Flight 93 National Memorial
Encyclopedia
The Flight 93 National Memorial is located at the site of the crash of United Airlines Flight 93
, which was hijacked
in the September 11 attacks, in Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania
, about 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Shanksville
, and 60 miles (96.6 km) southeast of Pittsburgh. The memorial was made to honor the passengers of Flight 93, who stopped the terrorists from reaching their target. A temporary memorial to the 40 victims was established soon after the crash, and the first phase of the permanent memorial was completed, opened and dedicated on September 10, 2011. The current design for the memorial is a modified version of the entry Crescent of Embrace by Paul and Milena Murdoch.
on September 11, Flight 93 is the only one that did not reach its intended target, presumed to be the United States Capitol
in Washington, D.C.
Several passengers and crew members made telephone calls aboard the flight and learned about the attacks on the World Trade Center
and the Pentagon
. As a result, the passengers decided to mount an assault against the hijackers and wrest control of the aircraft. The plane crashed in a field in Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania
, about 150 miles (240 km) northwest of Washington, D.C., killing all 44 people aboard, including the four hijackers.
The crash site is located west of Skyline Road, about 2.5 miles (4 km) south of U.S. Route 30
(Lincoln Highway
), 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west of Indian Lake
, and approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Shanksville in Stonycreek Township.
The site of the crash is enclosed by a fence and is closed to the public except for victims' family members. The temporary memorial is located on a hillside 500 yards (457.2 m) from the crash site. The memorial includes a 40-foot (to commemorate the 40 passengers and crew) chain-link fence on which visitors can leave flowers, flags, hats, rosaries, and other items. The items are collected by the National Park Service
and stored until a permanent memorial is built.
Many cities wanted to memorialize the heroes of United Flight 93. Among the first was Marshall, Texas
which by order of the City Commission, named "United Flight 93" a street in early 2002. The keynote speaker was Barbara Catuzzi, the mother of victim Lauren Grandcolas.
Next to the fence are several memorials such as a bronze plaque of names, flags, and a large cross. The temporary memorial also includes a row of small wooden angels, one for each passenger or crew member. There are also handwritten messages on the guardrail
s at the memorial. At the memorial site, there is also a small building where visitors can sign a guestbook. The building is staffed by National Park Service
volunteers
, called ambassadors, who answer questions. In the years following the attacks, approximately 150,000 visitors each year have come to the memorial site, a number that reached "nearly a million people" as of July 2008.
The temporary memorial, for years on land leased for the memorial by Svonavec, Inc. (a coal company based in Somerset, Pennsylvania
), was moved in 2008 because Svonavec refused to renew the lease. It was moved across the road, on land that is part of about 900 acres (364.2 ha) that the Families of Flight 93 foundation bought in 2008. Svonavec had leased the land as it negotiated with the NPS over the purchase of the 273 acres (110.5 ha) it owned, land that includes most of the "sacred ground" where Flight 93 crashed; Svonavec’s treasurer, Michael Svonavec, had told the family group he thought the land was "worth $50 million, but you can have it for $10 million". The NPS had offered Svonavec $250,000 for the 273 acres (1.1 km²), an offer repeatedly rejected; in August 2009, it was announced that Svonavec agreed to sell the land based on a price determined by the courts.
(PA-12) introduced a bill in the United States House of Representatives
to establish a National Memorial
to be developed by a commission, and ultimately administered by the National Park Service
. On April 16, 2002, Senator Arlen Specter
(PA) introduced a version of the "Flight 93 National Memorial Act" in the Senate
. On September 10, 2002 the bill passed both houses of Congress
. The final bill specifically excluded the four hijackers from being memorialized. When signed by President George W. Bush
on September 24, 2002, it became Public Law No. 107-226, and the site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
. By September 2005, the commission was required to send to the Secretary of the Interior
and Congress recommendations for the planning, design, construction, and long-term management of a permanent memorial.
