Jon Scott: 15 Years After 9/11, the World Trade Center Site is Thriving
Fifteen years ago this week, Jon Scott was in the anchor chair at Fox News Channel, reporting live as the tragic events of 9/11 unfolded.
To commemorate a decade and half since the terrorist attacks that changed a skyline and a country forever, Scott went down to what was once “Ground Zero” to bring you an up-close look at the amazing transformation of the sacred site.
“The 9/11 attacks had one purpose—to sow as much fear as possible among Americans in an attempt to bring our country down,” Scott said.
Standing on the 39th floor of the unfinished Three World Trade Center, he was able to look out on a burgeoning business district that exemplifies the resilience Americans responded to the attacks with instead of the anxiety the terrorists expected
The new, iconic One World Trade Center, the tallest building in the West, at 1,776 feet stands as the centerpiece of the area.
Across the street stands “The Oculus”, a glass-ceilinged transportation hub and shopping area that represents “coming out of the darkness, into light,” Steven Plate, capital projects chief for the Port Authority, which owns the trade center land.
“I’m very proud that we’ve now accomplished something that rivals that of Grand Central [Terminal], both functionally and architecturally,” Plate said.
The hub connects 11 city subway lines with PATH trains from Newark, N.J., joined together by an immense, naturally lit, white hall with multiple floors of public and retail space.
“Light is something very special. Coming out of the darkness into light. What we spent on that day was very dark, and we had to have something that brought us back to light. And that is why the memorial is so important to us,” Plate said.
There are also plans to rebuild the Greek Orthodox Church that once stood in the shadow of the Twin Towers, but which was destroyed when they fell.
A new elevated park, opened last month, looks down on the memorial fountains and museum constructed in the footprint of the towers.
It’s a place of serenity…the best kept secret at the World Trade Center,” Plate said.
As Lower Manhattan rebuilds, more than 5,000 workers have been involved in that rebuilding.
Scott spoke to Carlos Valverde, project manager for the site.
“People really enjoy working down here they see this as a personal mission, historic opportunity,” Valverde said.
“The key to this whole [mission] is resilience. You can have good days, and you can have not-so-good days. But the one who finishes the race is the one who succeeds,” Plate told Scott.
Scott also toured the new One World Observatory, near the top of One World Trade Center, as well as the 9/11 Memorial Museum.
The museum has seen millions of visitors since it opened in 2014, and most visitors spend between 2-4 hours inside.
"I think people come to try to make sense of what happened," director Alice Greenwald said.
According to One World Observatory's general manager, John Urban, more than three million people have visited the new window on the world.
The observatory is "the fistpump part of [the recovery]," Urban said, "The tower is back on the skyline...America is back."
Programming Alert: Join Jon Scott for two hours on Sunday at 10am ET for the commemorative ceremonies marking 15 years since the 9/11 attacks. And at 9:00pm ET Sunday, don't miss "Fox News Reporting: Timeline of Terror," a real-time account of September 11, 2001, with no host, narration or commercial interruption.
Fifteen years ago this week, Jon Scott was in the anchor chair at Fox News Channel, reporting live as the tragic events of 9/11 unfolded.
To commemorate a decade and half since the terrorist attacks that changed a skyline and a country forever, Scott went down to what was once “Ground Zero” to bring you an up-close look at the amazing transformation of the sacred site.
“The 9/11 attacks had one purpose—to sow as much fear as possible among Americans in an attempt to bring our country down,” Scott said.
Standing on the 39th floor of the unfinished Three World Trade Center, he was able to look out on a burgeoning business district that exemplifies the resilience Americans responded to the attacks with instead of the anxiety the terrorists expected
The new, iconic One World Trade Center, the tallest building in the West, at 1,776 feet stands as the centerpiece of the area.
Across the street stands “The Oculus”, a glass-ceilinged transportation hub and shopping area that represents “coming out of the darkness, into light,” Steven Plate, capital projects chief for the Port Authority, which owns the trade center land.
“I’m very proud that we’ve now accomplished something that rivals that of Grand Central [Terminal], both functionally and architecturally,” Plate said.
The hub connects 11 city subway lines with PATH trains from Newark, N.J., joined together by an immense, naturally lit, white hall with multiple floors of public and retail space.
“Light is something very special. Coming out of the darkness into light. What we spent on that day was very dark, and we had to have something that brought us back to light. And that is why the memorial is so important to us,” Plate said.
There are also plans to rebuild the Greek Orthodox Church that once stood in the shadow of the Twin Towers, but which was destroyed when they fell.
A new elevated park, opened last month, looks down on the memorial fountains and museum constructed in the footprint of the towers.
It’s a place of serenity…the best kept secret at the World Trade Center,” Plate said.
As Lower Manhattan rebuilds, more than 5,000 workers have been involved in that rebuilding.
Scott spoke to Carlos Valverde, project manager for the site.
“People really enjoy working down here they see this as a personal mission, historic opportunity,” Valverde said.
“The key to this whole [mission] is resilience. You can have good days, and you can have not-so-good days. But the one who finishes the race is the one who succeeds,” Plate told Scott.
Scott also toured the new One World Observatory, near the top of One World Trade Center, as well as the 9/11 Memorial Museum.
The museum has seen millions of visitors since it opened in 2014, and most visitors spend between 2-4 hours inside.
"I think people come to try to make sense of what happened," director Alice Greenwald said.
According to One World Observatory's general manager, John Urban, more than three million people have visited the new window on the world.
The observatory is "the fistpump part of [the recovery]," Urban said, "The tower is back on the skyline...America is back."
Programming Alert: Join Jon Scott for two hours on Sunday at 10am ET for the commemorative ceremonies marking 15 years since the 9/11 attacks. And at 9:00pm ET Sunday, don't miss "Fox News Reporting: Timeline of Terror," a real-time account of September 11, 2001, with no host, narration or commercial interruption.
