WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THE HILTON 9/11 MEMORIAL?

Old 9/11 memorial

If you passed the 9/11 memorial on Springfield Avenue by the Hilton Library this week, you saw crews removing the plants and brick and digging up the structure that has included girders from the World Trade Center that was attacked on Sept. 11, 2011.

But worry not, it's not being removed for good. The activity is part of a renovation that will offer a newer, different look with the same girders set in a more artistic approach.

New 9/11 memorial design

Fire Chief Michael Dingelstedt explained the process in a note to Maplewoodian.com. He said it includes volunteer efforts by the Firefighters Mutual Benevolent Association (FMBA) and a local architect.

See it below:

Last year, FMBA President Gregg Giordano approached me and told me that the FMBA was interested in maintaining and possibly upgrading the 9-11 memorial at the Hilton Branch Library. The consensus of the firefighters was that the memorial needed refreshing to adequately honor those who died on September 11, 2001. Many people were not aware that the memorial was there and those that did were not aware that the steel is from the World Trade Center. The duty crew working on September 11 each year conducts a short memorial service amongst themselves at the memorial site, reflecting on the sacrifices made by both emergency services personnel and civilians on that date in 2001.

I brought this request to the Public Safety Committee and they readily agreed to this request, with the contingency that any significant design changes be submitted to the Committee for approval.  Firefighters came up with an initial design that includes decorative pavers with a flag background and inscription "We Shall Never Forget - 9/11," two granite towers representing the World Trade Center towers as well as the steel, which was originally acquired for the Township by a Columbia High School senior. The design was submitted to and approved by the Public Safety Committee. Local architect Mark Carelli has generously donated his time to this project, providing a 3-D rendering of the project as well as a layout plan for the site.