NEW YORK | World Trade Center Memorial & Transit Hub

[Traynor]

[/QUOTE]
I'm glad someone else said this. The pools are starting to look like a gigantic overreaction to 9/11. Yes, it was horrible, but the memorial feels maudlin and self-pitying. Many other countries have memorialized far worse tragedies in more modest fashion.[/QUOTE]

I'm on the similar page. I don't mind the pools but the holes in the center where the water just disappears, evokes a "Flushed-down-the-drain" sensibility. As if they are implying all the loss just wasted. I would rather if the water shot up in tall square fountains that lifted your eye to the heavens and evoked uplifting hope.

[patriotizzy]

Originally Posted by CoolCzech

A decade on now, and we've got teenagers that cannot even remember 9/11, and think of it as ancient history not much different than Pearl Harbor. That's the way of history. How much emotion do all the Civil Memorials scattered throughout New England evoke today?

Think how much less meaning waterfalls in front of tall towers will have to young people a couple of more decades from now.

Young people in the future would not have experienced 9/11 like we did. It goes the same with everything tragic that's happened a long time ago. The point is to show respect and commemorate the lives that were lost. When you go to sites like these, you still feel humble and peaceful no? Even though you may not have been around during those times, you still feel it

[Zensteeldude]

I am 48 years old, and I have no idea how someone who is 18 or younger is going to react to what is being built.

All I have to say is, what is going to be is.

I wish everyone a Happy and prosperous new year.

[JACKinBeantown]

Originally Posted by CoolCzech

A decade on now, and we've got teenagers that cannot even remember 9/11, and think of it as ancient history not much different than Pearl Harbor. That's the way of history. How much emotion do all the Civil Memorials scattered throughout New England evoke today?

Think how much less meaning waterfalls in front of tall towers will have to young people a couple of more decades from now.

To vapid, thoughtless teenagers it will mean little. To thoughtful, intelligent ones it will mean a lot.

[Obey]

You can interpret however you like but the Memorial is what it is.

Memorial thread:
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...158432&page=48

[STR]

Originally Posted by JACKinNYC

To vapid, thoughtless teenagers it will mean little. To thoughtful, intelligent ones it will mean a lot.

A few hours ago, I thought about posting a similar response, but decided against it initially. Teenagers are the most willfully ignorant group of people, as whole, of any in the entire population. You should never, EVER do anything permanent based on how they'd perceive it, because they'd barely bother to perceive it. It too much of a distraction from crushing vanity and self-absorption.

[animatedmartian]

I'm 18 and I remember 9/11 quite vividly. It took another few years before I understood the politics of all of it, but I understood the emotions of that day. I think for 14-15 year olds, it'd seem like something they wouldn't remember and it'd probably seem just like another history lesson. But that's just me, I can't speak for a whole demographic.

I also agree that instead of a void, it should have been/should be a fountain. Sorry for continuing the off-topic subject and other than that Happy New Years!

[Don098]

Originally Posted by STR

A few hours ago, I thought about posting a similar response, but decided against it initially. Teenagers are the most willfully ignorant group of people, as whole, of any in the entire population. You should never, EVER do anything permanent based on how they'd perceive it, because they'd barely bother to perceive it. It too much of a distraction from crushing vanity and self-absorption.

....................

[CGII]

It is very easy to make critical judgements regarding how the memorial looks now, but it's impossible to understand how that space will work and actually make one feel until it's been opened and the surrounding buildings finished.

I think it's worth considering, until then, less about the size of the pools, but about how the architect negotiates them. Void is probably the most powerful tool in an architect's bag of tricks; this park will be less about having huge endless park spaces to frolick through and more about having smaller, more intimate spaces which linger at the edge of these massive voids.

[jthornton17]

Originally Posted by CoolCzech

A decade on now, and we've got teenagers that cannot even remember 9/11, and think of it as ancient history not much different than Pearl Harbor. That's the way of history. How much emotion do all the Civil Memorials scattered throughout New England evoke today?

Think how much less meaning waterfalls in front of tall towers will have to young people a couple of more decades from now.

I think the reason I love the waterfalls is because it gives people a true sense of how huge these buildings were. There is no doubt the size and location of where these great towers once were. It also gives respect to all those who lost their lives in those buildings. Not only by their names being there, but also being space nobody can walk on. To me it's a great sign of respect and the running water shows signs of life. SOmething positive.

