Battered Bronze Sphere Returning To World Trade Center Site
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP)-- A 25-ton, bronze sphere ripped open by the collapsing World Trade Center is returning to a spot overlooking the rebuilt site.
The Port Authority approved plans to move the Koenig Sphere from its temporary location in Battery Park to the New Liberty Park overlooking the 9/11 memorial. The bronze sculpture was rededicated after the twin towers collapsed to honor those who died in the 2001 attacks, WCBS 880's Stephanie Colombini reported.
Port Authority Executive Director Pat Foye recommended the move.
"Being placed on the park will provide an area to gather and reflect, similar to when the sphere was located on the Austin Tobin Plaza prior to 9/11," he said.
Opponents of the move said the sphere belongs directly on the 9/11 memorial plaza. But the Port Authority said it can't do that because the museum operator opposes it and has final say on how to use the space.
German artist Fritz Koening created the work commissioned by the Port Authority, which lost 84 employees. It was dedicated in Battery Park in 2002, with an eternal flame honoring the more than 2,700 people who died at the trade center a year earlier.
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