It has been about twelve-and-a-half years since one of the worst days in American history — a tragedy that many of us will remember forever. Now, One World Trade Center is ready to reclaim its unofficial title as “The Top of America.” And in the turbulent times we face, it is gratifying to see an important symbol back in the sky, although we will still miss the “Twin Towers.”
In recognition of the rebirth of 1 WTC, Time magazine has produced a great multimedia tribute. Click here to access it. As Richard Licayo writes:
“For years after the 9/11 attacks, nearly all the activity at Ground Zero was downward—digging through the piles of debris, excavating a vast pit to restore the ruined transit lines, preparing the foundations for the new buildings that would emerge there. Even the memorial that opened in 2011 was an exercise in the poetics of descent — two vast cubic voids, each with water cascading down all four sides, carrying grief to some underground resting place.”
“The memorial has turned out to be a lovely thing, but what the site still needed was something that climbed, something that spoke to the idea that emotional burdens might not only be lowered into the ground but also released into the air. Now we have it: One World Trade Center, the glass-and-steel exclamation point, all 1,776 feet of it, is nearing completion close to where the Twin Towers once stood. No doubt the new building’s official dedication will open the way to a necessary debate over its merits as architecture and urbanism, its turbulent design history, and the compromises made over the long years it took to get the thing built. But in one important respect, One World Trade Center has already succeeded. It has reclaimed the sky. And this is the view from there.”
Click the image to see an aerial video of 1 WTC.
I was sitting in my 3rd grade class when classmates kept being called to the main office to go home. The teachers were acting frantically, but none of us knew what was happening. It was only once I got home that day that I discovered what had happened. That was over twelve years ago but it is still a vivid memory for me. Just like the Kennedy assassination, most people remember where they were when they found out the terrible news. Seeing the 1 WTC open is a testament to the strength and fortitude of the US and its citizens.
Reblogged this on Evans on Marketing and commented:
It’s been thirteen years. Let’s never forget.
Reblogged this on Retailing: From A to Z by Joel Evans and commented:
It’s been thirteen years. Let’s never forget.