Rebuild it, bigger (and put memorial on 200th floor, next to the anti-aircraft guns)

National Review Online ^ | Sept. 13, 2001 | Jonah Goldberg

[seamus]

Goldberg File

Rebuild It, Bigger
Infinitely preferable to another monuments.

September 13, 2001 2:20 p.m.

 

o be honest, I never liked the World Trade Center. I always thought it knocked the New York City skyline out of whack. The city looked more elegant when the Empire State Building was New York's (and the world's) tallest structure. Before the towers, the Big Apple looked like it fit perfectly in one of those shake-'em-up souvenir snowballs. The World Trade Center destroyed that bell-curve symmetry.

But, now that the barbarians have stolen the World Trade Center — and the lives of thousands of people in the process — one thing is certain to me: I want it back. More important, we need it back.

We can't bring back the dead, but we can rebuild the broken. In fact — to borrow a phrase from the Six Million Dollar Man — we can rebuild it better, faster, and stronger.

That would be infinitely preferable to another monument.

For more than a decade, America has been increasingly obsessed with wallowing in remorse. After various school shootings, the Oklahoma City bombing, Princess Di's untimely death, and a dozen other tragedies large and small, America — or more specifically American media and politicians — have fetishized grief. The television networks have devoted hundreds if not thousands of hours to asking victims or their families, "How do you feel?" Sometimes, you could almost hear the news producers high-five each other when interviewees wept openly. Sometimes I think the "B" in MSNBC stands for "Bathos."

President Clinton wasn't responsible for this trend but he did exploit it, as did many politicians. Alas, his "I feel your pain" lip biting was apparently what a lot of Americans wanted. Indeed, at times, it seemed that all political debates were lost or won based upon who was labeled "mean-spirited" or who could best claim the mantle of victimhood.

It looked to me that W. H. Auden's "For the Time Being," a prophetic poem from a half century-ago, had come true. Auden predicted that in the "New Age":

Knowledge will degenerate into a riot of subjective visions & Justice will be replaced by Pity as the cardinal human virtue, and all fear of retribution will vanish & The New Aristocracy will consist exclusively of hermits, bums and permanent invalids. The Rough Diamond, the Consumptive Whore, the bandit who is good to his mother, the epileptic girl who has a way with animals will be the heroes and heroines of the New Age, when the general, the statesman, and the philosopher have become the butt of every farce and satire.

Well, I for one want to go back to the Old Age, where Justice prevails over pity. President Bush had it right when he declared that this is a battle between Good and Evil. This isn't a conflict between those with low self-esteem and the victims of poor childhoods. Indeed, I think America's maudlin preoccupation was probably taken as a sign of weakness by those who attacked us.

But, other than delivering righteous retribution, the best way America can show that it's wiped away its tears and put steel in its spine is to rebuild the World Trade Center. A serious, dare I say manly, nation doesn't wallow. It dusts itself off, and gets up off the mat.

When the World Trade Center was first constructed it was the tallest building in the world. When it was destroyed, it was the fifth. America isn't fifth at anything worth being first at. It's time we had the tallest building in the world again.

This isn't a trivial pursuit. The quest to build the tallest structures goes back to the cathedrals of Europe, when the aim was to get as close to God as possible (which is why cathedrals are usually built on the highest ground). European capitals competed constantly to boast the tallest church spires. In fact, it's no coincidence that the word "spire" is the root word for inspire and aspire, because to look heavenward lifted not just your eyes, but your heart and soul, to marvel at what was possible.

Well, we need a lot of inspiration and aspiration. I don't think the government should necessarily rebuild the towers. America's greatness comes from the initiative of its people (the Empire State Building was the tallest building in the world — until the first trade center tower was completed in 1972 — because the founder of General Motors wanted to beat Walter Chrysler (creator of the Chrysler building) in a race to the sky. But surely the government can help by repealing the relevant taxes, cutting red tape, and lending any other help possible.

Regardless, America's enemies believe that we are a weak and soft nation, lacking the mettle to rise to this occasion. On the battlefront it looks like they were wrong. (John McCain: "I say to our enemies: We are coming. God may have mercy on you, but we won't.") And while the bravery of the rescue teams is indisputable, we need to do more on the home front to show our enemies were wrong in every regard.

America will find an appropriate way to mourn. But if we must have a shrine or monument for our remorse, let's put it on the 200th floor, right next to the antiaircraft guns.

[RichInOC]

It's the Port Authority's land, and they can develop it however they wish. I would hope that if it was feasible and profitable for them to do so, if there were willing tenants, they would seriously consider rebuilding working office buildings on that site.

