World Trade Center Memorial
Encyclopedia
Fundraising
The Foundation has fundraising responsibilities because of the tasks assigned to it by the Lower Manhattan Development CorporationLower Manhattan Development Corporation
The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation was formed in July 2002, after the September 11 attacks to plan the reconstruction of Lower Manhattan and distribute nearly $10 billion in federal funds aimed at rebuilding downtown Manhattan....
(LMDC). The Foundation is to own, operate and finance:
- National September 11 Memorial, the formal "Reflecting Absence" memorial designed by Michael AradMichael AradMichael Arad is an Israeli-American architect who best known for being the designer of the World Trade Center Memorial. He won the competition to design the memorial in 2004.-Early life and education:...
and Peter WalkerPeter Walker (architect)Peter Walker is a landscape architect in the United States.-Biography and Influences:Peter Walker grew up in California and attended the University of California, Berkeley. Walker initially started out in Journalism but quickly changed his field...
. - National September 11 Memorial Museum, a museum to tell the story of the events.
John C. Whitehead
John C. Whitehead
John Cunningham Whitehead is an American banker and civil servant, currently a board member of the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation and, until his resignation in May 2006, chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation.-Biography:He was born in Evanston, Illinois...
was chairman of both LMDC
Lower Manhattan Development Corporation
The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation was formed in July 2002, after the September 11 attacks to plan the reconstruction of Lower Manhattan and distribute nearly $10 billion in federal funds aimed at rebuilding downtown Manhattan....
and the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation. He announced his resignation in May 2006. Former LMDC President Kevin Rampe will become chairman of the LMDC. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg replaced Whitehead as chairman of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.
Thomas S. Johnson
Thomas S. Johnson (banker)
Thomas S. Johnson is an American banker. He was chairman and CEO GreenPoint Financial Corp. and GreenPoint Bank and since April 23, 2001; he served there from 1993 to 2004. He has chaired the Board of Trustees of the United States-Japan Foundation....
, chairman of the foundation's executive committee announced on May 9, 2006:
On May 26, 2006, Gretchen Dykstra resigned as president and chief executive officer of the World Trade Center Foundation. The current president and CEO of the Foundation, Joseph C. Daniels, was appointed in October 2006.
The memorial projects were eventually toned down, and the budget was cut to $530 million. Heavy construction for the memorial began in August 2006, and despite delays, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum was still confident that the memorial would be complete by September 11, 2011. The memorial was indeed completed by this date, but the museum will not open until September 2012.
Construction
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, 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 US$1 billion.
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.
In July 2008, the Survivors' Staircase
Survivors' Staircase
The Survivors' Staircase is the last visible structure above ground level at the World Trade Center site. It was originally two outdoor flights of granite-clad stairs and an escalator that connected Vesey Street to the World Trade Center's Austin J. Tobin Plaza...
was lowered to bedrock, marking the first artifact to be moved into the museum. By the end of August 2008, construction on the footings and foundations had been completed. On September 2, 2008, construction workers erected the 7,700-pound first column for the memorial, near the footprint of the north tower. By then, approximately 70 percent of the construction trade contracts had been bid or were ready to award. In total, 9,100 tons of steel were installed at the site for the memorial. By April 2010, the reflecting pools were fully framed in steel, and 85% of the concrete had been poured. By April 22, 2010, workers had begun installation of the granite coating for the reflecting pools. By June 2010, the north pool's granite coating had been fully completed, and workers had begun installation of the granite in the south pool. In July 2010, the first shipments of soil arrived at the memorial site. In August 2010, workers started to plant trees on the memorial plaza. The trees, all swamp white oaks, can reach 60 to 80 feet at maturity, live as long as 300 to 350 years, and are golden-leafed in the fall. The "Survivor Tree" is a callery pear
Callery Pear
The Callery pear is a species of pear native to China and Vietnam, in the rose family . Callery pears are deciduous trees growing to tall, often with a conic to rounded crown. Their leaves are oval, long, glossy dark green above, and slightly paler below. The white, five-petaled flowers are...
that survived the devastation and was preserved for re-planting. In September 2010, workers reinstalled two tridents from the former twin towers.
In November 2010, workers started testing the north pool's waterfall. Construction progressed significantly through the spring of 2011. In March 2011, the installation of glass panels on the museum pavilion's façade began, and in May 2011, workers started testing the south pool's waterfall. Most of the memorial was finished in time for the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks, with the museum slated for completion one year later. By September 2, 2011, more than 242 trees had been planted at the site, while 8 more were planted before the memorial opened. By then, both pools had been completed, and were tested daily to ensure that the waterfalls were working. On September 12, 2011, one day after the 10th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, the memorial officially opened to the public. Work continues on the museum, which will be completed by September 2012.
Withdrawn proposals
Two centers were proposed and withdrawn from the World Trade Center Memorial plan in 2005:- The International Freedom CenterInternational Freedom CenterThe International Freedom Center was a proposed museum to be located adjacent to the site of Ground Zero at the former World Trade Center in New York City, USA...
