Four years ago, a group of Greenwich residents and supporters got together with one goal in mind — to create a place of reflection and remembrance for the 32 people with ties to Greenwich who lost their lives in the September 11 terrorist attacks.
On May 12, after much planning, designing, and fundraising, the September 11 Memorial/Greenwich Board broke ground at Cos Cob Park.
“When I think of where we were a year ago, who would have thought this would all come together so quickly,” said Gervais Hearn, the project’s director of development. “I remember the first day when we were just starting this and it was all concept. And now, we are going to have our memorial after all this time.”
“They have some great people behind it. They made it happen,” said Jonathan Egan, who lost his father, Michael Egan, and aunt, Christine Egan, in the terror attacks.
“This could not have been done without the outpour of support from community,” said James Ritman, president of the September 11 Memorial/Greenwich Board.
The memorial, designed by Charles Hilton Architects of Greenwich, will consist of two hurricane-proof glass towers about 12 feet tall. Etched into the towers will be American flags and the names of all 32 people with Greenwich ties that lost their lives on 9/11. The towers will be placed on stone that architects said is ”reminiscent of the World Trade Center plaza.”
“It was the perfect design, we felt, and for the family members, it was not overwhelming,” said Ritman. “It was unanimous when we unveiled the design to them. They felt the design was really moving because it is sort of there but not there.”
The memorial will be built on a hilltop at the new nine-acre Cos Cob Park. Supporters say there was no better location than this because it is a public park to which anyone has free access, with the bonus of a water view.
“It is really important for our Town to have a place that’s easy to access — a nice, serene, quiet place to go and reflect,” said Sally Maloney Duval, whose brother, Teddy Maloney, was a 32-year-old account manager at the Cantor Fitzgerald subsidiary TradeSpark, in the North Tower, at the time of the attacks. “With the nature of 9/11, we don’t have gravesites. It is important to have somewhere to go to memorialize, think about, and connect with our lost loved ones.”
“The location is pristine, on the water,” Egan noted. “It is quite fitting seeing those two towers over a skyline again. I do not think that has been done yet and that is pretty impressive.”
“Overlooking the water is the most significant aspect of this memorial,” said Hearn. “When the Memorial Board found out the park was going to be built, (the board) went to the Town and said, ‘Could you accept the gift of the memorial?’”
The 9/11 memorial is privately funded and was accepted by the Town as a gift. Past fundraisers include breakfasts, a charity ride at SoulCycle of Greenwich, and a benefit concert featuring folk-rock band Dispatch. One of the band’s members, vocalist-guitarist Pete Francis Heimbold, is from Greenwich.
“I think it was after the Dispatch concert at Garcia’s [a venue at the Capitol Theater] that it started to snowball,” Hearn said. “We started getting some major gifts and now people are reaching out saying ‘What can we do for you?'”
“There was a club that was formed at Greenwich High School, a grassroots club formed for this Memorial project,” added Ritman. “They have been raising money selling ties and scarves around Town. They are also doing a Color Run in the fall to raise money.”
Memorial officials said they have raised more than $650,000 so far, and hope to raise an additional $100,000 for educational purposes.
“They are starting to teach about September 11 in the schools,” said Ritman. “If you are a freshman or a sophomore in school right now, you were not alive on Sept. 11. Even for the seniors going off to college, they really have no memory of this. It’s important that we bring classrooms here — that we provide both the place and the classroom setting to make this real, but more importantly, to teach through materials we will provide to students on an on-going basis.”
Egan said, “I’m most excited that they are making an effort for educational purposes and hopefully bring Greenwich kids, and kids from all over Fairfield County here to get an understanding of what happened, why it happened, and how to never let it happen again.”
Next starts the construction phase of the Memorial. Ritman said he is confident the project will be completed by this year’s anniversary of 9/11.
“To be here and start construction, and know that we will be open for September 11, 2015 is very, very exciting for everybody,” he said.
First Selectman Peter Tesei praised the community-wide effort. “There has been a tremendous amount of work and creativity put into what will truly be a fitting memorial for the Greenwich community, and all of the families and friends of those who we lost on that day.”
