Home>News Center>World
         
 

NY begins construction of Freedom Tower
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-07-05 14:27

A 20-ton slab of granite, inscribed to honor "the enduring spirit of freedom," was laid Sunday at the World Trade Center site as the cornerstone of the skyscraper that will replace the destroyed towers.


New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, third from right, touches the cornerstone for the Freedom Tower at Ground Zero at the World Trade Center site during an unveiling ceremony in New York Sunday, July 4, 2004. With him are New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey, right, New York Gov. George Pataki, second from right, and site owner Larry Silverstein, behind. The cornerstone, with its inscription of the words, 'to honor and remember those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001 and as a tribute to the enduring spirit of freedom,' will be buried beneath the new tower. [AP]
The ceremony marked the start of construction on the 1,776-foot Freedom Tower, designed as a twisting glass and steel tower that evokes the Statue of Liberty, including a 276-foot spire resembling her torch.

Gov. George E. Pataki said he chose July 4 to begin rebuilding to show that the terrorists who attacked New York on Sept. 11, 2001, didn't destroy America's faith in freedom.

"How badly our enemies underestimated the resiliency of this city and the resolve of these United States," Pataki said. "In less than three years, we have more than just plans on paper - we place here today the cornerstone, the foundation of a new tower."

The cornerstone put in place Sunday is garnet-flecked granite from the Adirondack Mountains. Garnet is the New York state gemstone.

It is inscribed: "To honor and remember those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001 and as a tribute to the enduring spirit of freedom. - July Fourth, 2004."

Among the several hundred people at the ceremony were relatives of some of the people killed in the terrorist attack. The 13-year-old son of a police officer killed on Sept. 11 read portions of the Declaration of Independence.

"It's a new beginning," said John Foy, whose mother-in-law was killed. "We all need to move on and rise above this."

The stone and its inscription will eventually disappear from view, as crews work over the next year to remove ruins of a parking garage and shore up the 70-foot-deep foundation before building the Freedom Tower above street level. Parts of the parking garage will go to a storage hangar at John F. Kennedy International Airport for historic preservation.


New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, (L) New York Gov. George Pataki, (C) and New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey, (R) follow the color guard to begin an unveiling ceremony for the cornerstone of the Freedom Tower at the World Trade Center site in New York, July 4, 2004. The cornerstone, with its small inscription of the words, "to honor and remember those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001 and as a tribute to the enduring spirit of freedom," will be buried beneath the new tower.[Reuters]
Completion of the Freedom Tower is scheduled for 2009, and trade center leaseholder Larry Silverstein has plans to build four more towers between 2009 and 2015.

Also planned for the site are a rail hub, a memorial that transforms the twin towers' footprints into reflecting pools, and cultural space including several small theaters.

At 1,776 feet, a height meant to evoke the year of America's independence, the Freedom Tower will be the tallest skyscraper in the world, organizers say.

The current tallest building is the 1,676-foot-tall Taipei 101 in Taipei, Taiwan, which includes a mall, office space and an observatory. It was completed in October with the installation of a pinnacle atop the 101-story building. The highest freestanding tower remains the CN Tower, a 1,815-foot communications structure and outlook point in Toronto.

The 110-story World Trade Center towers were 1,350 feet tall.

Critics have questioned whether all five towers of the Trade Center complex will be built, especially after a jury verdict this year cut the insurance proceeds Silverstein is seeking to pay for the development from a possible $7 billion to a maximum of $4.5 billion.

Silverstein still hasn't signed an anchor tenant for the Freedom Tower, but said he has more than enough money to complete it with insurance proceeds. He has said he will use "traditional financing methods" to pay for the rest of the development.



 
  Today's Top News     Top World News
 

Experts: Interest rate rise not likely in short term

 

   
 

Farmers' income to jump 5% this year

 

   
 

Legal 'savior' fighting for his fees

 

   
 

Fire destroys Mao's former Wuhan residence

 

   
 

Schools: Aid students seeking jobs

 

   
 

Kim Jong-il wishes to visit Seoul -- report

 

   
  Indonesians may dump Megawati in election
   
  Allawi rejects charge that he's US puppet
   
  Libyans find al Qaeda-linked militant camp -paper
   
  Israel strikes Gaza workshops in day of violence
   
  Kim Jong-il wishes to visit Seoul -- report
   
  Group denies killing US Marine, Iraq pipeline hit
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  News Talk  
  Will Saddam Hussein get a fair trial?  
Advertisement
         
主站蜘蛛池模板: 国产精品亚洲一区二区三区久久 | 老师你的兔子好软水好多的车视频 | 欧洲美熟女乱又伦免费视频| 国产一区二区三区欧美| а√在线地址最新版| 精品欧美军人同性videos| 天堂资源最新在线| 久久老子午夜精品无码怎么打| 精品在线小视频| 国产浮力第一影院| 一本一道久久a久久精品综合| 欧美一区二区三区精品影视| 午夜精品视频任你躁| 波多野结衣33| 性做久久久久免费看| 亚洲伊人色欲综合网| 精品视频在线免费| 国产亚洲sss在线播放| 99久久亚洲精品无码毛片| 日本里番全彩acg里番下拉式| 动漫人物差差差动漫网站| 亚洲丝袜制服欧美另类| 小小的日本电影在线观看免费版 | 国语精品91自产拍在线观看二区| 久久亚洲精精品中文字幕| 波多野结衣电影一区二区| 国产人妖一区二区| 2022国产精品视频| 成人午夜短视频| 亚洲制服在线观看| 欧美精品v国产精品v日韩精品| 噜噜噜在线视频免费观看| 亚洲校园春色另类激情| 国产精品蜜臂在线观看| 一本色道久久88—综合亚洲精品| 扒开腿狂躁女人爽出白浆| 亚洲av无码片在线观看| 男女18禁啪啪无遮挡| 国产你懂的在线| 女人18毛片水真多国产| 女人脱裤子让男生桶的免费视频|