# What form should the memorial to the WTC victims take? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 13, 2001, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-form-should-the-memorial-to-the-wtc-victims-take/81413 "2001-09-13T19:05:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-form-should-the-memorial-to-the-wtc-victims-take/81413/21 "2001-09-14T15:09:42Z")
If there’s anything more than a few feet high remaining standing, that would be a good centerpiece for a park, similar to the Atomic Bomb dome in Hirshima. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-form-should-the-memorial-to-the-wtc-victims-take/81413/22 "2001-09-14T15:10:50Z")
Have an “o” on me.:o ---
**Author:** ![Odieman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a87d85/32.png) [@Odieman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odieman)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-form-should-the-memorial-to-the-wtc-victims-take/81413/23 "2001-09-14T15:17:40Z")
My idea is to build a park in New Jersey that will have an outlook in it overlooking a pair of pillars made out of the structural members of the twin towers that will be situated in such a way that they would duplicate the size and silouette of the twin towers on the Manhattan skyline. This wouldn’t be the only memorial, but part of several of them, including something at the site. Keith ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-form-should-the-memorial-to-the-wtc-victims-take/81413/24 "2001-09-14T16:18:29Z")
- - - I think we should rebuild the complex in some regard, with two towers, one story higher than the previous ones. We cannot make the original companies return, but others will. I _strongly_ agree that not rebuilding is allowing the attackers victory. - If there is to be a park, I am thinking, maybe do some carpet-bombing on the area the terrorists came from originally, if it can be detirmined. Maybe toss in some reactor waste, for that “eternal glow” effect. Planes flying overhead can dump their sewage tanks. - MC ---
**Author:** ![jmonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/dbc845/32.png) [@jmonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jmonster)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-form-should-the-memorial-to-the-wtc-victims-take/81413/25 "2001-09-14T16:38:48Z")
I think we should have memorial areas at the WTC, the Pentagon, Newark, Dulles & Logan Airports, the crash site in Penn, and wherever the 4th plane was headed. All of the sites should have cameras and TVs linked to the other sites. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-form-should-the-memorial-to-the-wtc-victims-take/81413/26 "2001-09-14T16:39:23Z")
I suggest freezing bin Laden in carbonite. Then we place him on a huge podium surrounded by metal grates. Around these metal grates will be an array of pipes leading from the city’s sewer system, which will serve as an Eternal Shit Storm fountaining onto bin Laden’s carbonite encased body. Or the giant Obi Wan Kenobi. Either will do. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-form-should-the-memorial-to-the-wtc-victims-take/81413/27 "2001-09-14T17:37:25Z")
I vote for RickJay’s idea. I like the idea of making 3 towers instead of 2. The triangle is the stablest of all forms. In my imagination, the towers would have triangular footprints, with one straight side facing toward the courtyard, which would be equal in size to the footprint of one tower–so the three towers would form a larger triangle with the courtyard in the center. Like the Vietnam memorial, the courtyard would be a very quiet and somber place. But outside the towers could be a wonderful plaza, filled with activity and greenery. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-form-should-the-memorial-to-the-wtc-victims-take/81413/28 "2001-09-14T18:29:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by zuma \* > \*\*Annie, are you proposing something such as this? > [http://clanbty.hypermart.net/](http://clanbty.hypermart.net/) \*\* DAMN! The Internet has everything. That’s what I was thinking of. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Gretchen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Miss\_Gretchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Gretchen)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2001, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-form-should-the-memorial-to-the-wtc-victims-take/81413/29 "2001-09-15T05:11:49Z")
What about the photo of the three firefighters raising the Stars and Stripes in a statue form? ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2001, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-form-should-the-memorial-to-the-wtc-victims-take/81413/30 "2001-09-15T05:21:33Z")
I cannot improve on [this](http://www.suntimes.com/output/eb-feature/cst-nws-ebert14.html) suggestion. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2001, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-form-should-the-memorial-to-the-wtc-victims-take/81413/31 "2001-09-15T14:30:28Z")
> [@](#): > > What about the photo of the three firefighters raising the Stars and Stripes in a statue form? I was thinking exactly the same thing last night. With all due respect to Mr. Ebert (see post above) I think we should erect a new World Trade Centre. Someone mentioned that the towers should be one storey taller than the ones that were destroyed. I like that. I also like the idea of a central courtyard, and **SPOOFE** ’s idea of having the names of the victims inscribed in the walls. (Now that I think of it, the inscriptions should be outside instead of inside so as to not have crowds in the lobbies.) I think a combination of new buildings, a quiet courtyard, the victims’ names, and a statue of the firefighters would be good. It has something for everyone, which would also be symbolic of the diversity of Americans. ---
**Author:** ![beergeek279](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ea924/32.png) [@beergeek279](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beergeek279)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2001, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-form-should-the-memorial-to-the-wtc-victims-take/81413/32 "2001-09-15T16:15:02Z")
> [@](#): > > A giant statue of a dollar bill, because the greedy people who worked in the WTC, a known terrorist target, risked their lives trying to get rich. Ahh, so in other words, they deserved to die because they were those “evil, capitalist exploiters”, right? Well, glad to see you show your true colors here (ie, red). Maybe I’ve read \* The Fountainhead \* one too many times, but I believe that there IS no greater monument to man than a building! Among Frank Lloyd Wright’s unrealized plans is supposedly the design for a building one mile high. What better place to lay it out than as the new World Trade Center? Having one tower instead of two would also leave room for any sort of memorial park that they see fit to place! As enjoyable a revenge fantasy the 5 towers may be, I don’t think that taking up 3 blocks of Manhattan for the building would be quite suitable 😉 . ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2001, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-form-should-the-memorial-to-the-wtc-victims-take/81413/33 "2001-09-16T00:35:01Z")
