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‘Graffiti’ Scrawled All Over the New World Trade Center — But It’s Not What You Think

Jan. 25, 2013 8:18am Jonathon M. Seidl

NEW YORK (AP) — On most construction projects, workers are discouraged from signing or otherwise scrawling on the iron and concrete. At the skyscraper rising at ground zero, though, they’re being invited to leave messages for the ages.

“Freedom Forever. WTC 9/11″ is scrawled on a beam near the top of the gleaming, 104-story One World Trade Center. “Change is from within” is on a beam on the roof. Another reads: “God Bless the workers & inhabitants of this bldg.”

One of the last pieces of steel hoisted up last year sits near a precarious edge. The message on it reads: “We remember. We rebuild. We come back stronger!” It is signed by a visitor to the site last year – President Barack Obama.

The words on beams, walls and stairwells of the skyscraper that replaces the twin towers lost on Sept. 11, 2001, form the graffiti of defiance and rebirth, what ironworker supervisor Kevin Murphy calls “things from the heart.” They’re remembrances of the 2,700 people who died, and testaments to the hope that rose from a shattered morning.

“This is not just any construction site, this is a special place for these guys,” says Murphy of the 1,000 men and some women who work in the building at any given time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“Everyone here wants to be here, they want to put this building up,” Murphy says. “They’re part of the redemption.”

On a frigid, windy winter day, with the 9/11 memorial fountain straight below and the Statue of Liberty in the distance, Murphy supervised a crew of men guiding the first piece of the steel spire that will top out the building at a dizzying 1,776 feet – the tallest in the Western Hemisphere.

In the rooftop iron scaffolding for the spire, 105 floors up, a beam pays homage to Lillian Frederick, a 46-year-old administrative assistant who died on the 105th floor of the south tower, pierced by a terrorist-hijacked airliner.

A popular Spanish phrase is penned next to two names on one concrete pillar: “Te Amo Tres Metros Sobre el Cielo,” meaning, “I love you three steps above heaven.”

Some beams are almost completely covered in a spaghetti-like jumble of doodled hearts and flowers, loopy cursives and blaring capitals. Many want to simply mark their presence: “Henry Wynn/Plumbers Local (hash)1/Sheepshead Bay/Never Forget!”

Families of victims invited to go up left names and comments too, as did firefighters and police officers who were first responders. “R.I.P. Fanny Espinoza, 9-11-01″ reads a typical remembrance signed by several family members of a Cantor-Fitzgerald employee.

Former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff wrote: “With you in spirit – those who perished, those who fought, those who build.”

Time and daily routines have softened the communal grief as the workers carry on, trading jokes and gruff male banter. Some ends up in whimsical graffiti marking World Cup soccer matches, New York Giants Super Bowl victories and other less-weighty matters that have gone on since construction began six years ago. One crudely drawn map of the neighborhood down below shows the location of a popular strip club.

People on the ground below will never see the spontaneous private thoughts high in the Manhattan sky. The graffiti will disappear as the raw basic structure is covered with drywall, ceiling panels and paint for tenants moving into the 3 million square feet of office space by 2014.

Knowing this, workers and visitors often take photographs of special bits of graffiti, so the words will live on.

—-

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Comments (29)

Aqualung1000
Posted on January 26, 2013 at 10:09pm
Allright enough of this personal attack b*ll, as a Sheet Metal Worker I have run into many *ssh*les in all trades, specifically Iron Workers, BUT

We are talking about this particular building “The New World Trade Center” and the feelings and emotions that rebuilding it brings out.

And really you have to agree that these guys were chosen specifically because they were articulate enough for the cameras. I am afraid that the conversation with your average Iron worker is punctuated with every third word being some form of profanity.

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spudwhite
Posted on January 26, 2013 at 2:19pm
Wow, so now they decide to allow my second comment. Thought it was lost so that’s why I tried it again. Guess double impact is OK though. Redfish52, you’re invited to any Ironworker bar to tell them what you think about them. I’m sure you’ll have an illuminating discussion. Pipefitters, too.

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spudwhite
Posted on January 26, 2013 at 2:13pm
Thanks JerseyGuy, you are one of the good guys and sure know what you’re talking about.
Shame on me for not mentioning what my late husband gloried in, that was CONNECTING. Can’t believe I didn’t list that first as he did it so much early on. Graceful and sure on the iron in his Red Wings always.
As for just who would be considered “the biggest pain” on a construction site, I’d say any crew that worked with him would say it was Redfish52. Remember to watch out for the hole, buddy.

