Revised illustrations of the 'bowl'. PDF document
Posted on 12/01/2005 2:52:44 PM PST by new yorker 77
Colorado Pilot Killed In Crash
PITTSBURGH -- Designers of a Flight 93 memorial have made a circular, bowl-shaped piece of land its centerpiece, replacing the original crescent-shape design that some critics had said was a symbol honoring terrorists, officials announced Wednesday.
The new design features most of the same details of the original, which was unveiled in September after a worldwide design competition. A tower with 40 wind chimes welcomes visitors to the site, where they can then walk to a large circular field ringed by 40 groves of red and sugar maple trees, symbolizing the 40 passengers and crew who died on the plane.
Officials say the circle enhances the earlier design by putting more emphasis on the crash site, according to details in the Flight 93 National Memorial's November newsletter. A break in the trees will symbolize the path the plane took as it crashed.
"It is the convergence of the land's beauty and power with the strength and sacrifice of heroic, personal action on September 11th that gave the memorial site its unique sanctity," according to the plan.
In September, Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., criticized the design in a letter to National Park Service Director Fran Mainella. Tancredo said many questioned the shape "because of the crescent's prominent use as a symbol in Islam -- and the fact that the hijackers were radical Islamists."
Paul Murdoch, president of Paul Murdoch Architects, which designed the memorial, had called the criticism of the crescent an "unfortunate diversion," but said they were sensitive to the concerns.
In the newsletter, he describes the new design as an "evolution" of what was announced two months ago. The changes reflect comments from the public, the competition's jury and others, he said.
"In the months to come, the design will continue to develop as more implementation issues are identified," Murdoch wrote in the newsletter.
The original design for the memorial was selected by a jury of 15 made up of design professionals and family and community members and was narrowed down from a pool of 1,011.
Besides the circular bowl, the memorial consists of a Tower of Voices at the entrance of the memorial with 40 metallic wind chimes for each victim. There will also be pedestrian trails and a plaza from which to view the crash site. The victims names will be inscribed there on a white marble wall.
Flight 93 was flying to San Francisco from Newark, N.J., when it was hijacked and crashed. The official 9/11 Commission report said the hijackers crashed it as passengers tried to take control of the cockpit.
The captain of the flight was Jason Dahl, a Colorado resident. He wanted time off to celebrate his fifth wedding anniversary on Sept. 14, so he agreed to take the Sept. 11 flight.
Copyright 2005 by TheDenverChannel.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Ping
Nice touch.
Great work Tancredo.
And still an abomination. The designers of this memorial should be treated as enemy saboteurs.
A step in the right direction. I wonder if the change was made because donations dropped in protest against the crescent shape?
The designers and the people who hired them. I believe there was Heinz Foundation money involved here, too. Figgers, don't it?
Now it has 44 translucent blocks memorializing the 40 passengers PLUS the 4 terrorist hijackers.
I still don't like it. I especially don't like that it took much fussing for these idiots to change the design, and most unfortunate that they designed it to begin with.
Having said that, it's better than the original I suppose and Tancredo deserves yet another pat on the back.
yes, that's why I still don't like it. It's not all that different from the original. The only thing that would be appropriate at this point is for these yahoos to be scrapped from the project altogether, but I suppose that isn't going to happen.
...except that the new design is a minor tweak of the old one. Still has a crescent. Still honors terrorists.
I remember when memorials used to look simple and elegant like this.
AP's not too strong on their facts...
They need to scrap this whole design and get different designers.
It should be 40 blocks only, for 40 people.
The 4 terrorists were sub-human and don't count as people.
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