The proposed boundaries of the National Memorial extend from Lambertsville Road to U.S. Route 30
. It will be about 2200 acres (890.3 ha), of which about 1000 acres (404.7 ha) will be privately held, but protected through partnership agreements. The memorial itself would be a 400 acres (161.9 ha) bowl-shaped area, with 1800 acres (728.4 ha) surrounding as a buffer. In December 2002, landowner Tim Lambert donated 6 acres (2.4 ha) at the crash site, and entered discussions with the Conservation Fund regarding 160 acres (64.7 ha) additional. Using some funds donated from receipts for the film United 93
, the Families of Flight 93 organization purchased 3 acres (1.2 ha) in the summer of 2006. The organization is also seeking $10 million in federal funding to use for acquiring land. In November 2006, the Conservation Fund acquired 100 acres (40.5 ha) as buffer land which are to be managed by the Pennsylvania Game Commission
. PBS Coals Inc. sold 900 acres (364.2 ha) to the families' organization in March 2008.
The Flight 93 National Memorial Campaign is a partnership among the Families of Flight 93, the Flight 93 Federal Advisory Commission, the Flight 93 Memorial Task Force, the National Park Service
, the National Park Foundation
and many representatives of local, state and national organizations, agencies and interests, as well as people from around the world to build a permanent memorial. Launched in 2005, this public-private partnership is seeking to raise $30 million from philanthropic individuals, corporations and foundations to enable the construction of the Flight 93 National Memorial.
and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
. The competition began on September 11, 2004. With technology from Neighborhood America (now INgage Networks) supporting the competition, more than 1,000 entries were submitted online. In February 2005, five finalists were selected for further development and consideration. The 15-member final jury included family members, design and art professionals, and community and national leaders. After three days of review and debate, they announced the winner on September 7, 2005: Crescent of Embrace by a design team led by Paul and Milena Murdoch of Los Angeles.
The design featured a "Tower of Voices," containing 40 wind chimes — one for each passenger and crew member who died. A crescent would have been formed by a circular pathway lined with red maple
trees that follows the natural bowl shape of the land. Forty groves of red and sugar maple
s and eastern white oak
trees were to be planted behind the crescent
. A black slate
wall would mark the edge of the crash site, where the victims are buried.
One person wrote in his blog that:
Jury member Tom Burnett Sr., whose son was killed in the crash, said he made an impassioned speech to his fellow jurors about what he felt the crescent represented, "I explained this goes back centuries as an old-time Islamic symbol," Burnett said. "I told them we'd be a laughing stock if we did this." Representative Tom Tancredo
of Colorado has opposed the design's shape "because of the crescent's prominent use as a symbol in Islam." Mike Rosen
of the Rocky Mountain News
wrote: "On the anniversaries of 9/11, it's not hard to visualize al-Qaeda celebrating the crescent of maple trees, turning red in the fall, "embracing" the Flight 93 crash site. To them, it would be a memorial to their fallen martyrs. Why invite that? Just come up with a different design that eliminates the double meaning and the dispute."
The architect asserted that this is coincidental and that there was no intent to refer to Muslim symbols. Several victims' families agreed, including the family of Edward P. Felt.
Others criticized the design as too non-representational. "We don't need giant statues of the guys ramming the drink cart into the door. But pedantic though such a monument might be, future generations would infer the plot. All you get from a Crescent of Embrace is a sorrowful sigh of all-encompassing grief and absolution, as if the lives of all who died on that spot were equal in tragedy. They were not," wrote James Lileks
, a journalist and architectural commentator.
.
The redesigned memorial has the plain shape of a circle (as opposed to a crescent) bisected by the flight's trajectory. "The circle enhances the earlier design by putting more emphasis on the crash site, officials said in the newsletter. A break in the trees will symbolize the path the plane took as it crashed."
The redesign has been unveiled and can be seen at the NPS official web page for the memorial. Architect Paul Murdoch describes it as follows:
Paul Murdoch Architects worked with graphic design consultants, Impact Design Associates and ALT Design to conduct typographic studies to arrive at the approved visual representation of the 40 hero names. The objective for the representation of the names was to create a design that has the quality of being contemplative and inspirational, and would evoke a timeless tribute to the heroes of United Airlines Flight 93
.
