Ground Zero - Remembering, Rebuilding, Moving Forward
JOURNAL: ISSUE 2 - 2012
|
Local 1 NY members installed the granite and pavers that comprise extensive portions of the National September 11 Memorial in lower Manhattan, including two granite-lined reflecting pools that echo the contours of the North and South towers of the former World Trade Center.
|
The National September 11 Memorial at the World Trade Center, which opened last year on the 10-year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, features a grove of trees and two massive reflecting pools fed on all sides by 30-foot waterfalls.
Rimming the two acre-sized reflecting pools, which are set within the footprints of the iconic twin towers, are bronze panels inscribed with the names of the 2,983 victims of the attacks of September 11, 2001 and February 26, 1993. The pools are fed by 30-foot waterfalls, the largest man-made falls in the country.
The memorial's design, titled "Reflecting Absence," was selected from more than 5,000 entries as part of a 2003 international competition.
|
The names of the victims of the WTC attacks of 1993 and 2001 are inscribed on bronze panels that frame the edges of the memorial's granite-lined reflecting pools. |
Local 1 New York stonemasons, employed by BAC signatory contractors Port Morris Tile (Bronx, NY) and Berardi Stone Setting (White Plains, NY), skillfully installed the beautiful Jet Mist granite that lines the pools. They are enormously proud of their role in contributing to the construction of this place of honor and national significance.
As Richard Pues, Jr., a fifth-generation stonesetter, Local 1 member and Berardi Stone Setting foreman told the Danbury (CT) News-Times* last fall, "…working on that sacred ground is an honor… It's definitely one of the biggest and one of the proudest jobs I've ever been involved with."
During construction of the memorial, Local 1 members set 3,500 pieces of Jet Mist granite to create the foundation walls, which are edged with 80 pieces of weir stone to ensure a seamless flow of water. Members also installed 185,000-square feet of cut-to-size square and cobblestone pavers to complete the plaza pathways around the pools. Verde Fontaine granite was used to construct 144 benches and solid steps, adding color and texture to blend in with the surrounding oak trees.
|
Local 1 stonesetter and Berardi Stone Setting foreman Richard Pues, Jr. is proud of his work on the 9/11 memorial and the nearby Freedom Tower, on which he helped lay its 20-ton Adirondack granite cornerstone on July 4, 2004. The same quarry would later yield the granite for the twelve dozen benches that now dot the memorial plaza. Pues' work on the Freedom Tower, which will open in 2013, was especially meaningful as his father, retired Local 1 stonesetter and Field Representative Richard Pues, Sr., did the stone work on the World Trade Center Plaza in the mid-1970s. |
Port Morris Tile Vice President Anthony Vespa extends a great deal of credit for the project's successful outcome to the firm's Local 1 workforce.
"Having such highly trained and experienced specialty craftworkers was essential to handling the technical safety and security requirements of a project of this magnitude and immense national importance," Vespa said.
Local 1 NY President Jeremiah Sullivan, Jr. agreed. Although no assignment is taken for granted, "high-profile, historic, and large, complex projects are typically constructed by union members," Sullivan said. "When it comes to masonry, we have the workforce at the ready, we're able to meet deadlines, we exceed safety standards, and deliver the highest quality work."
At the World Trade Center site, construction of the 110-story skyscraper – One World Trade Center, also known as the Freedom Tower – is nearing completion. As visitors to the memorial reflect past losses, the soaring tower is a reassuring symbol of a nation's resolve and determination to rebuild and move forward.
To learn more about the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, visit www.911memorial.org.
*To see the September 9, 2011 article about Brother Pues in the Danbury News-Times, go to www.newstimes.com/local/article/Danbury-man-works-on-sacred-ground-at-ground-zero-2161549.php#ixzz1re7rrPWH.