– a "think tankThink tankA think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
" which was intended to draw attention to the battles for freedom through the ages. World Trade Center Memorial Foundation member Deborah BurlingameDeborah BurlingameDebra Burlingame is the sister of Charles "Chic" Burlingame III, the pilot of the hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 that was flown into the Pentagon on 9/11 by Al Qaeda terrorists....
wrote in The Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
that the center would have a mission that had nothing to do directly with the events of September 11 and could potentially criticize American policies. Blogs and commentators heavily criticized the center until Governor George PatakiGeorge PatakiGeorge Elmer Pataki is an American politician who was the 53rd Governor of New York. A member of the Republican Party, Pataki served three consecutive four-year terms from January 1, 1995 until December 31, 2006.- Early life :...
withdrew support for it. - The Drawing CenterDrawing CenterThe Drawing Center is a SoHo museum and the only nonprofit exhibition space in the United States to focus solely on the exhibition of drawings, both historical and contemporary.- Location and activities :...
Art Gallery at the World Trade Center – Plans called for the Freedom Center to share its space with the Drawing Center in a building called the "Cultural Center." The Daily News ran a series of articles questioning whether its exhibits would be appropriate at Ground Zero based on the gallery's previous exhibits in its small SoHoSoHoSoHo is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City, notable for being the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, and also, more recently, for the wide variety of stores and shops ranging from trendy boutiques to outlets of upscale national and international chain stores...
quarters.
Other 9/11 memorials
- Memorials and services for the September 11 attacks
- Flight 93 National MemorialFlight 93 National MemorialThe Flight 93 National Memorial is located at the site of the crash of United Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked in the September 11 attacks, in Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania, about north of Shanksville, and southeast of Pittsburgh. The memorial was made to honor the passengers of Flight...
, Shanksville, PennsylvaniaShanksville, PennsylvaniaShanksville is a borough in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, United States, with a population of 245, as of the 2000 census. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area and is approximately 60 miles southeast from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania... - Pentagon MemorialPentagon MemorialThe Pentagon Memorial, located just southwest of The Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia, is a permanent outdoor memorial to the 184 men and women who lost their lives as victims of the attack, killed both in the building and on American Airlines Flight 77 in the September 11, 2001...
- Tribute in LightTribute in LightThe Tribute in Light is an art installation of 88 searchlights placed next to the site of the World Trade Center to create two vertical columns of light in remembrance of the September 11 attacks. It is produced annually by The Municipal Art Society of New York...
, WTC site (temporary/periodic performance) - 9/11 Memorial (Arizona)9/11 Memorial (Arizona)The 9/11 Memorial in Arizona is a state memorial to the events and aftermath of September 11, 2001, located at the Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza near the State Capitol in Phoenix, Arizona. The monument is a circular plan with a flat inclined metal ring...
- Tear of GriefTear of GriefTo the Struggle Against World Terrorism is a 10-story-high sculpture by Zurab Tsereteli that was given to the United States as an official gift of the Russian government as a memorial to the victims of the September 11 attacks and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing...
- Staten Island September 11 MemorialStaten Island September 11 MemorialThe Postcards, is a Staten Island 9/11 Memorial, located in the St. George neighborhood on the northeastern tip of Staten Island. The permanent outdoor memorial built in 2004, honours 274 Staten Island residents killed in the September 11, 2001 attack and 1993 attack on World Trade Center...
, Staten Island, New York - Eisenhower ParkEisenhower ParkEisenhower Park is centrally located in East Meadow, New York bordered by Hempstead Turnpike on the south and Old Country Road on the north. At , it is larger than Central Park, with much of the area devoted to three 18-hole golf courses, including the Red Course, host to the annual Commerce Bank...
, memorial located inside the park East Meadow, New YorkEast Meadow, New YorkEast Meadow is a hamlet in Nassau County , New York, United States. East Meadow is an unincorporated area in the Town of Hempstead.... - The Rising (9-11 memorial)The Rising (9-11 memorial)The Rising is a memorial located in the Kensico Dam Plaza of Valhalla, Westchester County, New York, created by architect Frederic Schwartz. It stands against the backdrop of Kensico Dam, commemorating the September 11 attacks on America and remembering in a special way the men and women from...
, Valhalla, New YorkValhalla, New YorkValhalla is an unincorporated hamlet and census-designated place that is located within the town of Mount Pleasant, New York, in Westchester County. Its population was 3,162 at the 2010 U.S. Census... - Empty Sky (9-11 memorial)Empty Sky (9-11 memorial)Empty Sky is the official New Jersey September 11 memorial to the state's victims of the September 11 attacks on the United States. It is located in Liberty State Park in Jersey City at the mouth of Hudson River across from the World Trade Center site...
, Liberty State ParkLiberty State ParkLiberty State Park is located on Upper New York Bay in Jersey City, New Jersey, opposite the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. The park opened in 1976 to coincide with bicentennial celebrations and is operated and maintained by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry.-Geography and...
, NJ - Garden of Reflection (9-11 memorial), Yardley, PA