Ceremony will give attendees an opportunity to connect with 9/11 history
World Trade Center Steel “Tree” at Steelworkers’ Memorial in Coatesville
Photo By: Robert O. Williams/ The Williams Group.
Coatesville, PA – The National Iron and Steel Heritage Museum (NISHM) plans to honor those lost on Sept. 11, 2001 with “Coatesville Remembers September 11.” The museum is the trustee of the largest collection of 9/11 artifacts outside of New York City.
The event will be held on the grounds of the Lukens Executive Office Building, in The Lukens National Historic District, on South 1st Avenue and Business Route 30, beginning at 8:30 a.m. Backdrop to the ceremony will be the new “Steel Workers’ Memorial.” The memorial, created from steel “tree” number “E-0014,” and dedicated to 66 steelworkers who lost their lives in Coatesville, is not yet completed.
This steel “tree” is a 35-ton section of the North Tower façade. It was located 70 feet above the concourse level. Steel “trees,” structural trident shapes that were fabricated at Lukens Steel of Coatesville in the late 1960’s, framed the first nine floors and soaring lobbies of the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center.
As the horrors of 9/11 unfolded, it was the lasting images of the “trees” still standing, jutting out of the ground like fingers reaching towards the heavens, which etched an indelible image in the minds of those who viewed them. The “trees” became the icons of the tragedy. Through negotiations with the Port Authority of New York/New Jersey, the Graystone Society for NISHM was able to secure ten steel “trees” for use as the centerpiece of their museum.
The “trees” were returned to their birthplace in Coatesville, PA on April 14, 2010 in a solemn procession. Twenty-eight tractor-trailers, over a 13-hour journey from New York City, brought 500 tons of World Trade Center steel home to its final destination.
After 41 years away, their stalwart duty as silent sentinels of a great tragedy had ended, and the steel had arrived back home.
“The smallest piece we’ve given out was six inches and the largest was about 53 feet.,” Steve Coleman, a spokesman for the Port Authority, said in the Newark Star Ledger. “The biggest number of pieces went to Coatesville, PA, the home of Lukens Steel, which helped to manufacture the steel that went into the original Twin Towers.”
Some of those “trees” will be on display at the 9/11-memorial service.
This year’s ceremony will honor all those who lost their lives on 9/11, as well as local law enforcement and firefighters who aided the recovery effort in New York, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C. and remotely in Chester County.
This free event will run from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 11.
County and State politicians are expected to attend and address the audience. Law enforcement, fire fighters, school children, civic groups and civilians are invited to join The Graystone Society. Also expected are The Lukens Band, as well as local choirs and singers. Refreshments will be served. The event will be held rain or shine.
For more information on this event, contact the National Iron & Steel Heritage Museum at 610-384-9282 or admin@steelmuseum.org or visit www.steelmuseum.org.
