The Rebuilding of Ground Zero, Part 75

The last steel column from the deconstruction and removal of hundreds of thousands of tons of debris from Ground Zero following the collapse of the Twin Towers will be brought back to Ground Zero on Monday to be erected as a centerpiece of the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.

After more than seven years in a hangar at Kennedy Airport, the mighty steel beam - emblazoned with engine company and police precinct insignias - will be returned to Ground Zero on Monday, the Daily News has learned.

The 58-ton, 36-foot-tall column is so gargantuan in size that its permanent new home, the National Sept. 11 Memorial & Museum, will literally be erected around it, officials in charge of the rebuilding say.

The column has be restored and is adorned with messages from construction workers and emergency personnel who were at Ground Zero during the rescue,recovery and cleanup efforts.

The Port Authority also says that the waterfalls that are an integral part of the memorial will be ready for the 10th anniversary. I hope so. The memorial museum wont be fully ready to accept visitors until 2012 according to the Port Authority, while other reports indicate that this is an overly optimistic date.