# Bryant Gumbel's plan for the WTC spot... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 19, 2001, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bryant-gumbels-plan-for-the-wtc-spot/82571 "2001-09-19T13:12:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CnoteChris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/278dde/32.png) [@CnoteChris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CnoteChris)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bryant-gumbels-plan-for-the-wtc-spot/82571/1 "2001-09-19T13:12:48Z")
…is to build a hollow replica of the twin towers. No floors, no space to have people occupy, just an exact replica of the towers. Or so he proposed on the Late Night show with David Letterman last night (Sept. 18th). At first I was skeptical. I mean, this is Bryant Gumbel we’re talking about here. The most pompous man of all time to grace our morning news. But the more I thought about it, the more I thought it sounded cool. The other ideas for what to do with that space have created obvious problems- terrorist target for future wacko’s; problems with a ‘normal’ memorial creating essentially a ‘void’ in Manhattan; etc. So, I kinda like the idea he proposed. It not only sends a signal to the world, but it memorializes those lost, too. Opinions? ---
**Author:** ![CnoteChris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/278dde/32.png) [@CnoteChris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CnoteChris)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bryant-gumbels-plan-for-the-wtc-spot/82571/2 "2001-09-19T13:16:54Z")
I should clarify- The towers would be the exact same height and size of the ones that were destroyed. And instead of the void that an empty lot memorial might create, this one returns the skyline to what it once was. ---
**Author:** ![tempest2\_2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@tempest2\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tempest2_2)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bryant-gumbels-plan-for-the-wtc-spot/82571/3 "2001-09-19T13:29:05Z")
I had the very same thought last week because someone mentioned how hard it would be to lease space in the towers once they were rebuilt. Gumble even said they should use some of the metal (after grinding it up) to build the replicas. I think it’s a great idea. ---
**Author:** ![SeamusToo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e0b2c6/32.png) [@SeamusToo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeamusToo)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bryant-gumbels-plan-for-the-wtc-spot/82571/4 "2001-09-19T14:08:28Z")
Typical Gum-ball. All facade, no substance. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bryant-gumbels-plan-for-the-wtc-spot/82571/5 "2001-09-19T14:11:26Z")
One thing it would do is confuse the hell out of any archaeologists in the future when they unearth the site. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bryant-gumbels-plan-for-the-wtc-spot/82571/6 "2001-09-19T14:20:57Z")
Great idea. Build 110-story tall targets out of recycled metal. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![CnoteChris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/278dde/32.png) [@CnoteChris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CnoteChris)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bryant-gumbels-plan-for-the-wtc-spot/82571/7 "2001-09-19T15:23:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ethilrist \* > \*\*Great idea. Build 110-story tall targets out of recycled metal. :rolleyes: \*\* With that logic, **Ethilrist** , _anything_ you put on that spot will be a target. Now, of course, because it’s there, it will be a target. The beauty of this thing is that it’s empty. Would it be better to have another highrise with people in it on that same spot, doing the same thing? I don’t think so. I’d comment on that rolleyes naysayer comment, but this is IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bryant-gumbels-plan-for-the-wtc-spot/82571/8 "2001-09-19T15:36:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ethilrist \* > \*\*Great idea. Build 110-story tall targets out of recycled metal. :rolleyes: \*\* Most of the steel in today’s buildings is made from recycled metal. Substantially all rebar and concrete weave is recycled, as are many I-beams, fasteners, etc. This GQ moment has been brought to you by the Minimills of America – turning old cars and fridges into cool stuff since whenever Nucor changed the process. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bryant-gumbels-plan-for-the-wtc-spot/82571/9 "2001-09-19T16:08:44Z")
My apologies. I thought that recycled metal was weaker than first-run stuff, and that it would be a bad choice of materials for whatever gets built on that site. I also wished to indicate that it’s going to be a target no matter what it is, or how big it is. One of the purposes of the MX missile system was to entice our enemies into pounding an unpopulated patch of desert, rather than cities and factories. Rebuilding on the WTC site is asking for trouble. ---
