Committee Selects Design for Newton 9/11 Memorial

Just two months after its first meeting, has selected a design for the proposed memorial for Newton's Sept. 11 victims. 

The winning design was submitted by architect Mark Sangiolo, an Upper Falls resident who incorporated design elements representing the World Trade Center, Pentagon and flight path of United Airlines Flight 93. 

According to a press release issued by the committee, the winning design includes two granite tables arranged out in a way that represents the twin towers. The tables will sit on stone cut into the shape of Roman numerals representing 9 and 11 (IX and XI), which can be read the same from the front or back.

A border around the tables will be shaped like a Pentagon, representing the plane that crashed into the government building on Sept. 11, the press release said. A third element will represent the flight path of United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania.

Over the last couple months, the committee has asked local architects to submit designs for a memorial. The committee that decided on the design was made up of local officials, residents, police and fire representatives as well as family members of one of the Newton victims.

The Committee formed earlier this year after inspiration from . The group hoped to commemorate the eight Newton residents who were killed in the Sept. 11 attacks. 

The project, according to committee members, will be funded entirely through donations. 

According to the press release, four designs were submitted to the committee and reviewed at a meeting Tuesday night. Aside from Sangiolo, Susan Israel of studio2sustain and Anatol Zukerman, both of Newton, and architect Elena Kalman of Stamford, CT also submitted designs. 

The press release notes comments made by Newton firefighter Jay Bourgeois, who participated in the rescue at Ground Zero. Bourgeois said Sangiolo's design made a clear impact, and that no one who views the site will question or wonder what it represents. 

“I think that Jay put into words what a lot of us were sensing about the four, very different, very impressive designs,” Committee Chair Sande Young said in the press release. “But no one else could have stated it as movingly as Jay.” 

The proposed memorial is expected to be installed somewhere on grounds, however, the final spot will not be decided until the fall. The committee is hoping to have a groundbreaking for the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11. 

For more information or to donate to the memorial, visit the Newton 9-11 Memorial Committee Website.