Pool photo by Lucas Jackson
Iron workers Steven Cross, left, and Adam Cross prepare steel cables to lift iron beams on the 100th story of One World Trade Center on Monday in New York City.
Pool photo by Lucas JacksonIron workers Steven Cross, left, and Adam Cross prepare steel cables to lift iron beams on the 100th story of One World Trade Center on Monday in New York City.
On this raw day, the top of the now 1,271-foot-tall building on the site of the worst terror attack in U.S. history seemed to disappear into the fog, as if pointing toward heaven.Tourist Tammy Beacham, a 911 dispatcher from Pendleton, Ore., is the daughter of retired emergency responders. She choked up as she explained that she lost many "brothers and sisters" in the 9/11 attack that took down the twin towers.
"To me, it's a sacred place. There's a lot of people at rest here," said Beacham, 33, as she wiped away tears. "I think it's beautiful, I really do. I think it's gorgeous. I can't wait to go inside."
Beacham is one of the thousands of people daily who pass by, work on, visit or point a camera at the site that, when fully completed, will include six towers. One World Trade Center is projected to be complete in 2013, when its height will be 1,776 feet, symbolic of the year of the country's independence. This past week, it surpassed the 1,250-foot-tall Empire State Building, making it the tallest building in New York.
Pool photo by Lucas Jackson
The 9/11 Memorial is seen from the 90th story of One World Trade Center in New York on Monday.
Almost 11 years since the terror attacks, the taste of dust is gone from the air, and the fliers seeking news of missing loved ones are no more. Now, the neighborhood of narrow streets and an odd mix of Colonial-era buildings, modern-day discount stores and trendy coffee shops is a hurricane of tourists, commuters, construction workers and others. All seem to have an opinion about the new tower.
Many who work on the site were at Ground Zero on 9/11 and lost friends and colleagues in the attacks, says Lynda Tollner, program director with the World Trade Center Construction Department.
In 2001, Toller was an engineer for a New Jersey firm and the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey was a client. She was at a meeting with the Port Authority at the twin towers on 9/11 when the first plane hit.
She managed to escape, but she lost a friend in the attacks. These days, she is looking forward. She supervises about 150 construction and Port Authority staff members.
"It just feels like there's more life here and it's something to celebrate," Tollner said. "Change is always very hard. There were so many changes to the neighborhood down here after 9/11. … I've been down here almost five years working on the site and I really think it's the progress that makes you deal with that in a more positive way."
Construction workers said they were proud to help One World Trade Center reach its status of tallest building in New York.
Cousins Adam and Steven Cross; Adam's father, Louis Cross; and Adam's uncle, Joe McComber, are all part of an ironworking crew at One World Trade Center. They are Mohawk Indians, continuing a century-old tradition of Mohawk ironworkers who travel from Upstate New York and Canada to build the city's landmark structures.
Adam Cross said it was special to help erect the beam imprinted with 1271.
"It felt cool, like really being part of something big," said Cross, 31, who drives the six hours back home to Kahnawake, Quebec, each weekend to see his wife and four children. "It's important to rebuild something that was taken away, to put that iconic symbol of New York City back up."
"It's a long time coming," said Steven Cross, 36, who has moved to New York City with his wife. "It's a significant spot."
Fireproofer Steven Bommarito showed off a picture on his phone of the beam with 1271 imprinted on it.
"We've been working on it, blood, sweat and tears, for a year and a half," Bommarito, 28 and from Queens, said of the site. "We shouldn't leave it empty because it will look like we're scared."
Tourists visit at a regular pace, pointing upward as they talk with others around them. Juan Debrand, from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, chatted with his wife, Maria Guzman, and brother, Felipe Debrand of West Palm Beach, Fla. Juan Debrand remembered watching the terror attacks unfold on television, and the One World Trade Center site was on his must-see list, he said.
"The world changed the moment the first plane struck," said Debrand, 51, translated by his brother. He said he believes One World Trade Center is "marvelous" and "just beautiful."
Andrew and Deborah Ross, former New Yorkers who now live in Denver, came to the site out of curiousity and to show their toddler, Milo, 3. "It's something he'll hear about when he's growing up, just like we used to hear about (the assassination of John F.) Kennedy, so we wanted him to see it," said Deborah Ross, 45.
Those who seem the least impressed are workers who commute to Lower Manhattan every day and who saw the horror of 9/11 firsthand. Kimberly Smith, who works for the city's children's services agency, was headed for work on a bus when the planes hit the towers. She saw people jump to their deaths.
"I just don't see the purpose," said Smith, 46, of the Bronx. It's as if New York is saying, " 'Since they blew it up, we're going to build it bigger and better,' " she said.
Bob Wenz, who works at a court reporting agency, also is unmoved by the looming presence of One World Trade Center. Wenz, who lost a firefighter friend on 9/11, was coming out of the subway when the second plane hit. He remembers hearing a boom, then seeing dust everywhere.
"I just don't see how they're going to sell it," Wenz, 62, of Queens, said of the office space. "Who would want to be in there?"
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