The Freedom Tower

There was no ceremony, no fanfare, no pizzazz!

The cornerstone of the Freedom Tower was moved from ground zero where the twin towers of the World Trade Center fell two years after it was laid on July 4. The stone was quietly moved on Friday. Instead of signaling the beginning of work that work that would erect a memorial to the tragic events of 9/11, 2001, that ceremony two years ago marked the beginning of what seemed like endless bickering, haggling and negotiations over what would and should be put on the site.

The decision to move the cornerstone followed a series of designs and redesigns that made the current location of the cornerstone obsolete, according the Newsday. “The 20-ton stone, laid near the temporary train station that now dominates the ground zero pit, was hauled away to Hauppauge, N.Y. Friday morning,” the newspaper reported.

“The 5 1/2-foot-tall block of granite, quarried from the Adirondack Mountains and inscribed with words calling it a “tribute to the enduring spirit of freedom,” will stay at Innovative Stone for up two years before returning to the World Trade Center site. Innovative Stone, which cut and inscribed the cornerstone, plans to keep it in a plexiglass case and make it available for viewing by appointment.”