Empty Sky

The official New Jersey September 11 monument to the victims of the September 11 attacks in the United States is called Empty Sky. It is situated in Liberty State Park in Jersey City, across from the World Trade Center site, near the entrance of the Hudson River. On the tenth anniversary of the attacks, Saturday, September 10, 2011, it was dedicated. Jessica Jamroz and Frederic Schwartz created it.

This memorial honors the 750 innocent loved ones from New Jersey who were violently and senselessly killed on September 11, 2001, at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Continue reading about Jersey City.

The state, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and the New Jersey Building Association contributed to the memorial’s construction.

A construction delay in 2007 was caused by construction bids that were twelve million dollars more than the memorial’s planned cost (because of an international surge in the price of stainless steel). Construction on the monument started in May 2009, intending to complete it by August 15, 2011, for its September 11, 2011 dedication. In addition, the original design was revised to include a plan to use “architecturally polished concrete” for the outside surfaces, rather than the “flat, drab covering of typical concrete finishes” to make it seem more attractive.

On September 10, 2011, family members of individuals whose names are engraved on the monument attended the dedication ceremony. In addition, the dedication event was attended by Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey, five past governors of the state, presidential adviser John O. Brennan, and Senators Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez.

The Families and Survivors Memorial Committee unanimously picked the design out of 320 eligible submissions in the international design competition. The monument is dedicated to the 746 New Jersey citizens killed in the 1993 World Trade Center attacks and those killed on September 11, 2001, in the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

According to the New Jersey 9/11 Memorial Foundation, the mission of the monument is to “represent the legacies of those who have perished, in the hopes that their unfulfilled ambitions and dreams may contribute to a better future for society.” Their distinct talents and features enhanced our lives enormously, and their tales live on via this tribute. The monument has twin walls that run parallel. “A granite walkway leads to Ground Zero, supported by a gently sloping mound.

Two 30-foot (9.1 m) tall rectangular towers extend 208 feet 10 inches (63.65 m) long, the same breadth as the World Trade Center towers, with the proportions of the walls a symbolic portrayal of the buildings laying on their sides. Each of the 746 victims’ names is inscribed in stainless steel letters 4-inch (10 cm) tall. A granite corridor runs parallel to the twin towers’ location. The memorial’s name is from Bruce Springsteen’s song “Empty Sky,” referring to the “empty sky” where the twin buildings once stood.

For more information, call the Empty Sky Memorial at (908) 209-3108. More about Jersey City here.