Life Returns to Ground Zero

Photographs by Tim Hetherington
Text by Karen Fragala Smith
The name Ground Zero conjures the notion of a vast emptiness, and for years, the site remained desolate, a public emblem of our grief. Haphazardly-parked cranes sat inert while disagreements among the Port Authority, developer Larry Silverstein and the families of 9/11 victims made progress hard to come by. But nine years after the attacks, the unmistakable despondency that once swirled around Church Street has been displaced by diligence and resolve. Nearby streets bustled with commuters and tourists, while construction crews clanked away in every corner of the 16-acre lot. This summer, ground was broken on Towers 2 and 3, and Towers 1 and 4 have begun their ascent to the heavens. Developers hope that, in addition to honoring the dead, the rebuilding of the World Trade complex, in all its glittering glory, will symbolize American optimism and the will to build world peace through world trade.

Photo: In this collage, workers and machines are at work in the excavated base of the complex, which will eventually be home to two new towers.