Posted on 09/14/2005 4:54:48 PM PDT by jimbo123
The architect of the memorial to a plane downed in Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001, said Wednesday he would work to satisfy critics who complained that it honors terrorists with its crescent-shaped design.
Designer Paul Murdoch said he is "somewhat optimistic" that the spirit of the design could be maintained.
"It's a disappointment there is a misinterpretation and a simplistic distortion of this, but if that is a public concern, than that is something we will look to resolve in a way that keeps the essential qualities," Murdoch, 48, of Los Angeles, said in a telephone interview.
Murdoch's design, "Crescent of Embrace," was selected last week during a meeting of the Flight 93 Advisory Commission from five narrowed down from 1,011.
The recommendation of the 15-member jury consisting of design professionals and family and community members still needs to be approved by the Interior Department.
Its shape is a circle broken by the flight pattern of the plane, which supporters have said follows the topography of the crash site.
Chris Martin, spokesman for Flight 93 National Memorial, said Wednesday family members and federal advisory commission members turned to Murdoch for assistance.
Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., sent a letter Tuesday to National Park Service Director Fran Mainella saying many have questioned the shape "because of the crescent's prominent use as a symbol in Islam — and the fact that the hijackers were radical Islamists."
Will Adams, spokesman for Tancredo, said Wednesday Tancredo would be happy with the changes only if the crescent shape is removed.
Murdoch said he's not sure exactly what changes he would make.
The memorial also consists of a chapel with 40 metallic wind chimes — one for each victim. It would include pedestrian trails and a roadway to a visitor center and the actual crash site. At the site would be a crescent-shaped cluster of maple trees and a white marble wall inscribed with the victims' names.
"We called it a crescent because it was a curving land form. We called it 'Crescent of Embrace' because of the symbolic gesturing of embracing this place," Murdoch said. "There's no desire to make this a divisive memorial."
Gordon Felt, of Remsen, N.Y., whose brother Edward Felt was killed on Flight 93, said he called Tancredo's office and said Tancredo should have held off on his criticism.
"I wish he would come out to Somerset and see topography of the land," Felt said.
Felt said it is natural for the design to evolve.
"I think the topography of the land would really dictate there would be some kind of arc," Felt said.
Flight 93 was flying to San Francisco from Newark, N.J., when it was hijacked and crashed 65 miles outside Pittsburgh. The official 9/11 Commission report said the hijackers crashed it as passengers tried to take control of the cockpit.
on it.
Because you and I have come to the same conclusion. Because they ignored topography, in order to bring about this monstrosity. Because very few people can decipher a topograhical map, they thought they could lie their way out of their "little" joke on those damned Nationalist, Reactionary,Fascist, self styled patriots.
Agreed! Beautiful picture...and would is most befitting of the heros on that flight.
If patriots had anything to do with it...yes.
NOT ENOUGH ! Dump the crecent.
I'm guessing the Capitol building or White House.
I think they were going for a Trifecta:
Our Economy - WTC
Our Military - Pentagon
Our Government - ?
I think you're right, nully...that makes the most sense.
In London, during the tube bombings, the authorities also said they noticed a geometric pattern to their bombings....though what you suggest, in this case, is obviously more likely their target being the White House (or Capitol Bldg.)
Hyperbole will not make a hyperbola a crescent.
Nice try, though...
Murdoch's design, "Crescent of Embrace," was selected last week during a meeting of the Flight 93 Advisory Commission from five narrowed down from 1,011.
The recommendation of the 15-member jury consisting of design professionals and family and community members still needs to be approved by the Interior Department.
You have a flood of submissions, all of which are similar in intent, which is to memorialize Flight 93 and celebrate the heroism of the passengers who fought back. And then you have one absolutely stupid idea as this.
Well, the stupid one is really going to stand out from the crowd. You may have a couple of real brain-dead Lefties on your panel of "design professionals and family and community members", so they are going to throw their weight behind this one. So it makes the cut of five, since it is distinguished from the field.
So then you have 15 people voting on five designs. If four are plain vanilla, and one is this piece of dreck, all you need is one or two rock-hard idiot Lefties on the panel to make sure this is the one picked. There has never been a citizens' group in the last 50 years that did not include at least one or two rock-hard idiot Lefties.
All they have to do is stand up and say that anybody who opposes this design is a racist, and they can buffalo at least two or three of the "regular" citizens into voting for this thing, no matter how bad it is.
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