The Daily Aztec

Issue date: 9/11/07 Section: City

Media Credit: Courtesy of MCT Campus New York City construction workers aim to have the Freedom Towe, ready by 2011. This is one part of the World Trade Center rebirth process, which will include a memorial.

Images of Sept. 11, 2001, will be forever ingrained in our minds - the Twin Towers falling, the rubble at Ground Zero and the heroic firefighters.

But now, Ground Zero is home to a rebirth. The first part of the post-9/11 master plan has already been completed, with the construction of the new 7 World Trade Center building in 2006.

The new World Trade Center of New York City will feature five more skyscrapers (including the iconic Freedom Tower), the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, a transportation hub, a retail complex and a performing arts center.

The Freedom Tower will be the most noticeable aspect of the WTC rebuild, reaching 1,776 feet in honor of the year America gained its independence. The top of the tower will end with a needle-like structure that will emit a beam of light at night.

"I think it's simpler and at the same time a lot more elegant," New York Gov. George Pataki told CNN. "The footprint is smaller, which leads to more open space and it doesn't quite dominate over the memorial ... It's not about doing it today, it's about doing it right for tomorrow."

The Freedom Tower will likely be completed in 2011, according to the official WTC website.

Scheduled to be opened in 2009 is the memorial, which will honor not only those who lost their lives in the 9/11 tragedy, but also the WTC bombing in 1993.

Yesterday, a traveling exhibit showcasing a steel beam that will be part of the memorial began a tour in South Carolina. Columbia townspeople wrote prayers and messages on the beam in memory of those who died in the attacks. It will remain there through today before traveling around the country.

"People say that after six years, it's time to move on. It's time to get back to normal," Jason Vigilone, who is stationed at Shaw Air Force Base, east of Columbia, said to The Associated Press. "Well, there is no normal anymore."

The new WTC will be about moving on while remembering. While the presence of those who died will still be felt at Ground Zero, it will also become a shining beacon for America and a final step in the 9/11 mourning process.

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