The font Whitney
-Semibold Small Caps was chosen for its simplicity and the angular detail of select letter forms. The angular detail relates to subtle architectural elements of the memorial design. Each name is cut into a 30 x 96 inch white marble
panel with a horizontal brushed black stainless steel
inlay
.
, former presidents George W. Bush
and Bill Clinton
, Speaker of the House
John Boehner
, other dignitaries and family members of the passengers, and thousands of others. During the ceremony, Clinton announced that he and Boehner would launch a fundraising effort to raise the $10 million required to complete the memorial. Singer/songwriter Sarah McLachlan
performed both Angel
and I Will Remember You
at the dedication ceremony.
United Airlines Flight 93
United Airlines Flight 93 was United Airlines' scheduled morning transcontinental flight across the United States from Newark International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco International Airport in California. On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, the Boeing 757–222 aircraft operating the...
, which was hijacked
Aircraft hijacking
Aircraft hijacking is the unlawful seizure of an aircraft by an individual or a group. In most cases, the pilot is forced to fly according to the orders of the hijackers. Occasionally, however, the hijackers have flown the aircraft themselves, such as the September 11 attacks of 2001...
in the September 11 attacks, in Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania
Stonycreek Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania
Stonycreek Township is a township in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,221 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, about 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Shanksville
Shanksville, Pennsylvania
Shanksville is a borough in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, United States, with a population of 245, as of the 2000 census. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area and is approximately 60 miles southeast from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
, and 60 miles (96.6 km) southeast of Pittsburgh. The memorial was made to honor the passengers of Flight 93, who stopped the terrorists from reaching their target. A temporary memorial to the 40 victims was established soon after the crash, and the first phase of the permanent memorial was completed, opened and dedicated on September 10, 2011. The current design for the memorial is a modified version of the entry Crescent of Embrace by Paul and Milena Murdoch.
United Airlines Flight 93
Of the four aircraft hijackedAircraft hijacking
Aircraft hijacking is the unlawful seizure of an aircraft by an individual or a group. In most cases, the pilot is forced to fly according to the orders of the hijackers. Occasionally, however, the hijackers have flown the aircraft themselves, such as the September 11 attacks of 2001...
on September 11, Flight 93 is the only one that did not reach its intended target, presumed to be the United States Capitol
United States Capitol
The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Several passengers and crew members made telephone calls aboard the flight and learned about the attacks on the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
and the Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
. As a result, the passengers decided to mount an assault against the hijackers and wrest control of the aircraft. The plane crashed in a field in Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania
Stonycreek Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania
Stonycreek Township is a township in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,221 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, about 150 miles (240 km) northwest of Washington, D.C., killing all 44 people aboard, including the four hijackers.
The crash site is located west of Skyline Road, about 2.5 miles (4 km) south of U.S. Route 30
U.S. Route 30
U.S. Route 30 is an east–west main route of the system of United States Numbered Highways, with the highway traveling across the northern tier of the country. It is the third longest U.S. route, after U.S. Route 20 and U.S. Route 6. The western end of the highway is at Astoria, Oregon; the...
(Lincoln Highway
Lincoln Highway
The Lincoln Highway was the first road across the United States of America.Conceived and promoted by entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, the Lincoln Highway spanned coast-to-coast from Times Square in New York City to Lincoln Park in San Francisco, originally through 13 states: New York, New Jersey,...
), 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west of Indian Lake
Indian Lake, Pennsylvania
Indian Lake is a borough in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 394 at the 2010 census, down from 450 in 2000...
, and approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Shanksville in Stonycreek Township.
Temporary memorial
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
and stored until a permanent memorial is built.
Many cities wanted to memorialize the heroes of United Flight 93. Among the first was Marshall, Texas
Marshall, Texas
Marshall is a city in Harrison County in the northeastern corner of Texas. Marshall is a major cultural and educational center in East Texas and the tri-state area. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Marshall was about 23,523...
which by order of the City Commission, named "United Flight 93" a street in early 2002. The keynote speaker was Barbara Catuzzi, the mother of victim Lauren Grandcolas.
