World Trade Center site
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The World Trade Center site is the 16-acre (6.47-hectare) real estate on which the WTC complex stood in New York until the September 11, 2001 attacks.
The site is located in lower Manhattan island and most of the site (where its buildings except 7WTC were located) is bounded to the north by Vesey Street, to the west by the West Side Highway, to the south by Liberty Street and to the east by Church Street. In the northern portion of the site across Vesey Street, the former location of 7WTC is bounded to the west by Washington Street, to the north by Barclay Street, and to the east by West Broadway.
The lease for the site and its rebuilding was purchased in July 2001 by Silverstein Properties Inc. owner Larry Silverstein from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) for $3.2 billion.
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[edit] Debris
The "Pile" is the name used by the site rescue, recovery and removal workers to describe the colossal amount of site debris after the attacks. The workers avoided using the name "Ground Zero" which describes the exact location on the ground where any explosion occurs, but became synonymous with the site nonetheless.
The debris smoldered for more than five months. It resisted attempts by firefighters to extinguish the burning until most of the debris was removed. The effect of the smoke and other hazardous materials on the site workers is still controversial.
[edit] Removal
The workers cleared the debris and recovered the remains of many people who died in the attacks. While the debris was searched at a special part of the Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island, NY for remains as small as a U.S. one-cent coin, some victims' families have asked for the debris to be reinterred at or near the WTC site. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg denied the request because of its cost and what he considered its impracticality; however, a small memorial is planned at the landfill.
The "last-piece" of site structural steel was part of the 2WTC South Tower. The piece was ceremoniously draped with the U.S. flag and carried out on the last day of the removal. It was symbolic of those people whose remains were never recovered or identified. The site was officially cleared in May 2002, about four months earlier than expected. The "Pile" name hasn't been used since then.
A "Tribute In Light" was displayed at the site as an infrequent and temporary memorial since the site was cleared.
Several 9/11 conspiracy theories cite the fact that the site was briskly cleaned up, rather than thoroughly investigated, as a suspicious cover-up.
[edit] Preserving and recycling
The "last-piece" of steel has been recycled as the bow of the new San Antonio-class amphibious assault ship USS New York which was named after the state, not the city.
A few site relics, including the cross, the Vesey Street "Survivors' Staircase" [1], and a PATH station passageway to the Eighth Avenue subway-station platforms, remain.
Pieces of the steel and other relics that were recovered there were preserved by the U.S. and other governments included evidence, a U.S. flag, a Union Flag presented back to the British government, and a New Zealand Flag presented back to the New Zealand government a piece of steel later buried at the U.S. embassy in Afghanistan, pieces of steel later displayed as public art, the "last-piece" of steel, and personal and corporate effects exhibited at museums.
The remaining 181,400 tons of steel were sold for $120 a ton to foundries in China, India and South Korea, and later recycled as various things including automobile parts, challenge coins, commemorative coins, commemorative crucifixes and Stars of David, commemorative knives, food cans, household appliances, paper clips and rebar.
The owner of the IAM International Agile Manufacturing LLC foundry in Statesboro, Ga. purchased a 50-ton piece of steel and reforged it into one-pound (4.375-inches x 3.5-inches x 0.375-inches) "World Trade Center Commemorative Medallions." The foundry gave medallions to the victims' families and sold the remainder publicly without profit for $39.95 each. The medallions portrayed the former Manhattan skyline against the U.S. flag. After receiving complaints, the foundry stopped its reforging of the steel and returned the remainder to the site where it was resold for recycling.
Despite the other recycling, only the medallions were stopped; relatively few medallions are therefore in private collection.
[edit] Rebuilding
PANYNJ rebuilding guidelines required the replacement of all site commercial space and public streets, greatly limiting the possible land-use designs. Despite this, six plans were published in July 2002 to great public scorn.
One of the most popular plans, rebuilding the site Twin Towers, was rejected by Lower Manhattan Development Corp. staffers after Silverstein staffers described how new office buildings with more than 70 floors would create short- to medium-term vacancies while rebuilding the towers.
Chief Architect David Childs of Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill denounced the plan publicly and described the towers and super block as out of place and lacking in public-space activity and aesthetics. The near-universal disapproval forced LMDC staffers to restart the design process nearly from scratch, but with the same guidelines.
A popular element from the first designs was an open parkway connecting the site to Battery Park, with line of sight to the Statue of Liberty.
Seven new designs were published and winnowed to two candidates: One from Studio Daniel Libeskind and one from THINK Design which was championed by The New York Times architecture critic Herbert Muschamp.
A poll sponsored by LMDC staffers showed that the public preferred "Neither" compared to the Libeskind or THINK plans. While the public preferred the Libeskind plan (which repeated the earlier "Memorial Plaza" idea with more unusually shaped buildings) least, Mayor Bloomberg and New York Gov. George Pataki preferred the design and its approach to the guidelines.
The Libeskind plan was selected on February 26, 2003 by LMDC staffers. The plan includes the requisite commercial space in four towers. The old tower footprints would be preserved as sunken pits where a "Wedge of Light" would honor the victims of the attacks by focusing sunlight on September 11 from 8:46 to 10:28 a.m. EST into the footprints. Other analysts doubt this.
Deliberation about the plan continues with many citizen groups opposed to proceeding with the plan for various reasons. Real-estate developer Donald Trump endorsed in May 2005 rebuilding the site with the Twin Towers 2 alternative plan, and in June 2005 when he was one of the first people to sign its petition.
A ceremony was held July 4, 2004 laying the cornerstone of the proposed Freedom Tower. Speakers included the governors of New York and New Jersey, as well as the Mayor of New York.
[edit] Memorial
A memorial named "Reflecting Absence" is being built on the site. The memorial designed by Michael Arad was the winning design of the World Trade Center Site Memorial Competition.