**Author:** ![CnoteChris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/278dde/32.png) [@CnoteChris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CnoteChris)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bryant-gumbels-plan-for-the-wtc-spot/82571/10 "2001-09-19T16:18:34Z")
Understood **Ehtilrist**. When I started this thread, I didn’t mean to limit the ideas to the one proposed by Bryant alone. I thought it could start the discussion off on a foot that made sense, if that makes any sense. That is, it sounds like a good idea to me given the problems you mention with building _anything_ on that site. It kind of covers all the bases, as it were. You really can’t leave it empty, if you ask me. So, _something_ needs to go there. But what? If you, or anyone else, has other ideas, feel free to share. Up until I heard Bryant explain his idea last night, I was clueless on what would make sense to put there. So far, that’s the best idea of heard, IMHO, of course. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bryant-gumbels-plan-for-the-wtc-spot/82571/11 "2001-09-19T16:37:25Z")
It’s a shame an MX WTC is impracticle… put that baby on a railcar that not only is manuverable but also can be shipped across country for all Americans to see and take pride in. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bryant-gumbels-plan-for-the-wtc-spot/82571/12 "2001-09-19T16:43:37Z")
I would prefer seeing something like the Arc de Triomphe, only lots taller, so we have the idea of the two towers, but also of unity with the towers joining at the top, with a memorial to those lost in the attack in the open space between the towers. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bryant-gumbels-plan-for-the-wtc-spot/82571/13 "2001-09-19T23:37:13Z")
I don’t think it can happen. There isn’t an insurance company in the world that would underwrite that project. ---
**Author:** ![DrewG27](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DrewG27](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrewG27)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2001, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bryant-gumbels-plan-for-the-wtc-spot/82571/14 "2001-09-20T01:02:59Z")
I thought Lloyd’s would take anything you’re willing to pay for. ---
**Author:** ![schplebordnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@schplebordnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/schplebordnik)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2001, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bryant-gumbels-plan-for-the-wtc-spot/82571/15 "2001-09-20T04:43:40Z")
well, if the MX concept won’t work, you could use the empty shells to house ICBMs (sort of like the ICBM silos buried in Kansas, Colorado and Wyoming). would be hugely ironic to see those missiles launching from lower Manhattan, headed for where ever Osama currently resides… ---
**Author:** ![Ariadne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/71c47a/32.png) [@Ariadne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ariadne)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2001, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bryant-gumbels-plan-for-the-wtc-spot/82571/16 "2001-09-20T15:17:44Z")
A friend of mine said that the dirt they had to move to build the WTC was used as landfill to create Battery Park. He suggested that the metal/debris/etc. from the collapse be moved and used to create a new park, and that the towers be built, exactly the same as they were (but with a plaque and maybe a museum on the first floor), to show that America can recover. This way there would be both a park and the rebuilt buildings as memorials. ---
**Author:** ![Spritle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Spritle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spritle)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2001, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bryant-gumbels-plan-for-the-wtc-spot/82571/17 "2001-09-20T23:47:21Z")
I don’t think that hollow WTCs would have the structural ingetrity to withstand the rigors of wind and other elements. A lot of the strength of the building is contributed by the flooring which braces the walls side to side. (if that makes any sense) ---
**Author:** ![Chickenhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7cd45c/32.png) [@Chickenhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chickenhead)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2001, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bryant-gumbels-plan-for-the-wtc-spot/82571/18 "2001-09-21T00:19:44Z")
And who will pay for it? ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2001, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bryant-gumbels-plan-for-the-wtc-spot/82571/19 "2001-09-21T13:47:41Z")
I was going to make a wisecrack about using the empty building to house Bryant Gumbel’s enormous ego…but upon further reflection, it isn’t such a bad idea. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2001, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bryant-gumbels-plan-for-the-wtc-spot/82571/20 "2001-09-21T15:11:41Z")
You’ll need to have the mirrored glass facing inwards. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bryant-gumbels-plan-for-the-wtc-spot/82571.md?page=2)