[motexva]

No New Yorker I have talked with since this has thought rebuilding the WTC on that site is a good idea, and I have talked to quite a few. Many have felt that rebuilding the WTC in one form or another is acceptable, but I suspect the liability and business concerns outlined above will end up ruling the day. In the end, New Yorkers will decide what is best for the city.

[SamAdams76]

I'm no fan of memorials either. The best tribute to the fallen would be to rebuild the financial center of the world even better than it was. New York City deserves to have the tallest building in the world. If it makes financial sense to the owners of the properties, they should go ahead and bring the tallest skyscrapers back to NYC.

[Andrew Byler]

I say as an engineer, you haven't a clue about engineering.

[RichInOC]

I agree. I mean no disrespect to the dead, but there are many cities that have been devastated both by war and disaster that rebuilt bigger and better afterwards. I see no disrespect in that. I think it's, if anything, an act of faith unbroken by the disaster.

[Tatze]

Now THAT, I like!

[chimera]

Not a bad thought. A new set of soaring towers would be a more fitting memorial to casualities of war and the hope and optimism of a great people than a maudlin, hunkered-down monument or memorial park. Maybe keep some remnant as a reminder of the cost of complacency, but rebuild the lost structures. Yes, we kept the Arizona as this kind of reminder, but rebuilt the harbor and the rest of the fleet.

[MooCollins]

"And the floors did not collapse because of the "mere weight" of them. They collapsed because thousands of gallons of jet fuel burned a fire so hot that it melted the steel girders that supported it."

Unfortunately this is incorrect.
The building did collaps under it's own weight.
The girders that were heated amounted to only a few floors. This weakened them to the point of fatigue and caused the collaps of those floors which inturn cased the weight of all the floors above to to be multiplied by their momentum. Additionally reorganizing the load to proportions and places NOT designed to handle them. Each floor then failed as the loads and momentum built to a point where the energy literally became chaotic and an explosion of sorts emerged.

BUT you are "SPOT ON" about one thing, NO BUILDING of this construction or size is engineered to withstand this phenomena.

[Boatlawyer]

It occurred to me that the way the towers collapsed was a testament to good engineering. As hideous as the loss is now, it could have been worse had the towers toppled instead of imploding.

[MooCollins]

Most excellent point... well taken.

[coloradan]

When the WTC was built the NYC Fire Department said it was going to be impossible to fight a fire in it, or to evacuate the buildings in a short enough period of time when necessary. Politics ruled, the towers were built.

How about a little sign saying,
Note: When you climb to the top of this building, you will have an added amount of potential energy about equal to half a stick of dynamite, or a dozen rounds of .50 BMG.

Watching the floors collapse one after the other from the mere weight of the floors above looks like improper design. I say the building was inherantly unsafe.

And another sign:
The total amount of gravitational energy stored in this building by being so tall is about (x) kiltons of TNT. Still want to work here day in, day out? On the one hand, there's the great view, but on the other...

[motexva]

But this isn't like a whole city was bombed. It was one site, perhaps 20k dead, all at once. It would be inappropriate to rebuild on that site. It's not like London, where there were probably thousands of bomb sites and nothing like one blast killing that many people.

In any event, the people of NYC will ultimately decide and I strongly believe they will not rebuild on that site. Recall that Battery Park is nearby, an entire park complex may be created out of this.

I also suspect the age of the great skyscraper is over. As a fan of these incredible buildings, I mourn, but the writing's on the wall.

[scottiewottie]

Dang! beat me to it! Taller?

[seamus]

I also suspect the age of the great skyscraper is over. As a fan of these incredible buildings, I mourn, but the writing's on the wall.

As much as I'd like to see a new tower built, I tend to agree with you. There's a reason why no new skycrapers have been built in the last 20-30 years or so in America. It's cheaper and more practical in the Internet Age to build multiple campuses of industry in the suburbs where people actually live all across the country than to build a mammoth centralized building in a city.

[Paleo Conservative]

Just who should rebuild it? I seriously doubt that such a mega sky scraper could get financed or insured today. Also, who wants to rent space in such a building? The high profile tenants that occupy the upper floors of such buildings are especially unlikely to want to locate in a 100 to 200 story building. They would be much less likely to be able to escape a terrorist bombing than those on the lower floors. They could not evacuate everyone in the time between the attack and the collapse. Imagine having to descend 200 floors.