Next to the fence are several memorials such as a bronze plaque of names, flags, and a large cross. The temporary memorial also includes a row of small wooden angels, one for each passenger or crew member. There are also handwritten messages on the guardrail
Guardrail
Guardrail can refer to*Guard rails installed on road sides for automobile safety*RC-12 Guardrail, a U.S. Army intelligence-gathering aircraft based on the C-12 Huron*Roof edge protection, rails installed on roofs to protect construction and roofing workers...
s at the memorial. At the memorial site, there is also a small building where visitors can sign a guestbook. The building is staffed by National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
volunteers
Volunteering
Volunteering is generally considered an altruistic activity, intended to promote good or improve human quality of life, but people also volunteer for their own skill development, to meet others, to make contacts for possible employment, to have fun, and a variety of other reasons that could be...
, called ambassadors, who answer questions. In the years following the attacks, approximately 150,000 visitors each year have come to the memorial site, a number that reached "nearly a million people" as of July 2008.
The temporary memorial, for years on land leased for the memorial by Svonavec, Inc. (a coal company based in Somerset, Pennsylvania
Somerset, Pennsylvania
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 6,762 people, 3,035 households, and 1,717 families residing in the borough. The population density was 2,466.0 people per square mile . There were 3,313 housing units at an average density of 1,208.2 per square mile...
), was moved in 2008 because Svonavec refused to renew the lease. It was moved across the road, on land that is part of about 900 acres (364.2 ha) that the Families of Flight 93 foundation bought in 2008. Svonavec had leased the land as it negotiated with the NPS over the purchase of the 273 acres (110.5 ha) it owned, land that includes most of the "sacred ground" where Flight 93 crashed; Svonavec’s treasurer, Michael Svonavec, had told the family group he thought the land was "worth $50 million, but you can have it for $10 million". The NPS had offered Svonavec $250,000 for the 273 acres (1.1 km²), an offer repeatedly rejected; in August 2009, it was announced that Svonavec agreed to sell the land based on a price determined by the courts.
Permanent memorial
On March 7, 2002, Congressman John MurthaJohn Murtha
John Patrick "Jack" Murtha, Jr. was an American politician from the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Murtha, a Democrat, represented Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1974 until his death in 2010....
(PA-12) introduced a bill in the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
to establish a National Memorial
National Memorial
National Memorial is a designation in the United States for a protected area that memorializes a historic person or event. National memorials are authorized by the United States Congress...
to be developed by a commission, and ultimately administered by the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
. On April 16, 2002, Senator Arlen Specter
Arlen Specter
Arlen Specter is a former United States Senator from Pennsylvania. Specter is a Democrat, but was a Republican from 1965 until switching to the Democratic Party in 2009...
(PA) introduced a version of the "Flight 93 National Memorial Act" in the Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
. On September 10, 2002 the bill passed both houses of Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
. The final bill specifically excluded the four hijackers from being memorialized. When signed by President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
on September 24, 2002, it became Public Law No. 107-226, and the site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. By September 2005, the commission was required to send to the Secretary of the Interior
United States Secretary of the Interior
The United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior.The US Department of the Interior should not be confused with the concept of Ministries of the Interior as used in other countries...
and Congress recommendations for the planning, design, construction, and long-term management of a permanent memorial.
The proposed boundaries of the National Memorial extend from Lambertsville Road to U.S. Route 30
U.S. Route 30 in Pennsylvania
In the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, U.S. Route 30 runs east–west across the southern part of the state, passing through Pittsburgh and Philadelphia on its way from the West Virginia state line east to the Benjamin Franklin Bridge over the Delaware River into New Jersey...
