Eastern Michigan University official hopes to have 9/11 memorial ready by Sept. 10
This 14-foot, 6,800 pound steel beam was once a part of the World Trade Center and came down in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. It is now on display at Eastern Michigan University.
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com
Now that a piece of the World Trade Center is back at Eastern Michigan University, officials are looking to move fast to have a memorial ready by the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
John Donegan, chief of operations at EMU’s Physical Plant, said he hopes to have some sort of memorial ready by Sept. 10. He said the plan is to form an advisory committee to review design plans for the memorial, which will prominently feature the 14-foot, 6,800 pound steel beam. From there, the actual memorial will be built, he said.
“I don’t know if we’ll hit it to be honest, but we’ll give it a good, American try,” he said. “We’ll do it as expeditiously and correct as possible.
"We can still show the beam, it’s not going away. It’s going to stay here and we’ll give it the respect it needs.”
The beam is believed to be from the 74th floor of the World Trade Center’s South Tower. It was brought to EMU from the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey. It is currently at the Eastern Michigan University Physical Plant, after being loaned to a group and shown to firefighters in Lansing.
The beam has yet to find a permanent home, which Donegan said may be outside the university’s Halle Library.
Donegan told AnnArbor.com on Saturday that a Sept. 11 memorial for the campus is 85 percent planned. He said the goal for the memorial is not going to be elaborate because the steel beam “speaks for itself.”
“Once you see it, you can get carried away with presentation and making the memorial more (than it has to be),” Donegan said. “We do not want to take away from the beam with the other elements of the presentation.
"No matter what we do, it will be relatively simple.”
Donegan said he had no estimates on how much a Sept. 11 memorial will cost, but outside donations to build the memorial have been offered to the university.
EMU received the beam at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, where it was being held with other pieces of the World Trade Center that are being used for the artifact program. It was transported by truck to Ypsilanti.
Donegan said the memorial planning has been under way for months, with officials having to sign releases and go through a process that he described as “a lot of bureaucracy.”
He said he wasn’t originally sure how big the piece of the World Trade Center that the university was going to receive would be, but recognizes that the university now has a “very significant” artifact.
“Once you see it, you realize the emotional attachment we all have with this,” he said. “If you were around at all, it was one of those significant events that take place in peoples’ lives and there’s a whole range of emotions that come from this.”
Kyle Feldscher covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
Tex Treeder
Wed, Aug 10, 2011 : 12:36 a.m.
I don't understand why EMU is building a monument/memorial for 9/11. Why a memorial, and why EMU? I'm ambivalent on this issue. With one simple stroke 10 years ago, the terrorists won. We've spent billions after the fact and sacrificed thousands of US lives. Despite this, it's unclear that we are any "safer" from events like this in the future. We've sacrificed our civil liberties, willingly it seems. Look at how many supported the so-called Patriot Act, TSA, spying on Americans, etc. Should we forget? No. Should we build some sort of memorial at EMU? That's another question altogether.
John A2
Tue, Aug 9, 2011 : 6:51 a.m.
Hog Wash, What is it representing anyway, why did we even have it brought here??... It represents how messed up our world was ten years ago, and now even worse. To bring about war and hate to our country. It don't matter what or who brought down the building, I have saw the movies and blame. But where does it all get fueled from. Money, thats what. How desperate people get when there filthy rich, and want to be king of it all. It don't matter to me where the actual truth lies. This beam just represents what people do for power and their war games to make more money. This beam represents GREED, as far as I'm concerned, and it's a mockery of the dead and their families to use it in memory of their wasted lives. The people who died on 911, didn't die for the cause they were killed from greed, greed. Ben (Tenyears Forgotten) was just as greedy as the rest of the whoever the movies blamed.
Corby
Tue, Aug 9, 2011 : 5:29 a.m.
To give this "the respect it needs," I simply encourage planners to take their time. The risk, if it's simply put at a high traffic area, is that it looks like a trophy ... look what we have! (I know this isn't Donegan's intention, at all.) It's not a piece of art that adds to the aesthetics; it's something that needs a space for reflection. You simply can't expect people to walk by something that represents 3,000 deaths and much more, to reflect daily on the lives that were lost on that day. It would be overwhelming and the beam would become something you either casually ignore or find a little creepy. It can't become commonplace or it will be ignored. EMU has a beautiful campus with many good locations for a reverent memorial. I hope planners opt for a quiet space where people can reflect. If it's put in a high traffic area, I'm concerned its impact will be lost.
joe golder
Tue, Aug 9, 2011 : 9 p.m.
A pond surrounded by a walk way with benches. In the middle an Island with monuments that reflect on the water. A nicely landscaped area for doing yoga. Spaces for artist to paint, draw, read and write and reflect. Just a few idea's! I'm sure the university will find a good resting place for this piece of history and a fitting display.
Carl Ebach
Mon, Aug 8, 2011 : 11:13 p.m.
It needs to be and should in the Ypsilanti Heritage Parade, it should be on display all through the Heritage Festival. IT should be done with honor and respect. Needs to be on a lowboy with sheets of white plywood people can sign.
Tru2Blu76
Mon, Aug 8, 2011 : 7:43 p.m.
How embarrassing: caption reads: "steal beam." Try: "steel" - it's in the dictionary, and in the attendant article as well. And then there's this typo: "We can still show the beam, it's not going > way<. It's going to stay here and we'll give it the respect it needs." The whole sentiment sounds mushy and vague: what amount of respect does this intended memorial "need"? Say 20 years go by: if this avowedly minimalist memorial still exists then, what are the chances that "everyone will know" it's an artifact from a particular event 30 years in the past. No one can question the good intention, but this article makes the project seem pretty lame. A 1976 ad from Whirlpool Corporation proclaimed (paraphrased): We believe if we can't do it right, we won't do it. I certainly endorse that attitude as applied here.
Kyle Feldscher
Mon, Aug 8, 2011 : 7:46 p.m.
Those typos have been fixed, thank you for calling them to my attention.
David Briegel
Mon, Aug 8, 2011 : 7:33 p.m.
I agree with George Orwell. And an advisory committee is a perfect tribute! Will there be a golf course and casino?
lumberg48108
Mon, Aug 8, 2011 : 7:31 p.m.
less than a months seems like a stretch to create a memorial that is worth its money etc ... why not make a makeshift (cheap) memorial with the beam on display and take time to create a permanent one? i keep reading how (some) people want this and want to honor our fallen - rushing things is not the way to do it
G. Orwell
Mon, Aug 8, 2011 : 7:14 p.m.
It would honor those that died on 9/11 and first responders that continue to die, if the truth were told about 9/11.
FreedomOfSpeech
Tue, Aug 9, 2011 : 6:17 a.m.
Truth Rising - Victim & Responders & the families: <a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9153741586264750761" rel='nofollow'>http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9153741586264750761</a> - Fabled Enemies <a href="http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-2144933190875239407" rel='nofollow'>http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-2144933190875239407</a> - Reflections And Warnings - An Interview With A: F to F - Director Aaron Russo {Full Film} <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGAaPjqdbgQ" rel='nofollow'>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGAaPjqdbgQ</a>
jns131
Mon, Aug 8, 2011 : 8:30 p.m.
911 is still being replayed in Afghanistan and other parts of the world our soldiers are. Need to start bringing them home and start healing. Let the world do their fair share. Glad to hear the beam is doing its tour of duty.