9/11 Memorial Dedication Set For September 10th

9/11 Memorial Dedication Set For September 10th

Written by Westchester.com

Thursday, 31 August 2006

White Plains, NY - With solemnity befitting the occasion and with a spirit of hope for the future, Westchester County will dedicate its memorial to the 109 Westchester residents who died in the events of Sept. 11, 2001. The dedication of The Rising will take place Sunday, Sept 10 at 2 p.m., a day before the 5th anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The memorial, four years in the works, is located at Kensico Dam Plaza in Valhalla. The public is encouraged to arrive early and to bring folding chairs as seating is limited. The event will be held rain or shine. (See below for fact sheet about the Memorial.) County Executive Andy Spano called the memorial “awe-inspiring,” and said it was designed, constructed and dedicated with the support of the entire county. “We are grateful for the unyielding commitment of the artisans who created and built this majestic monument, the families who told us what they wanted, and to all the individuals, workers, corporations, businesses and not-profit groups that gave of their time, their money and their support,” he said. “Our goal was to create an everlasting memorial for the families – and for our community; for people today and for generations tomorrow.” The ceremony will include a reading of the names of the 109 Westchester residents who died in the terror attacks. The ceremony will also include: - an inspiring selection of music by the Mayor’s Interfaith Community Choir of Mount Vernon , led by Maureen Wilson, - a dramatic water display across the reflecting pool by local fire departments, - a rousing rendition of The Rising, written by Bruce Springsteen, performed by Tramps Like Us, a Westchester-based Springsteen tribute band. The Rising is an 80-foot-high stainless steel sculpture designed by noted architect Frederic Schwartz of New York. At the base of the structure are granite stones that bear those Westchester residents who died and an inscription about them provided by their family. Kensico Dam Plaza is located at the north end of the Bronx River Parkway in Valhalla. For more information, call 914-995-2951 or log on to http://www.westchestergov.com/ About the Performers The Rising is a ballad written by Bruce Springsteen about September 11th and the events of that day. Formed in 1990 with a repertoire of more than 70 songs, Tramps Like Us has been dedicated to enjoying and sharing Springsteen’s music in a live setting. The group has performed with many distinguished musicians and plays regularly at clubs in the Westchester and New York City area. MTV has featured Tramps Like Us in their Week in Rock program. It is comprised of Mark Salore, guitars, harmonica and vocals; Ken Hope, keyboards and vocals; Jonathan Sanborn, bass and vocals; Brian Sears, saxophone, keyboards, percussion and vocals; and Rudy Feinauer, drums. The group’s website is: www.trampslikeus.com/ The 30-member Mayor’s Interfaith Community Choir of Mount Vernon is an outgrowth of the city’s annual Arts on Third Avenue Festival. The choir, which is endearingly referred to as the “Mayor’s Choir” is made up of individuals with diverse cultural, religious and socio-economic backgrounds. Its music is inspirational, community-based and patriotic. The choir performs at many civic events and has performed with the Westchester Philharmonic Orchestra. The choir was invited to sing at the prestigious Bobby Jones International Gospel Retreat in Miami in 2004. About the Memorial The Making of “The Rising” … Westchester’s 9/11 Memorial Who? The structure was designed by Frederic Schwartz Architects of New York City and fabricated by Tallix Foundry of Beacon, NY. More than 400 artists, architects, engineers, computer designers, skilled technicians and laborers, as well as a core group of family members and financial donors, were also involved. What? The Rising is an 18-ton stainless steel sculpture with 109 intertwining steel rods rising skyward. At the base is a “Circle of Remembrance” that includes the names of those who died on September 11, 2001 as well as an inscription from their families. When? The project has been in the works since County Executive Andy Spano announced plans in his State of the County Address in April 2002. Where? The eastern corner of the Kensico Dam Plaza in Valhalla. Why? To recognize and honor the 109 Westchester residents killed in the tragedies of September 11. Interesting facts: - The memorial is 80 feet high and contains 10,000 linear feet of steel (enough to cover 27 football fields) - 1,100 tons of fill and 1,215 tons of concrete had to be excavated and removed at the Kensico Dam site - The project used 500 tons of sand, gravel and concrete, and contains 47,000 paving bricks - Before installing the granite name plaques, workers had to drill 444 holes and construct 111 matching plywood templates - Each of the granite plaques in the Circle of Remembrance weighs 165 pounds - The project involved never-before-tried computer-design techniques such as wax-injected molds that were used to create “nodes” - To support the structure during assembly, a three-dimensional framework had to be built out of 500 “scallop plates” robotically cut from plywood - At the site alone, the project took over 5,000 hours of labor