. It will be about 2200 acres (890.3 ha), of which about 1000 acres (404.7 ha) will be privately held, but protected through partnership agreements. The memorial itself would be a 400 acres (161.9 ha) bowl-shaped area, with 1800 acres (728.4 ha) surrounding as a buffer. In December 2002, landowner Tim Lambert donated 6 acres (2.4 ha) at the crash site, and entered discussions with the Conservation Fund regarding 160 acres (64.7 ha) additional. Using some funds donated from receipts for the film United 93
United 93 (film)
United 93 is a 2006 fact-based historical drama film written, co-produced, and directed by Paul Greengrass that chronicles events aboard United Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked during the September 11 attacks...
, the Families of Flight 93 organization purchased 3 acres (1.2 ha) in the summer of 2006. The organization is also seeking $10 million in federal funding to use for acquiring land. In November 2006, the Conservation Fund acquired 100 acres (40.5 ha) as buffer land which are to be managed by the Pennsylvania Game Commission
Pennsylvania Game Commission
The Pennsylvania Game Commission is the state agency responsible for wildlife conservation and management in Pennsylvania in the United States...
. PBS Coals Inc. sold 900 acres (364.2 ha) to the families' organization in March 2008.
The Flight 93 National Memorial Campaign is a partnership among the Families of Flight 93, the Flight 93 Federal Advisory Commission, the Flight 93 Memorial Task Force, the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
, the National Park Foundation
National Park Foundation
Chartered by Congress, the National Park Foundation is the official charity of America’s nearly 400 national parks. Funds contributed to the Foundation are invested directly into the national parks...
and many representatives of local, state and national organizations, agencies and interests, as well as people from around the world to build a permanent memorial. Launched in 2005, this public-private partnership is seeking to raise $30 million from philanthropic individuals, corporations and foundations to enable the construction of the Flight 93 National Memorial.
Design competition
Initial design selection
The commission decided to select the final design for the memorial through a multi-stage design competition funded by grants from the Heinz FoundationsHeinz Foundations
The Heinz Foundations are several charitable foundations founded by members of the Pittsburgh-based Heinz Foods dynasty.The are based in Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C., and include:* The Teresa and H. John Heinz III Foundation...
and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation is an American private, non-profit foundation dedicated to supporting transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts....
. The competition began on September 11, 2004. With technology from Neighborhood America (now INgage Networks) supporting the competition, more than 1,000 entries were submitted online. In February 2005, five finalists were selected for further development and consideration. The 15-member final jury included family members, design and art professionals, and community and national leaders. After three days of review and debate, they announced the winner on September 7, 2005: Crescent of Embrace by a design team led by Paul and Milena Murdoch of Los Angeles.
The design featured a "Tower of Voices," containing 40 wind chimes — one for each passenger and crew member who died. A crescent would have been formed by a circular pathway lined with red maple
Red Maple
Acer rubrum , is one of the most common and widespread deciduous trees of eastern North America. It ranges from the Lake of the Woods on the border between Ontario and Minnesota, east to Newfoundland, south to near Miami, Florida, and southwest to east Texas...
trees that follows the natural bowl shape of the land. Forty groves of red and sugar maple
Sugar Maple
Acer saccharum is a species of maple native to the hardwood forests of northeastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to southern Ontario, and south to Georgia and Texas...
s and eastern white oak
White oak
Quercus alba, the white oak, is one of the pre-eminent hardwoods of eastern North America. It is a long-lived oak of the Fagaceae family, native to eastern North America and found from southern Quebec west to eastern Minnesota and south to northern Florida and eastern Texas. Specimens have been...
trees were to be planted behind the crescent
Crescent
In art and symbolism, a crescent is generally the shape produced when a circular disk has a segment of another circle removed from its edge, so that what remains is a shape enclosed by two circular arcs of different diameters which intersect at two points .In astronomy, a crescent...
. A black slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
wall would mark the edge of the crash site, where the victims are buried.
Controversy
This design "drew criticism from some religious groups and online blogs."One person wrote in his blog that:
- The winning design chosen to memorialize the heroes and victims of 9/11’s Flight 93 is in the shape of a red crescent that looks—either accidentally or intentionally—remarkably like an Islamic crescent.