A park, for sure. But I’d put it on the whole damn site, with a museum at building 7. Talk about an ‘in your face’ symbol. There’s plenty of abandoned areas in The city to rebuild. We don’t _need_ that particular spot. Look at Central Park, a jewel in my opinion. Imagine putting so much valuable real estate to such non-productive use. Our country is surely strong enough to do this. The memorial could be a pair of monoliths, shaped like the twin towers, and inscribed with the names (and pictures?) of the victims. Dedicate the whole shebang to peace, tolerance, and diversity. And welcome everyone, including peaceful muslims. Then give it to the people of New York City. There’s your collective middle finger, pointed right at those who would do such a heinous thing. Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2001, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-form-should-the-memorial-to-the-wtc-victims-take/81413/34 "2001-09-16T00:41:51Z")
Oh yeah, and the monoliths should be _taller_ than the original towers. And only large enough in footprint to be structurally strong. Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2001, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-form-should-the-memorial-to-the-wtc-victims-take/81413/35 "2001-09-16T01:11:44Z")
This talk about a memorial is all well and good, but it’s all for naught if the owners of that property decide against it. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2001, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-form-should-the-memorial-to-the-wtc-victims-take/81413/36 "2001-09-16T03:23:52Z")
From m-w; > [@](#): > > Main Entry: eminent domain > Function: noun > Date: 1783 > : a right of a government to take private property for public use by virtue of the superior dominion of the sovereign power over all lands within its jurisdiction Heh heh. 😉 Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2001, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-form-should-the-memorial-to-the-wtc-victims-take/81413/37 "2001-09-17T01:43:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SPOOFE \* > \*\*Perhaps we should encase his body in bronze, as well, to preserve it. \*\* By “his body” you do mean his living, breathing body, as opposed to his dead body, right? Sorry, I’m in a foul mood today. ---
**Author:** ![Quadzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/a4c791/32.png) [@Quadzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quadzilla)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2001, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-form-should-the-memorial-to-the-wtc-victims-take/81413/38 "2001-09-17T01:52:18Z")
I thought this was a really neat idea. > **[Filling the Void (Published 2001)](https://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/23/magazine/filling-the-void.html)** > > Article describes memorial Phantom Towers designed by artists Paul Myoda and Julian LaVerdiere, which shows two beams of light rising from reflecting pool in void left by twin towers; drawing, photos (M) ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2001, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-form-should-the-memorial-to-the-wtc-victims-take/81413/39 "2001-09-17T02:56:51Z")
Reasons not to rebuild the WTC: 1. Who on Earth would want to work in such a building? 2. Now that the WTC has been targeted by terrorists twice, it would be a natural choice for any future terrorist groups. 3. The era of building skyscrapers should be over now. They look cool, but they’re more dangerous than spreading a comparable number of offices throughout several smaller buildings. 4. Face it, folks. Those were ugly buildings. Anyway, here’s my idea for a monument. The entire site becomes a park with one or several dense rings of trees around the outside, so that people entering could almost forget that they were in the middle of one of the world’s largest cities. In the center of the park is a one story circular building with no windows and four doors equally spaced at the four compass points. Inside the building, each one of the victims has their name inscribed along with a portraint and some special object chosen by their family. In the center of the building is an atrium with the ceiling open. Above the buildings is one of those metal wireframe globes with metal plates over the landmasses. The globe is one hundred feet or more in diameter. A small lightbulb is installed at every location where a terrorist attack has ever occurred. A staircase leads up from the center of the building to a platform at the center of the globe, where people would feel that they were standing at “the center of the world”. Key sites such as the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building would also be visible from the platform. In addition, there would be two pillars on the former locations of builindgs one and two, with statues on top, large enough to be visible from the New Jersey shore. Three seprate monuments elsewhere in the park are dedicated to the firemen, the police officers, and members of the military who were killed in the Pentagon. Finally, there are signs distributed throughout the park with inspirational quotes. Real inspirational quotes, not cheesy ones. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2001, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-form-should-the-memorial-to-the-wtc-victims-take/81413/40 "2001-09-17T19:47:20Z")
“3. The era of building skyscrapers should be over now. They look cool, but they’re more dangerous than spreading a comparable number of offices throughout several smaller buildings.” We do that now. They’re called suburban office parks, aka prime-farmland-swallowing complexes of identical buildings no more than three stories tall that make thousands of people drive two or more hours a day to and from work in cars containing one person each. :rolleyes: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-form-should-the-memorial-to-the-wtc-victims-take/81413.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-form-should-the-memorial-to-the-wtc-victims-take/81413.md?page=3)