At the World Trade Center site, symbolism carried the day July 4 as the cornerstone for the Freedom Tower, the first building that will rise on the rebuilt site, was set in place.

The polished face of the 20-ton block of black-flecked grey, Adirondack rock was inscribed with the words "To honor and remember those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001 and as a tribute to the enduring spirit of freedom -- July Fourth, 2004."

		"By laying this magnificent cornerstone of hope we are reaffirming life at Ground Zero," said Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, "For the 10th time in history the world's tallest building will rise in Lower Manhattan." Before the ceremony began, under a hot sun on the dusty bedrock 70 feet below street level, a police bagpiper practiced a tune that skirted the edge between mournful and joyful. It was an apt atmosphere for what was to follow. The emotional ceremony left no stone of symbolism unturned, as speeches by New York's Gov. George Pataki and James McGreevey of New Jersey, sounded themes of history, freedom, renewal and remembrance. Calling the Freedom Tower "a beacon of freedom to all of the world," Pataki said, "The tower that will honor the
heroes we lost on that tragic day will serve as a reminder that not only did thousands of our friends die on this sacred ground, but that they lived, loved and dreamed here too." The 13-year-old son of a Port Authority police officer who died in the attacks read a passage from the Declaration of Independence. Then as opera singer Morris Robinson sang Gold Bless America, the stone was slowly lowered by crane into an adjacent opening. Members of victims' families and neighborhood residents, many holding small American flags gathered to take photographs, get a closer look and touch the etched words. When the building opens in 2009, the inscription will be visible in the basement. The Freedom Tower, will be built by Larry Silverstein, at a cost of more than $1 billion using insurance proceeds from the trade centers' destruction. The building, designed by architect David Childs, in a reportedly uneasy collaboration with master planner, Daniel Liebeskind, will have 70 stories of office space topped by open cabling which will house windmills. A spire, intended to mirror the upstretched arm of the Statue of Liberty, will reach to the symbolic height of 1776 feet, although a broadcast antennae may actually make the highest point closer to 2,000 feet. The design is continually undergoing engineering and architectural changes, according to Childs. "People don't realize how much work there is to do beyond the sketching of the building. There's a lot of refinements," he said. Over the next weeks and months, the remains of the four-story underground parking garage will begin to be dismantled. Pieces that are deemed of historical significance will be stored at the hangar at JFK airport where remnants of the towers are being preserved. Once that process is completed, the footings for the Freedom Tower will be installed. To some family members in attendance there were concerns about priorities and safety. "It would have been a little more proper if they broke ground on the memorial first," said William Doyle, whose 25-year-old son Joseph died in the attacks, " I hope they adhere to building codes that are tough building codes. At 1,700 feet, I hope it doesn't become a target." For Charles Wolf, whose wife died at the World Trade Center, the beginning of rebuilding was part of moving on. The message inscribed on the cornerstone, he said, was just right. "It says what it needs to say. " As the construction on the Freedom Tower and several other projects on and around the site are about to begin, neighborhood residents have strong concerns about the community's quality of life over the next decade. Councilman Alan Gerson called the laying of the stone "an important milestone," but cautioned that in the years ahead it would be necessary to "protect the community from senseless noise and needless disruption." But this first tangible step to rebuilding was also seen as a positive sign. "Like a lot of residents it's less important to me what's being built than that it's starting," said Jeff Galloway, BPC resident, "It's a hopeful sign."