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The lone Callery Pear tree returned to the WTC site today
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The lone Callery Pear tree that was recovered from the World Trade Center site in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, was replanted there today. To mark the occasion, Mayor Michael Bloomberg was joined by National 9/11 Memorial President Joe Daniels, Port Authority Executive Director Chris Ward, Parks and Recreation Department Commissioner Adrian Benepe, and 9/11 survivors Keating Crown, Tom Canavan and Ret. FDNY Lt. Mickey Kross.
“The presence of the Survivor Tree on the Memorial Plaza will symbolize New York City’s and this nation’s resilience after the attacks,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “Like the thousands of courageous stories of survival that arose from the ashes of the World Trade Center, the story of this tree also will live on and inspire many.”
Known as the “Survivor Tree,” the Callery Pear sustained extensive damage on the day of the attacks. In October 2001, the tree with lifeless limbs, snapped roots, and blackened trunk was discovered and freed from the piles of smoldering rubble in the WTC plaza. It was originally planted in the 1970s in the vicinity of buildings four and five near Church Street.
The damaged tree measured eight feet when it arrived in November 2001 at the Parks Department’s Arthur Ross Nursery in Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. For eight years, it was nursed back to health and today has grown to a height of about 30 feet. The Survivor Tree will continue to grow among dozens of Swamp White Oak trees that already are in place on the Memorial Plaza.
When the Memorial is fully complete in late 2012, about 400 trees will cover its Plaza, which features a complex soil supported paving surface and unique cistern system designed to sustain the urban forest. Currently, 124 trees, including the Survivor Tree, are planted on the Plaza.
“The return of the survivor tree is a symbol of our collective resilience in the face of adversity and the healing powers of nature,” said Commissioner Benepe. “Once twisted, blackened and near death from the inferno of the 9/11 attacks, the tree now stands beautiful and thriving.”
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| The damaged tree measured eight ft. in November 2001 and is now 30ft. tall |
Also at the Memorial site, this month marks the completion of the Museum Pavilion’s primary steel installation. With nearly 1,200 tons of structural steel in place, the Pavilion now stands between the acre-sized twin reflecting pools at the northeast section of the Memorial Plaza.
The steel-and-glass building will serve as the entrance to the underground Museum. In its atrium are the two massive steel “tridents” that once were part of the twin towers’ façade. The Pavilion, which was designed by Norwegian architecture firm Snøhetta, will feature an auditorium, a café, and a private suite for victims’ families. Other artifacts of all sizes also will be part of the Museum exhibits, including an exposed section of the original west slurry wall.
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