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spudwhite
Posted on January 26, 2013 at 2:13pm
Thanks JerseyGuy, you are one of the good guys and sure know what you’re talking about.
Shame on me for not mentioning what my late husband gloried in, that was CONNECTING. Can’t believe I didn’t list that first as he did it so much early on. Graceful and sure on the iron in his Red Wings always.
As for just who would be considered “the biggest pain” on a construction site, I’d say any crew that worked with him would say it was Redfish52. Remember to watch out for the hole, buddy. Oh, that’s right, you’d never venture up and tell them what you spout here.

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spudwhite
Posted on January 26, 2013 at 9:44am
Shame on me, I meant to write that my late husband mostly did connecting and bolting-up. Tsk-tsk that I’d take that glory from him.
Thanks JerseyGuy — you’re one of the good guys who knows what they’re talking about.
As to who poses the “biggest pain” on a construction site, I’d say the crews would say it’s Redfish52.
Watch out for The Hole, arse.

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N37BU6
Posted on January 26, 2013 at 1:20am
One World Trade Center, for One World Government.

I wouldn’t want my memorial on that thing.

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DanielChapterNine
Posted on January 25, 2013 at 11:27pm
From the article …

One of the last pieces of steel hoisted up last year sits near a precarious edge. The message on it reads: “We remember. We rebuild. We come back stronger!” It is signed by a visitor to the site last year – President Barack Obama.

This is from the Scriptures …
““The bricks have fallen, but we will build with dressed stones; the sycamores have been cut down,
but we will put cedars in their place.” — Isaiah 9:10 (ESV)

if you are not familiar with Jonathan Cahn’s book,.”the Harbinger”, you need to read it and understand the prophetic significance of Obama’s huge mistake in writing that statement. Hint: It’s a monstorous statement of arrogance, telling God, “We got it from here, and we no longer need your protection. And written on the highest “headstone” in our nation.

Video available here …
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGxvfgHSAFY

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nonofmybiznez
Posted on January 25, 2013 at 4:14pm
God sometimes gives us the opportunity for another chance. For a brief time after 9/11, we turned back to him and loved one another, but in the last eight years, we have turned our back on him and our neighbors. He will give us another chance soon. Will you turn back TO God or will you turn your back ON him? This country was founded to give us freedom of choice. Freedom to believe. You have a choice now, but soon you may not have the freedom to choose. Life is short. Choose wisely.

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G-WHIZ
Posted on January 25, 2013 at 11:55am
The old USSR-RED is the NEW *GREEN MOVEMENT….No [*asspestose] allowed to high-heat-insulate the [internal-structural-beams] against expanding and causing the rest of the structure to rip-appart from local-heating(airliner-on fire) causing the towers to centrally-weaken and break in half…from such a small explosion-and-collission…in exactly the right-place, in each building!! I’ve seen many smaller-planes crash into tall buildings and the only thing was a burnning-plane sticking out of the bulding’s side. Millions of tons of building did NOT come crashing down because of a gnatt-airliner-crash! The “greenies” caused it by not allowing the best-matterial to be used durring construction!! The hot-crash caused the center of the beams to way-over-heat and expand causing the middle to warp, expand-exponentially and rip-appart. Heat just the middle of a hotdog…it expands in the middle and ripps-appart…this is not high-science!!

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The_Cabrito_Goat
Posted on January 25, 2013 at 9:48am
I hope these positive thoughts bless and protect the grounds of the World Trade Center.

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- THX-1138
  Posted on January 25, 2013 at 2:06pm
  Amen.
  
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Metallicat
Posted on January 25, 2013 at 9:19am
Obama putting his name on the thing really ruined the story for me. If he had his way on 9/11/2001 we would have never taken the steps necessary to bring the perpetrators to justice,like they didnt do on 9/11/2012 in Benghazi,Libya.

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- Jim in Houston
  Posted on January 25, 2013 at 10:05am
  That ass clown disgraces the memory of those who were lost on 9/11!
  
  Report this comment
- banjarmon
  Posted on January 25, 2013 at 11:37am
  On 9-11 I learned ALL I need to Know about muslims!
  
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hesanembarrassment
Posted on January 25, 2013 at 9:03am
Always remember, those 3000 died repelling another assault on our freedoms …. we owe those citizen soldiers so much ………….God Bless

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Joyzee
Posted on January 25, 2013 at 9:02am
Freedone

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Dismayed Veteran
Posted on January 25, 2013 at 9:01am
Lest we forget.

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OldSurfRat
Posted on January 25, 2013 at 9:01am
Hey folks we do the same thing here.

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Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on January 25, 2013 at 8:34am
Amazing, well done people, well done, this is an article worth seeing this morning.

