To the Struggle Against World Terrorism

Coordinates: 40°39′49.3″N 74°4′8.7″W / 40.663694°N 74.069083°W / 40.663694; -74.069083

To the Struggle Against World Terrorism (also known as the Tear of Grief and the Tear Drop Memorial) is a 10–story sculpture by Zurab Tsereteli that was given to the United States as an official gift of the Russian government as a memorial to the victims of the September 11 attacks and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.[1] It stands at the end of the former Military Ocean Terminal in Bayonne, New Jersey, and was dedicated on September 11, 2006, in a ceremony attended by former U.S. President Clinton.[1][2]

Design

The sculpture are in the form of a 100-foot (30 m) tower made of steel and coated in bronze, split with a jagged opening through the middle.[1] Inside the opening hangs a large stainless–steel teardrop, 40 feet (12 m) high,[1] in memory of those whose lives were lost during terrorist attacks in the United States.[3] The eleven sides of the monument's base bear granite name plates, on which are etched the names of those who died in the September 11 attacks and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.[4]

Tsereteli did not disclose the cost of the sculpture except to say that he paid for labor and materials. A lawyer for the sculptor released the cost at about $12 million.[5] Tsereteli said metals for the sculpture were obtained "From a military factory that did airplanes. In Dzerzhinsk. A secret city."[6]

It was initially given to the local government of Jersey City, but was rejected. It was then relocated to its present placement in Bayonne.[7] In August 2010 the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced it had plans to build a container facility on the location and the monument would most likely have to be moved.[5] However these plans have not been confirmed by the Port Authority. Robert "Captain Bob" Terzi, a Bayonne taxi driver started an online petition to prevent the relocation.[5]

Reaction to the monument has been mixed. It was listed as one of the The World’s Ugliest Statues by Foreign Policy magazine,[8] while The New Yorker said from far away it looked like "a giant tea biscuit." [6] However reactions from the general public include "Pretty impressive," said one person and another called it a "breathtakingly beautiful creation".[5]

In September 2011, a 4-foot (1.2 m) section of steel from the World Trade Center was placed adjacent to the sculpture.[9]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "The Memorial at Harbor View Park" (PDF). Bayonne Local Redevelopment Authority. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 22, 2012.
  2. ↑ "The Unveiling of a New World Monument" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on February 22, 2012. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
  3. ↑ "Tsereteli's Official Biography". Tsereteli's official webpage. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012.
  4. ↑ "To the Struggle Against World Terrorism: A History". Archived from the original on August 18, 2009.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Mike Morley (October 2011). "White Elephants". Irish American News. Archived from the original on November 23, 2011.
  6. 1 2 Finnegan, William (June 25, 2007). "On the Waterfront: Monument". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on July 16, 2015. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
  7. ↑ Miller, Jonathan (January 30, 2005). "Monument In Search Of a Home". The New York Times. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
  8. ↑ Keating, Joshua (April 5, 2010). "The World's Ugliest Statues". Archived from the original on January 6, 2011.
  9. ↑ Hack, Charles (August 31, 2011). "Motorcyclists to escort piece of World Trade Center steel to Bayonne memorial site on Sept. 7". The Jersey Journal. Archived from the original on October 27, 2014.

External links

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