In February 2005, five finalists were selected for further
development and consideration. The 15-member final jury included family
members, design and art professionals, and community and national
leaders. After three days of review and debate, they announced the
winner on September 7, 2005: Crescent of Embrace by a design team led
by Paul and Milena Murdoch of Los Angeles.
The design featured a "Tower of Voices," containing 40 wind chimes —
one for each passenger and crew member who died. A crescent is formed
by a circular pathway lined with red maple trees that follows the
natural bowl shape of the land. Forty groves of red and sugar maples
and eastern white oak trees were to be planted behind the crescent. A
black slate wall would mark the edge of the crash site, where the
victims are buried.
This design drew criticism because it was entitled "Crescent of
Embrace". The crescent is a symbol of Islam, and the terrorists who
hijacked the aircraft were Muslim and conducted the attacks in the name
of Islam.
Jury member Tom Burnett Sr., whose son was killed in the crash, said he
made an impassioned speech to his fellow jurors about what he felt the
crescent represented, "I explained this goes back centuries as an
old-time Islamic symbol," Burnett said. "I told them we'd be a laughing
stock if we did this." Representative Tom Tancredo of Colorado
has opposed the design's shape "because of the crescent's prominent use
as a symbol in Islam." Mike Rosen of the Rocky Mountain News wrote: "On
the anniversaries of 9/11, it's not hard to visualize al-Qaeda
celebrating the crescent of maple trees, turning red in the fall,
"embracing" the Flight 93 crash site. To them, it would be a memorial
to their fallen martyrs. Why invite that? Just come up with a different
design that eliminates the double meaning and the dispute." It
has also been pointed out that the design's crescent is oriented toward
Mecca.
The architect asserts that this is coincidental and that there was no
intent to refer to Muslim symbols. Several victims' families agreed,
including the family of Edward P. Felt. The Council on
American-Islamic Relations has denounced criticism as Islamophobic.
Others criticized the design as too non-representational. "We don't
need giant statues of the guys ramming the drink cart into the door.
But pedantic though such a monument might be, future generations would
infer the plot. All you get from a Crescent of Embrace is a sorrowful
sigh of all-encompassing grief and absolution, as if the lives of all
who died on that spot were equal in tragedy. They were not," wrote
James Lileks, a journalist and architectural commentator.
In response to criticism, the designer has agreed to modify the plan.
The architect believes that the central elements can be maintained to
satisfy criticism. "It's a disappointment there is a misinterpretation
and a simplistic distortion of this, but if that is a public concern,
then that is something we will look to resolve in a way that keeps the
essential qualities," Murdoch, 48, said in a telephone interview to the
Associated Press.
The redesigned memorial has the plain shape of a circle (as opposed to
a crescent) bisected by the flight's trajectory. "The circle enhances
the earlier design by putting more emphasis on the crash site,
officials said in the newsletter. A break in the trees will symbolize
the path the plane took as it crashed." There is criticism that
the redesign does not address any of the issues with the original
design.
The cost of the permanent memorial is estimated at $57 million, and
will be covered by $30 million in private donations, plus federal and
state funds. The permanent memorial is planned to be dedicated on
September 11, 2011. As of April 2007, only $11 million had been
raised, falling short of the fundraising goal.
Sources:
CLICK HERE to return to 9/11 Anniversary Main Page
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Expert: Big 3 Failure Would Be Disaster
- Posted By: craig: If anyone in power was really concerned with helping people of lesser means we would be talking about bring jobs back to the USA where we can prosper and be proud of hard work again. how about a bailout for the countless unemployed AMERICANS, or parents on the brink of disaster that will last a lifetime.
- Posted By: craig: government should help automakers at this point, however to say they (auto makers) are not responsible for the recession is absurd. how many more jobs can they push overseas before there will be no one left to purchase their products anyhow?
- Posted By: Buzz: Why should the Big 3 be bailed out? GM wants to sell off our discontinue the Saturn, which is affordable but has made no mention of discontinuing the Corvette and other less affordable models. If GM wants help have them pick one particular model in each of its lines, i.e. the Lacrosse for Buick, Impala for Chevrolet and the Aura for Saturn. GM is about as impervious as the out-going President is - they just don't get it! I read and sympathize with the line workers who say they can't even afford to buy a new car from the company that they work for - that's pretty sad and certainly doesn't promote company solidarity. Like I've said before, make the Big 3 sell what's sitting at all the dealerships even if they have to take a loss before making another automobile. Why keep making what nobody wants at prices nobody wants to pay?
- Posted By: Beth: The Big 3 failure would be a major disaster - I agree. However, I don't feel that the government or tax payers should bail them out until they have made the same kinds of concessions that citizens, small business, and union members have already made. Begin by severely downsizing the execs and their benefits i.e. luxuries. Times are tough and they should share in the "recession life style" is part of the reason for decreased car sales. I need a newer car badly, but it's not on my shopping list any time soon. They are flying and driving nice cars. Get real! The union members have suffered considerable cuts already including loss of workers, benefits and wages. Make equal cuts in management, wages, and benefits, then look at union members' additional concessions, and financial aide from the government.
- Posted By: jon: like i said we the workers will and are getting hurt.they gain we lose
- Posted By: ME: Thank you UAW, if the union would not have barganed until the big 3 couldn't afford it any more we would all be able to afford nice cars. I was in the union before and it definently isnt all peaches and cream. Sure they will fight to get you more but look what it has done.. Workers recieved more then the company could afford and now more may lose everything. Thanks again UAW. It is flat out B.S. that the government will bail out huge corporations but only give the autos a loan. Its all for the politicians gain, main street
America has been hurting alot longer then wall street, but wall street affected the politicians pocket so they did something about it. Mr & Mrs politician help us out, cut your pay & benefits.......quit cutting ours.
- Posted By: LegallyRad: To Explain: If the banks were not bailed out, that would have affected the big 3, and every other business that deals with the banks (show me one that doesn't). This has nothing to do with Bush. Big 3 are very poorly run, and concede too much to organized labor. The bail out will first be essentially worthless since it will amount to a drop in a bucket, and the companies just blow cash. They need to fail to preserve our American capitalistic economy. Chances are only one or two of them will go out of business, but if they properly restructure then they could be saved... restructuring means cutting labor costs and consolidating products. If you want to blame something, it's mostly due to the mortgage crisis which began with Carter and Clinton who refused to allow banks to ensure that people could actually pay for their loans because they felt it might be discrimination. Look where that policy got us. Bush just happens to be in office when their poorly built floor calapsed.
- Posted By: Michele: I cannot believe that they are not going to bail out the Big 3.Ford is not even sure it is going to need the money. And why do the banks get bailouts with no questions asked but they make the Big 3 jump through hoops of fire and all they want to do is borrow the money...... Reid is an idiot, and doesn't have a clue of how manufacturing works and what the ramifications down the road will be. Including restraurant, stores, and other service industries closing and going out of business due to lack of business. Let's keep America working!
- Posted By: : George Bush did not run our country in the ditch. He crash it stright into the wall at 100/mph.
- Posted By: pat: this is one more reason we need to thank George Bush for running our country into the ditch!
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