It became a makeshift memorial to the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks. Now, a massive steel column has been returned to ground zero as a symbol of rebirth.
After more than seven years in storage at a hangar at Kennedy International Airport, the 58-ton, 36-foot-tall beam was delivered early Monday to the World Trade Center site.
“It’s a proud day,” said retired firefighter Lee Ielpi, who watched the column being placed where a museum is being built.
Ielpi’s son, Jonathan, also a firefighter, died in the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the trade center.
The column is to be the centerpiece of the planned National Sept. 11 Memorial & Museum.
The so-called “Last Column,” the final standing steel column removed from ground zero, became a steel canvas for tributes from recovery workers and victims’ families.
Gallery.