[edit] Museum
LMDC staffers announced on October 12, 2004 the selection of Gehry Partners LLP and Snøhetta as architects for a site performing-arts and museum complex at Fulton and Greenwich Streets. An "International Freedom Center" and a "Drawing Center" were proposed for the complex.
Gov. Pataki withdrew his support for the complex centers on September 28, 2005 in response to criticism from victims' families and others. Snøhetta staffers redesigned the complex in January 2006. The new plan removed the centers and reduced the size of the building.
The museum is planned to "retell the events of the day, display powerful artifacts, and celebrate the lives of those who died." [1]
[edit] Towers
The Libeskind plan also includes a 1,776-foot (541-meter) tower. Its height refers to 1776, the year that the U.S. Declaration of Independence was signed.
Silverstein rejected the original tower design and convinced his staffers in July 2003 to hire Childs as a co-architect of the tower, which Gov. Pataki named the "Freedom Tower."
A new tower plan was published on December 19, 2003. It was heavily criticized.[2]
A thorough redesign of the tower was ordered in May 2005 after New York Police Department staffers discussed their concerns about public safety in the tower. A groundbreaking was held on April 27, 2006 for the tower.[3]
The designs of the other towers of the site were unveiled on September 7, 2006. Tower Two (200 Greenwich Street), designed by Norman Foster, will have a roof height of 1,254 feet and a 85-foot tripod spire. Tower Three (175 Greenwich Street), designed by Richard Rogers, will have a roof height of 1,155 feet and an antennae height of 1,255 feet. Tower Four (150 Greenwich Street), designed by Fumihiko Maki, will have an overall height of 946 feet.[4]
Outside of Liebskind's master plan is the new 7 World Trade Center, also designed by David Childs. Construction began in 2002, and the building opened for business on May 23, 2006. Tourists are currently allowed to visit the 45th floor, where they may take photographs and experience an exhibit sponsored by non-profit Campaign to Build the World Trade Center Memorial and Museum. Visitors are required, however, to pass through a security checkpoint similar to the ones seen at airports.
[edit] Transit
The site transportation hub reopened temporarily on November 23, 2003 and will be replaced by a permanent hub designed by Santiago Calatrava.
Some survivors and victims' families complain that the temporary hub uses the same track alignment as the old station by crossing the footprint of the 2WTC South Tower [2]. It's unlikely that this will change when the permanent hub is completed.
[edit] Criticism
On 21 June 2005, radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh proclaimed on his show that "...New York's not doing anything about it. Four years later and it's still nothing but a hole in the ground. Four years!"[citation needed]
On an August 27, 2006 airing of 60 minutes, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin criticized the rebuilding efforts at ground zero saying "You guys in New York can't get a hole in the ground fixed, and it's five years later." [3]
On September 11, 2006, MSNBC commentator Keith Olbermann, broadcasting with Ground Zero behind him, took airtime time immediately preceding a primetime speech by President Bush to criticize the administration: "[O]f all the things those of us who were here five years ago could have forecast...none of us could have predicted this: five years later this space is still empty....Five years later this is still just a background for a photo-op....[I say to President Bush,] look carefully, sir, on these 16 empty acres. The terrorists are clearly still winning. And, in a crime against every victim here and every patriotic sentiment you mouthed but did not enact, you have done nothing about it. And there is something worse still than this vast gaping hole in this city, and in the fabric of our nation. There is its symbolism of the promise unfulfilled, the urgent oath, reduced to lazy execution." [4]
[edit] Litigation
Cost estimates for rebuilding the site range from $10 billion to $12 billion. This was a major motivation behind a site-insurance trial.
During the trial, Silverstein staffers insisted that the destruction of the site was the result of two separate attacks and entitled the business to $6.8 billion, double what it paid for the site in July 2001.
Insurers said that the attacks were a single event and entitled the business to only half their claim. The jurors agreed that most of the insurers were limited to a single insurance award, losing the business $2.4 billion.
A disputed $1.1 billion held by the remaining insurance companies was resolved in December 2004 when jurors agreed with Silverstein staffers that the destruction of the site was the result of separate attacks.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ WTC Staircase Leads Endangered Sites List
- ^ Archinect: Discussion of Freedom Tower spire
- ^ Construction Begins at Ground Zero
- ^ Designs Unveiled for Freedom Tower’s Neighbors
[edit] External links
- AN APPRAISAL: Rediscovering and Celebrating the Vertical Life, The New York Times, Dec. 19, 2002
- City Proposes Swapping Land to Control Trade Center Site, The New York Times, Aug. 3, 2002
- CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK: Designers' Dreams, Tempered by Reality, The New York Times, Feb. 26, 2003
- DESIGN REVIEW: A Goal for Ground Zero: Finding an Urban Poetry, The New York Times, Jan. 28, 2003
- From Political Calculation, a Sweeping Vision of Ground Zero, The New York Times, March 3, 2003
- "Ground zilch: How Al-Qaeda defeated New York", New Statesman, Sept. 5, 2005
- Libeskind Design Chosen for Rebuilding at Ground Zero, The New York Times, Feb. 27, 2003
- Op-Ed: Ground Zero Is So Over, by Frank Rich, The New York Times, May 29, 2005
- Panel Makes Unexpected Choice for World Trade Center Site, The New York Times, Feb. 26, 2003
- RestoreWTC.com (Inactive)
- Trade Center Developer Is Portrayed in Court as Calculating, The New York Times, Feb. 5, 2003
- Two Finalists Are Selected for the Void at Ground Zero, The New York Times, Feb. 5, 2003
- Schine, Cathleen (September 16, 2002). "The "Holy Ground" (the early history of the World Trade Center site)". The New Yorker.
