New York took a step toward restoring its skyline as workers erected the first two white columns of the Freedom Tower at Ground Zero Tuesday.
"The steel rises, the Freedom Tower rises from the ashes of September 11th and the people of New York and the people of America can be proud," said George Pataki, on what was likely his final trip to the World Trade Center site as New York's governor.
With a giant red crane, crews hoisted the first massive steel beam -- bearing the words "Freedom Tower" and a picture of an American flag -- onto the ground as Pataki, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and a host of other officials looked on from a balcony.
Whistles and applause from the workers in hard hats went up as the column, more than 30 feet tall and weighing nearly 25 tons, was bolted in place.
The steel piece was the first of 27, to be installed by May, that will make up the perimeter for the 1,776-foot high tower.
Bloomberg said the city would never forget the victims lost in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
"Now we honor them by beginning to raise the Freedom Tower in the New York sky," he said, describing the building as symbolizing the city's spirit: "inspiring, soaring and undefeated."
As speeches were winding down during the news conference, a second column went up. The beam bore written messages left by hundreds of victims' loved ones and the public on Sunday.
Pataki said he was moved by a note he had seen that read, "God bless our sons," saying the message displayed the "magnitude of loss on a personal level."
The massive columns, produced in Differdange, Luxembourg, and manufactured in Lynchburg, Va., are the first chunks of some 45,000 tons of steel that will be used for the development. Plans for the tower, located in the northwest corner of the 16-acre site, include 2.6 million square feet of office space, restaurants and an observation deck.
Officials said construction would be visible at ground-level in about 14 months. The tower is expected to be completed in 2011. Preliminary work began in April.
Pataki said Governor-elect Eliot Spitzer's intention to take a "fresh look" at lower Manhattan development plans was "appropriate," but the governor expressed confidence that Spitzer would support the plans already in motion.
After redevelopment plans stalled earlier this year, the Port Authority, which owns the World Trade Center site, and developer Larry Silverstein, the leaseholder, struck a deal in April.
