Community Corner

9/11 Memorial to be Built in Downtown Hayward

The designer of Union City's Flight 93 memorial and Castro Valley's veteran memorial is in the process of building a 9/11 memorial in downtown Hayward.

Today marks 12 years since the Sept. 11 terror attacks, which took close to 3,000 lives.

Hayward is moving forward with its plans to build a 9/11 memorial in downtown.

Michael Emerson, the designer of Union City’s Flight 93 memorial and Castro Valley’s veteran memorial, is raising funds for the design and construction of the Hayward memorial.

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"I see a memorial as a work of art," he said. "I want people to feel connected. We want to remember 9/11."    

The slabs are intended to represent the four planes that crashed. The memorial will include four black 10-foot-tall granite monoliths on Mission Boulevard near D Street. These will represent the four planes that crashed.  

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The granite pieces will have laser-etched images of locations of the crashes, and a collage of photos of the rescues and other moments from Sept. 11.  

The American flag will be put in the center of a red granite base and have “We Will Never Forget” written on it. Benches will be placed along the perimeter of the memorial. There will also be a plaque honoring fallen firefighters, police officers and other emergency responders from Hayward located in the center of the memorial.

After Emerson approached city officials about wanting to build a tribute, the site near the old city hall was selected for the memorial.

The site has been cleared and is ready for construction.

Half of the materials for the memorial have already been donated, which include the red granite worth $50,000 and other landscaping materials. Emerson says he is still looking for gray and black granite and other funding sources. 

He is also looking for help with pouring concrete and placing bricks.

The Hayward resident and Marine Corps veteran is helping with the memorial as a donation hopes to raise up to $150,000 for the project.

The memorial site should be ready for dedication by the 9/11 anniversary in 2015. If more materials and donations come in, it can be ready sooner.

Donation information and more details about the memorial are available at http://hayward911memorial.com.


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