- ...[A]n azimuthal equidistant world map ... seems to indicate that the crescent is oriented toward Mecca.
Jury member Tom Burnett Sr., whose son was killed in the crash, said he made an impassioned speech to his fellow jurors about what he felt the crescent represented, "I explained this goes back centuries as an old-time Islamic symbol," Burnett said. "I told them we'd be a laughing stock if we did this." Representative Tom Tancredo
Tom Tancredo
Thomas Gerard "Tom" Tancredo is an American politician from Colorado, who represented the state's sixth congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2009, as a Republican...
of Colorado has opposed the design's shape "because of the crescent's prominent use as a symbol in Islam." Mike Rosen
Mike Rosen
Michael "Mike" Rosen is an American radio personality and political commentator. He is the host of The Mike Rosen Show on talk radio station 850 KOA in Denver, Colorado, as well as a weekly opinion columnist for The Denver Post and previously a weekly opinion columnist for the Rocky Mountain News...
of the Rocky Mountain News
Rocky Mountain News
The Rocky Mountain News was a daily newspaper published in Denver, Colorado, United States from April 23, 1859, until February 27, 2009. It was owned by the E. W. Scripps Company from 1926 until its closing. As of March 2006, the Monday-Friday circulation was 255,427...
wrote: "On the anniversaries of 9/11, it's not hard to visualize al-Qaeda celebrating the crescent of maple trees, turning red in the fall, "embracing" the Flight 93 crash site. To them, it would be a memorial to their fallen martyrs. Why invite that? Just come up with a different design that eliminates the double meaning and the dispute."
The architect asserted that this is coincidental and that there was no intent to refer to Muslim symbols. Several victims' families agreed, including the family of Edward P. Felt.
Others criticized the design as too non-representational. "We don't need giant statues of the guys ramming the drink cart into the door. But pedantic though such a monument might be, future generations would infer the plot. All you get from a Crescent of Embrace is a sorrowful sigh of all-encompassing grief and absolution, as if the lives of all who died on that spot were equal in tragedy. They were not," wrote James Lileks
James Lileks
James Lileks is an American journalist, columnist, and blogger living in Minneapolis, Minnesota.- Career :Lileks has had a wide-ranging career as a columnist, radio personality, author, and prominent blogger....
, a journalist and architectural commentator.
Design modifications
In response to criticism, the designer has agreed to modify the plan. The architect believes that the central elements can be maintained to satisfy criticism. "It's a disappointment there is a misinterpretation and a simplistic distortion of this, but if that is a public concern, then that is something we will look to resolve in a way that keeps the essential qualities," Murdoch said in a telephone interview to the Associated PressAssociated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
.
The redesigned memorial has the plain shape of a circle (as opposed to a crescent) bisected by the flight's trajectory. "The circle enhances the earlier design by putting more emphasis on the crash site, officials said in the newsletter. A break in the trees will symbolize the path the plane took as it crashed."
The redesign has been unveiled and can be seen at the NPS official web page for the memorial. Architect Paul Murdoch describes it as follows:
- "The image is an aerial view from the bowl looking towards the Sacred Ground. To the left in the background, a walkway approaches from an arrival court along the edge of and overlooking the Sacred Ground. The walkway eventually widens in from a ceremonial gate, shown in bronze, and the wall of names, composed of 40 panels of 3 inches (7.6 cm)-thick slabs of polished white granite, 8 feet (2.4 m) tall, each inscribed with a name of the 40 heroes. Two walls flanking the gate are clad in polished white granite and the flight path is paved with black granite. Beyond the gate is the impact site, shown planted with wildflowers, and the hemlock grove beyond."
Paul Murdoch Architects worked with graphic design consultants, Impact Design Associates and ALT Design to conduct typographic studies to arrive at the approved visual representation of the 40 hero names. The objective for the representation of the names was to create a design that has the quality of being contemplative and inspirational, and would evoke a timeless tribute to the heroes of United Airlines Flight 93
United Airlines Flight 93
United Airlines Flight 93 was United Airlines' scheduled morning transcontinental flight across the United States from Newark International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco International Airport in California. On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, the Boeing 757–222 aircraft operating the...