[spwelan]

• Video Link

[JACKinBeantown]

It's been really interesting to watch the construction of the transit station ribbing lately on the earthcam. Slowly but surely it's coming along.

[ardecila]

I think the memorial will be an enduring part of the city. The best memorials, like the Vietnam Memorial or the National Police Memorial in DC, remain incredibly powerful, even for the many Americans today who did not live through or personally experience the conflict. I think the outdoor memorial with its two voids will be incredibly moving to those who visit it for the next century or more.

Now, I'm talking about the outdoor memorial space. I'm less confident about the museum. Its architecture is extremely trendy, and I don't think it will last very long before the fashion changes and people realize how ungraceful and gimmicky it is. At that point, it will probably be repurposed or rebuilt.

[xnyr]

To me, these look like 3 tubes. Does anybody know what they are for??

[JACKinBeantown]

Well, they're apparently centered with the "spine" of the "rib cage" and they're symmetrical, as well as parallel to the subway line, so they seem to be permanent. Maybe they're a combination staircase cover from the lower level and floor entrance to the hall where the ribbing is being constructed. I could just be making all this up though.

[BiggieSmalls]

^^ That's the Box Girder that is going to support the 1 Line over the 200 foot underpass.

[uakoops]

^^^
That is the center portion of the "East Box Girder". It is a huge hollow beam (somewhat triangular in cross-section and over 20 feet wide) that will span across the underpass below the subway and support the entire PATH Hall roof. It is being assembled in pieces (what you see there is made of 10 parts).

[xnyr]

Originally Posted by uakoops

^^^
That is the center portion of the "East Box Girder". It is a huge hollow beam (somewhat triangular in cross-section and over 20 feet wide) that will span across the underpass below the subway and support the entire PATH Hall roof. It is being assembled in pieces (what you see there is made of 10 parts).

Thanks, BiggieSmalls and uakoops -

A first look glance, as JACKinNYC pointed out, they almost look like permanent fixtures where they are now, but I couldn't figure out what that could be.

Now, I can sleep.

[NYguy]

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/..._to_start.html

Mega Millions a mega prize for 18 Ground Zero workers: 'It's a great way to start New Year'



A group of 18 Ground Zero construction workers won $250,000 on Mega Millions Christmas Eve.

BY Lukas I. Alpert and Bill Hutchinson
January 7th 2011

Hardworking Ground Zero hardhats struck gold on Christmas Eve, hitting a $250,000 lottery jackpot.

The 18 workers on the transit hub at the World Trade Center site were winners of the Mega Millions drawing that night by picking five of six numbers.

"It's a great way to start off the new year," said foreman Patrick Hickey, 44, of Westbury, L.I. "We are all ecstatic."

The guys - who work for a number of different trade unions - have been running a workplace pool for a year-and-a-half, each tossing $5 into a pot once a week.

Until Dec. 24, they hadn't won a dime, but that night, they almost walked off with a $168 million bonanza.

Using the automatic Quick Pick option, they correctly had the numbers 15, 16, 27, 40 and 52, but 18 for the Mega Ball - which was two digits off from the winning number 16.

"I can't even think about that," said carpenter John Kennedy, 47, of Richmond Hill, Queens, who purchased the $90 block of tickets at a newsstand in the shadow of the fast-rising Freedom Tower.

"This was still pretty amazing," he said. "It's a great little Christmas present."

The pool later swelled to $380 million, the second-largest jackpot in U.S. history. It was won by two people in Tuesday's drawing - one in Washington State and the other in Idaho.

The unexpected year-end bonus has just made its way to their pockets. Lottery rules require that any group of winners larger than 10 must set up a corporation - complete with tax ID number - to distribute the funds.

Attorneys at law firm O'Dwyer and Bernstein offered their services pro bono.

"Winning the lottery on Christmas Eve is certainly good karma for the 1 World Trade Tower," said senior partner Brian O'Dwyer. "It's one of the most fun cases we've had."

After taxes, the group got a check of $165,075, which works out to $9,170 each.

"It's not a life-changing thing, but every little bit helps," said laborer Mike Perrone, 48, of East Islip, L.I. "I think my wife's got it spent already."

Most plan to put the money in the bank or use it to pay bills, but some had other ideas.

"Maybe I'll go on a little vacation with the wife and kids," Hickey said. "I hear Aruba is pretty nice at this time of year."

[STR]

Something I received in the mail...source unkown.