By: Amy Westfeldt
Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) - 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.
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.
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.
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