It is also apparent that little thought has gone into what actually happens in a sky scraper after an explosion. The initial pictures of people coming out of the building on Tuesday looked very similar to the ones from 1993. Everyone had smoke or dust deposits around his or her mouth and nose. How difficult would it be to place some disposable surgical masks in the fire escapes? It takes stamina and aerobic capacity to walk down 100 flights of stairs. Clogging the lungs with ash and dust decreases the ability to get oxygen to muscles used to escape the building.

I'm also not sure that anti aircraft guns would help all that much. Even if you hit a plane coming toward a building, it would still have a tremendous amount of momentum causing the plane to continue forward. Perhaps the Aegis system could be adapted to land based mode allowing for defense of cities. Also, Congress might want to increase the number of F-22 fighters that will be built. The F-22 is able to cruise at supersonic speeds not just sprint. The super cruise capability may enable faster response to aircraft that deviate from their assigned flight paths.

[cajungirl]

What will New York do with all those tenants of those buildings. I do wonder if they can build on that granite,,it looks like they are losing more buildings because of that. But if it is not rebuilt, it shouldn't be because we are "afraid" of being an affront or because it might "attract" terrorists. I don't want to be afraid. And I say, affront the whole damn world as much as possible. If we affronted more, we might not be in the position of a scummy arab thinking he can take us on with impunity. I want to affront so much that the world trembles when americans come by. I want them afraid and respectful of us then we can be noble and helpful. My God, I am a Roman.

[BillyBoy]

>> Incidentally, the Sears tower is taller than the new Malaysian towers, as I recently learned. Apparently, They beat the published Sear heght only by including the base structure ofr broadcasting towers. When the comparable structures of the Sears tower are included, it still reigns. <<

That's what we Illinoians have been trying to explain for years. While those Malaysians "techinically" have the "tallest" building in the world, due to the ornate structures on top of the tower...NEVERTHELESS, the Sears Tower still has the world's highest occupied floor, highest antenna, and highest observation deck.

I'm all for New Yawwwwwk building a bigger World Trade Center to give these terrorists the finger, but rest accured, Donald Trump had already announced plans weeks ago to build a 200+ story building in Chicago, Illinois. We're no. #1!!!

[Dick Bachert]

I respectfully disagree -- for a number of reasons.

It’s almost a certainty that our reprisal for Terrible Tuesday will be to return portions of the middle east to sand dunes. While I’m not saying that such action is NOT fully justified, we’d better be prepared for the list of “Those Who Hate America” to lengthen. For every madman we take out, there will be a dozen in line behind him ready to take his place. That means there will certainly be MORE such attacks HERE!

Which brings me to say that if the NJ/NY Ports Authority rebuilds the WTC on the same scale as the one now spread over much of Manhattan, the new design should incorporate large BULLSEYES on the sides.

I’ve spent my career designing steel structures and told my son before the SECOND plane hit the second tower that the FIRST building was “toast.” There was NO WAY those heat weakened columns would hold. And when the second plane hit the second tower, taking out the columns on one side, I knew IT was history. I cried as the second tower struck crumpled in the direction of the sliced columns and, shortly after, the upper 20 floors of the first tower pan-caked into the lower 90 after THOSE columns buckled.

I’m not some anti-techno Luddite: Even BEFORE the events of 9/11, I was growing weary of watching bodies fall from burning high-rise buildings as rescue workers stood helplessly in the street below, poised to clean up the carnage. I wonder how many high-rise dwellers are today looking for farms in Kansas?

The evidence is growing that we need to seriously rethink our compulsion to concentrate populations in taller and taller, easy-to-hit targets which are also built to be efficient chimneys.

The loss of life in the WTC will be staggering. Compare that number to the final body count at the Pentagon. Then think about the differences in those two buildings.

I rest my case!

[the bottle let me down]

You're actually endorsing sprawl? Oh, the horror! /sarcasm

The eco-freaks and central planners want more people living and working in high rises, not fewer. In any event, the space should be the site of a building, not a memorial park. Let the market decide how big a building it is.

[Euro-American Scum]

It would be completely inappropriate to build on the same lot. This is the site of people's graves, a battlefield like Bull Run or Gettysburg.

Normally I would agree with you. But I think it is imperative that the Center be rebuilt, and exactly where it once stood.

Memorials are all very fine. We've got the Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor. And I would favor something similar to it in WTC Plaza.

But to leave a gaping hole in the ground -- a smoldering ruin -- as a shrine to the dead would be equivalent to leaving the destroyed and sunken battleships in Pearl Harbor as a monument to the casualties there.

The Center must be rebuilt, because a renewed WTC would be a definitive statement of resurgence. And that would be the best memorial to the dead I can think of.