June 07, 2005

Sept. 11 timeline installed at Ground Zero

A September 11th timeline has been installed on three panels along the fence surrounding Ground Zero. Thousands of people have made pilgrimages to the site since the attacks nearly four years ago, but there has been little there in the way to explain what happened and when.

The timeline starkly marks key events from the day, including the time both planes hit, when both towers and WTC 7 fell, when U.S. airspace was closed and when everything below Canal Street was closed.

The panels are affixed to the fence on Church Street, not far from the entrance to the PATH train entrance in Ground Zero. Eventually a museum at Ground Zero is expected to document the full tragedy, though plans for rebuilding are moving slowly.

Another Sept. 11th timeline is located nearby, at St. Paul's Chapel at Broadway and Fulton. While the timeline at Ground Zero stops at 11:30 p.m. on the night of the attack, St. Paul's timeline covers the first year of recovery. It's filled with sad reminders of just how long things were so very wrong. Among the entries on the St. Paul timeline:

December 15 -- The lace-like five-story steel facade of the north tower stood as a grim memorial for months. The last pieces are stored for possible use in a future memorial. Soon after, Gov. Pataki announces that the fires that have burned at Ground Zero since Sept. 11th are under control."

June 7, 2005 03:19 PM in Downtown, Sightsology

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