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johnpaulkuchtajr
Posted on January 25, 2013 at 8:34am
Too bad that “we” get what the attack of 11 Sept 01 meant to so many people; but, the Ayatollah Obama loves to invite folks to the White House who represent organizations named as “unindicted co-conspirators” in terror trials. Do you think that’s because all these Muslim Brotherhood front groups bring bucketfulls of that sweet Saudi cash with them when they come to visit?

Now, we’re giving F 16 fighters to Israel’s enemies just across her borders. You know the leader who’ll get these attack jets. He’s the guy who called Jews descendants of pigs. How much of the $1.5 billion cash that we gave Egypt will boomerrang back to Obama’s coffers. The man/child is the eptiome of corruption.

“Remember Benghazi and ALL the Traitors!”

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woodyee
Posted on January 25, 2013 at 8:29am
Jiminy Crickets!!!!

Can’t the freak Lord of the Flies (LOTF) keep his filthy paws off of ANYTHING?!?!?!

He put his signature on a piece of iron that will rest on the graves of those who would SPIT ON HIM, for wrecking our Country and especially, for arming friends of the very people that brought the WTC down!

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- johnpaulkuchtajr
  Posted on January 25, 2013 at 8:41am
  If you want a fascinating read, pick-up “The Harbinger” and allow the author to walk you through the biblical refenernces to the words that the Ayatollah Obama wrote on the gird
  
  It’s freaky, the coincidences so many thousands of years later.
  
  “Rememvber Beghazi and ALL the Traitors!”
  
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- johnpaulkuchtajr
  Posted on January 25, 2013 at 8:48am
  More profound is that our Sewer Rat-in-Chief’s message was written thousands of years ago and it is explained in “The Harbinger.” Google what Obama wrote and settle-in for an eye opener.
  
  Quoting biblical warnings, flies landing on him, sitting down to meals with terrorists, makes me wonder about the man / child. How about you?
  
  “Remember Benghazi and ALL the Traitors!”
  
  Report this comment
- woodyee
  Posted on January 25, 2013 at 12:01pm
  John, I like reading. I’ll check out the book. Thanks!
  
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- woodyee
  Posted on January 25, 2013 at 12:14pm
  John, just read Beck’s comments on the books – the signs are striking.
  
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redfish52
Posted on January 25, 2013 at 8:25am
Trust me….I’ve been a Construction Manager for over 20 years. They are only showing you he nice, touchy feely ones. There are two things Iron Workers love to draw on steel and those are ******’s and penis’s….union or non-union it doesn’t matter. That’s why they’re construction workers…you just don’t have to be that smart to be one.

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- spudwhite
  Posted on January 25, 2013 at 1:20pm
  Fool! Iron Workers, especially these guys are top-notch in their field of expertise. Demeaning the skill-set, tenacity, courage, and work ethic of Iron Workers, especially by someone who purports to work with them, is cowardly, wrong and disgusting. Many will no doubt go on to become Construction Managers or higher as they get older and less agile/strong, and are perhaps even some of your friends. Men are men, there is sexual graffiti in bathroom stalls of Wall Street types, university professors, and regular joes, and has been since B.C. times, and would be more prevalent if not for all the P.C. regulations nowadays. Sure, some guys are not the type you’d want for a friend, but that can be said in any field. Bawdiness is part of the bravado element of the profession as these guys understand the risks of what they do. These men risk life and limb every day on the job and work in inclement weather that most folks would never consider doing for even 30 minutes. My late husband was for years an Iron Worker (bolt-up primarily), then became foreman, site super and then general superintendent on numerous sites. We were married by an ex-Iron Worker who became a minister, the best man was an Iron Worker as was the bride’s maid (a rare woman Iron Worker who was the salt of the earth).
  
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- JerseyGuy
  Posted on January 25, 2013 at 2:12pm
  Gotta go with Spudwhite on this one. This was a “topping off”, which is a big deal to the Ironworkers. I’ve worked with them in the final stages of a Nuclear Power Plant construction and many other projects in Philly. I am not one, rather a “Safety Pro” assigned to the Project(s). While there are always a few hot dogs out there, by and large these folks are truly the “skilled trades”, be it those on the deck “shaking-out” delivered steel, those responsible for the rigging, the connectors, installing pre-cast (parking garages,etc) etc. They are all competent and confident in what they do; although overconfidence can cost them — and most will be able to tell you a story about witnessing a co-worker fall. Most who sit in Construction Trailers worried about the “schedule” don’t appreciate what it takes to walk a 12″ I-beam at 60′. I seem to recall that they were also first on-scene after 9/11 – because the understand the risks and the environment.
  
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- redfish52
  Posted on January 25, 2013 at 3:57pm
  I’ll say it again and again…the two biggest pain’s on a construction sight are Pipefitters and Ironworkers….and double if they’re Union Trades….I know the truth hurts.
  
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