.
The font Whitney
Whitney (typeface)
New York’s Whitney Museum asked Tobias Frere-Jones to develop an institutional typeface. Frere-Jones subsequently created the Whitney font. Two key requirements Tobias Frere-Jones was to meet with the deliverables were flexibility for editorial requirements, and a design consistency with the...
-Semibold Small Caps was chosen for its simplicity and the angular detail of select letter forms. The angular detail relates to subtle architectural elements of the memorial design. Each name is cut into a 30 x 96 inch white marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
panel with a horizontal brushed black stainless steel
Stainless steel
In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....
inlay
Inlay
Inlay is a decorative technique of inserting pieces of contrasting, often coloured materials into depressions in a base object to form patterns or pictures that normally are flush with the matrix. In a wood matrix, inlays commonly use wood veneers, but other materials like shells, mother-of-pearl,...
.
Construction
The cost of the permanent memorial is estimated at $60 million. As of March 2011, $20 million in private donations had been raised, the commonwealth of Pennsylvania was providing $18.5 million, and Congress had appropriated $10 million. In March 2011, the families of the victims of Flight 93 urged Congress to appropriate $3.7 million more in the fiscal year 2012 budget. The permanent memorial was originally planned for dedication on September 11, 2011; however, the pace of construction has been delayed due to, among other factors, shortage of funding and the general economic downturn in America. Ground was broken on November 8, 2009 but as of autumn 2011, completion is still some way into the future. The first phase of the memorial was dedicated on September 10, 2011 at a public ceremony attended by Vice President Joe BidenJoe Biden
Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr. is the 47th and current Vice President of the United States, serving under President Barack Obama...
, former presidents George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
and Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, Speaker of the House
Speaker of the House of Representatives
-National governments:* Speaker of the House of Representatives of Antigua and Barbuda* Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives* Speaker of the House of Representatives of Belize* Speaker of the House of Representatives...
John Boehner
John Boehner
John Andrew Boehner is the 61st and current Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. A member of the Republican Party, he is the U.S. Representative from , serving since 1991...
, other dignitaries and family members of the passengers, and thousands of others. During the ceremony, Clinton announced that he and Boehner would launch a fundraising effort to raise the $10 million required to complete the memorial. Singer/songwriter Sarah McLachlan
Sarah McLachlan
Sarah Ann McLachlan, OC, OBC is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter. Known for her emotional ballads and mezzo-soprano vocal range, as of 2006, she has sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is Surfacing, for which she won two Grammy Awards and four...
performed both Angel
Angel (Sarah McLachlan song)
"Angel" is a song by Sarah McLachlan that originally appeared on her 1997 album Surfacing. As McLachlan explained on VH1 Storytellers, the song is about the Smashing Pumpkins touring keyboard player Jonathan Melvoin, who overdosed on heroin and died in 1996."Angel" was McLachlan's second top 5 hits...
and I Will Remember You
I Will Remember You (Sarah McLachlan song)
"I Will Remember You" is a song written by Sarah McLachlan, Séamus Egan and Dave Merenda. The song first appeared on the soundtrack to the movie The Brothers McMullen in 1995, and was featured on her remix album Rarities, B-Sides and Other Stuff...
at the dedication ceremony.
See also
- U.S. Route 219 in PennsylvaniaU.S. Route 219 in PennsylvaniaFrom near Grantsville, Maryland north to Ebensburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. Route 219 is Corridor N of the Appalachian Development Highway System. From Somerset, Pennsylvania to just south of Carrolltown, Pennsylvania, US 219 is a limited-access highway...
– close to the crash site and now partially the "Flight 93 Memorial Highway"
Other references
External links
- Official Flight 93 National Memorial Campaign: Flight 93 National Memorial
- Official NPS website: Flight 93 National Memorial
- Flight 93 memorial chapel
- The Official Pennsylvania Memorial to the Victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks