From Ground Zero To The World Trade Center: Ten Years Of Rebuilding, Revising And Reviving (TIMELINE)

Before it was ground zero, it was the World Trade Center. But after the attacks of September 11th, the site become a smoldering pile of twisted metal and carnage, and what sprung up immediately wasn't hope and resolve, but political infighting and design skirmishes. Creating a replacement that would at once be a symbol for American power, peace, a terror-proof structure, a way to honor the fallen, and an attractive addition to the skyline (as well as be cost-efficient and able to attract new business) was daunting, to say the least. It took a long time to get where we are today, and there's still more work ahead.

In the proceeding years, the hallowed ground of the attack continued to gather symbolic relevance that, at times, created more problems. The controversy of the so-called 'ground zero mosque' that engulfed the media in 2010, as well as the spontaneous, massive celebrations that broke out after Osama bin Laden's death, suggest that the site will always be hugely important to New Yorkers.

The area dubbed ground zero has seen four governors, two mayors and two presidents; it saw countless design proposals for what would replace the twin towers, and redesigns, and delays; even what was finally chosen went through the ringer. Below is a timeline of events from the first tower proposal in 2002 to the tenth anniversary of the attacks, when the 9/11 Memorial opens to the public.

Comments

[Bill Rex]

10:38 PM on 09/11/2011

My very loving and intellegent wife say it should be called Ground Hero in stead of ground zero

[Lovekaley2006]

09:34 PM on 09/11/2011

doesnt all this rememberance give alqueda and the terrorists a day to celebrate? i dunno. mixed feelings. im not saying its bad or good just wondering what you all think.

[rbeekman]

07:43 PM on 09/11/2011

10 years and not yet completed is a national disgrace.

[GirlInNYC]

11:17 PM on 09/11/2011

Agreed. There was a lot of red tape and sensitivity causing delays, but now the ten year marker has come and gone. Time to accelerate the rebuild. And I feel for anyone who has to work at the top of that new building. Are they taunting or what? I wouldn't take a job up there.

[daltrey7]

07:27 PM on 09/11/2011

God Bless everyone who lost there lfe on 9/11, and the families of those who have to live with the loss of there loved ones every day.

[Mary Toomey]

05:01 PM on 09/11/2011

This particular picture of the twin towers, for a moment reminded me of Stonehendge. Which I probably spelled that wrong.

[efmo]

04:30 PM on 09/11/2011

There is a memorial for the victims who died in '93 also, I believe?

[Darlene Bramhall]

06:47 PM on 09/11/2011

They had the movie of them last night. It was very moving to me. Flight 93 heros SAVED the White House, The Capital, Anything around it. I hope people realizes that.

[Lovekaley2006]

09:36 PM on 09/11/2011

didnt they find out through the cockpit recorder that the terroists accidently crashed the plane and nobody actually got into the cockpit?

[JamieD88]

08:37 AM on 09/12/2011

The White House saved the White House........ if anyone believes anything other than the fact that flight 93 wasn't shot down they really need to re-examine the evidence.

[srmmer]

03:46 PM on 09/11/2011

why is it taking so long to build the freedom tower ? it took only 18months to build the empire state building.

[tilefsher]

03:11 PM on 09/11/2011

jews, arabs and muslims = the never ending holy war brought here to America

[Lovekaley2006]

09:37 PM on 09/11/2011

wait til the die and find out their little man upstairs doesnt exist. jokes on them.

[jimjits]

10:05 PM on 09/11/2011

I think your the joke Lovekaley

[The political pulse]

03:00 PM on 09/11/2011

They should have rebuilt them just as they were only bigger. Only then would have the terrorist not won.

[Devil Theory]

12:24 PM on 09/11/2011

Can I just say that I love that the Previous/Next buttons stayed in the same place after being clicked! Too many photo sites reload the entire page so you have to scroll every time or move the buttons around depending on the size of the photos and for once they didn't. Kudos!

[dhartson]

03:26 PM on 09/11/2011

I fanned you over your photo next to your name..........

[fcolumna]

11:35 AM on 09/11/2011

It was really frightening to hear in CNN some, not helpful person, say that "some loner could do some act of terrorism to make himself FAMOUS. All that shows is that the Press encourages terrorism.
Actually, what should be said is that anyone who commits a terrorist act will be "Wacked" and nobody will know about it.

[Candw1]

10:55 AM on 09/11/2011

God bless America,
Land that I love.
Stand beside her, and guide her
Through the night with a light from above.
From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans, white with foam
God bless America, My home sweet home

[GirlInNYC]

10:38 AM on 09/11/2011

The same dead will be dead on 9.11/12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20... What's new at this annual wake service? After this, no more. Just remember them like people who have lost loved ones remember theirs. Do you think that losing a loved one in a less high profile way is less painful? Bringing this much attention to 9/11 may encourages another attack.

[TheLibraryOfCodex]

12:20 PM on 09/11/2011

***The same dead will be dead on 9.11/12/13­/14/15/16/­17/18/19/2­0... ***

Thankyou for that insight.

***What's new at this annual wake service?***

It's 10 years since the event. Memorials are always more high profile at landmark years like 1, 5, 10, etc....

***After this, no more***

That's not for you to decide.

****Just remember them like people who have lost loved ones remember theirs***

They are.

****Do you think that losing a loved one in a less high profile way is less painful?***

No one claimed otherwise. However the scope and global context for 9/11 makes it obviously more high profile.

***Bringing this much attention to 9/11 may encourages another attack***

No it won't.

[GirlInNYC]

11:30 PM on 09/11/2011

You seem certain. A relative of Miss Cleo?

[jmslotnick]

02:19 PM on 09/11/2011

You GirlInNYC should be ashamed of yourself. You obviously though living in NYC may not have lost anyone on that day, you are lucky. But those of us all over the country feel the pain and horror of that day and I guarantee you unless you are totally heartless, which you appear to be that date is a day of infamy as is Dec. 7, 1941, which because of its horror and the amount of lives lost is also remembered each and every year.
Feel for the ones who lost their lives and feel for their families for that day is burned into their minds and hearts and pray and feel for them like most of the people do.

[GirlInNYC]

11:28 PM on 09/11/2011

How do you feel about the slave trade, Jim Crow, systematic racism and the current state of disproportionate suffering of the ancestors of that history? 16% unemployment. Can't catch a cab due to skin color in 2011. Communities in ruin due to this country's history. That's suffering. That's domestic terrorism. How do you feel about that, huh? I suspect NOTHING. Yeah. Don't tell me what to feel. I'm very proud of myself.

[GirlInNYC]

10:27 AM on 09/11/2011

And the end of these ceremonies?

My heart breaks for these families, especially the little children and family members unable to make it through the reading of the names without breaking down. But a lot of people die worldwide due to terrorism, including domestic terrorism.

This annual ceremony is America's vain belief that they can get involved in wars without consequences. Well, guess what? Not so much.

[srmmer]

03:50 PM on 09/11/2011

the fro has spoken dont mess with fro

[GirlInNYC]

11:29 PM on 09/11/2011

That's right.

[TheLibraryOfCodex]

08:42 AM on 09/11/2011

Yeah, it's time to retire the "Ground Zero" name.

It's the World Trade Center again. Time to move on.

[LINY01]

09:52 AM on 09/11/2011

X2...

Ne decade and hopefully a better one. I really don't think I can handle another decade of wars and fear.

[kenhamlett]

10:04 AM on 09/11/2011

As a New Yorker, I completely agree with you. The memorial is lovely, and it appropriately commemorates the events in 2011. We New Yorkers believe in the future. It is time to stop using the term.