Every trip to NYC should include a visit to Ground Zero. I have now been three times now and have seen changes each time. It is a sobering trip, but something needed in order to remember. To remember the awful tragedy that took place on September 11, 2001. I remember I was home with Nathan who was not yet one. He must have been taking a nap, because I was watching Seventh Heaven. I remember that Dad called and said to turn on the TV because a plane had just flown into the WTC. I remember that I turned to the news, thought "that is awful and how could an accident like this happen?" I turned back to my show that was almost over because I didn't think it was anything but an accident. For whatever reason I can't remember, I didn't finish Seventh Heaven, but turned back to the news instead. At that time, I finally realized that it was not an accident. That a group of hate filled people had attacked our country and killed many innocent Americans. Our lives were changed forever that day.
So that is why Jennifer and I decided to go the the WTC Tribute Tour. This is a tour led by people who have been affected personally by 9/11. Our guide was named Howie and he lives about 4 miles from Ground Zero. We also had two other men who talked with us. One was a guard at the WTC and had just left his shift that morning before the attack. The other man lives within view of the site and was in his apartment when the second plane flew over it before hitting the second building. It was a moving tour that focused on what happened on September 11 and how the buildings themselves collapsed. We also learned how and when the memorial will be finished. They are planning on finishing the memorial by September 11, 2011 for the 10 year anniversary. With all the political hemming and hawing that has taken place around the construction, it was good to see it finally happening and to see the patriotic spirits of our guides. Howie called the halfway completed tower the Freedom Tower even though he said that is not it's official name. He also said that it will be a little higher than the original Twin Towers and that "we are going to build it back and build it higher." He was a true New Yorker who was loves his town and his country and doesn't want any terrorist to break his spirit. He also has to go for a physical every year to keep check on any possible problems caused by the poisonous products that were in the air after the buildings collapsed. That is something I had not thought about. I knew that when Dave and I had visited the site in Feb 2002, it was very dirty and dusty looking. Howie explained that FEMA had sent people 2 times to clean his apartment because things like copier toner and other office products, in addition to building dust and debris were in the air after the attack.
The memorial they are building will be in the footprints of the Twin Towers. They are planning two waterfalls over the perimeters of the footprints with the water cascading over the names of all the victims in NYC, the Pentagaon, and in Pennsylvania. There will be lots of trees around and it will be a peaceful place of reflection. It sounds like a fitting memorial and it will be right beside the new Freedom Tower that is halfway finished in terms of height. I definitely plan on visiting this memorial the next time I am in NYC. The rest I can only say with the pictures.
The firefighter's memorial and our guide Howie. He works for a cummunications company and helped get power back on in the city after the attacks.
The building on the right is completed and I think he said about 80% filled with working office space. The tower on the left is the Freedom Tower and the height it is now is about half of what it will be when completed. He said the memorial will be completed by Sept. 11, but I don't know if that included the building.
It is hard to see in this picture online, but behind the red crane is the footprint of Tower 2 that collapsed. To it's left, behind the building is where Tower 1 was. That building on the left is the halfway completed Freedom Tower.
This is a memorial that American Express built to remember the workers who were in the AE office in the WTC. Eleven men and women died in their office. This has a quartz in the middle of a pool that has eleven sides. Above it, eleven water holes randomly drip drops of water into the pool to make ripples.
Glad you enjoyed that tour - when we took it last fall our guide was a MTA worker who had just finished his shift and usually stayed late but didn't that day and was heading home when the towers were hit and then the tunnels were closed. He lives on Staten Island. It is a beautiful tour and memorial to those that died and people really put their whole heart into every part of it!
ReplyDelete