[wheezer]

My gut tells me this is going to play out very similarly to how the Vietnam Memorial in Wash DC played out.....initially people are going to freak over the design/plans, but upon visiting the place will realize that the planners got it absolutely right.

Workers and visitors will be both moved by the tasteful memorials and also excited about the promise for the future the new buildings will bring.

After a tug of war over delicate issues, some pushing, shoving and sharply thrown elbows, NYC's gonna' get it just right....I can't wait!

[NYC GOP Chick]

My gut tells me this is going to play out very similarly to how the Vietnam Memorial in Wash DC played out.....initially people are going to freak over the design/plans, but upon visiting the place will realize that the planners got it absolutely right.

Totally different situation. The Vietnam Memorial is totally different from this, in that it was designed and planned to be a memorial -- nothing more, nothing less. But the WTC has to rebuilt to include commerce and other stuff, and there's going to be nasty battles over how much land goes for what purpose.

[Steve Eisenberg]

My gut tells me this is going to play out very similarly to how the Vietnam Memorial in Wash DC played out.....initially people are going to freak over the design/plans, but upon visiting the place will realize that the planners got it absolutely right.

There is very little good that comes from losing a war. However, because memorials to losing wars need only have a single message, a message of mourning, it may be easier to make a good memorial to a lost war than to one won. I have not seen them first hand, but several of the German memorials to World War II are reputed to be, like the Vietnam memorial, highly effective.

I agree that whatever is planned for the WTC site, no matter how outstanding, lots of people will dislike the plans. The danger is that we won't much like the finished project either. In order for people to like the result, it must feature a spectacular soaring element which unambiguously shows that we have not been defeated. If people would be reluctant to work there, the focus could be a tower mostly built for visitors.