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Possible Construction Delays - US 30
Short delays are possible along US 30 at PA 281 due to construction - April 1 - October, 2013
The Design
Tower of Voices Paul Murdoch Architects Tower of Voices At the entrance to the national memorial, rising 93 feet into the sky, will be the Tower of Voices,” containing 40 large wind chimes, evocative of, and a tribute to, the sound of the wind and voices aboard the plane during its final moments. 
The Field of Honor Paul Murdoch Architects The Field of Honor is a large, bowl-shaped existing landform roughly circular, that forms the heart of the memorial and park. Visitors will experience varied landscape and memorial features along the edge of and within the Field of Honor. In framing the open space of the Field of Honor with a distinct, formal edge, the memorial design expresses the spirit of the Mission Statement preamble: A common field one day. A field of honor forever. 
Entry Portal Paul Murdoch Architects Entry Portal The main entrance to the Field of Honor occurs at its northwestern edge. The Entry Portal is approached through a clearing of trees on a black slate plaza marking the Flight Path. High, textured concrete walls frame the sky where Flight 93 descended to the crash site. The walkway leads visitors through the first wall into a plaza featuring Red Maple trees and through a second portal to give visitors their first look at the expanse of the Field of Honor and the crash site below. From the plaza, visitors can enter the visitor center, the interpretive and educational hub of the park. A ramp rises past the visitor center to a tree-lined walkway that curves around the edge of the Field of Honor. 
40 Memorial Groves Paul Murdoch Architects 40 Memorial Groves The memorial design commemorates the collective act of courage by the 40 passengers and crew of Flight 93 through 40 Memorial Groves of Red and Sugar Maple trees in a shared, curving embrace of the Field of Honor's open space as it descends to the Sacred Ground. A Red Maple allée formally defines the curving edge and monumental size of the Field of Honor. These maples naturally occur locally throughout the woodlands of the Laurel Highlands. They turn color in autumn and are bare-branched or green-leafed during the rest of the year. Pedestrian trails meander through the groves, crossing the allée on concrete radials that step down into the Field of Honor; eventually leading to the Sacred Ground. 
Ponds Paul Murdoch Architects Ponds
Memorial Plaza Paul Murdoch Architects and bioLinia Memorial Plaza As the final resting place for the passengers and crew of Flight 93, the crash site is the focus of the Field of Honor. Here is where the plane crashed and a grove of hemlock trees absorbed the impact and inferno. The public can closely view the crash site from a plaza along its edge, which breaks the continuity of the circular Field of Honor. 
Western Overlook Paul Murdoch Architects Western Overlook The Western Overlook, located at the western edge of the Field of Honor, is where the FBI set up its command post for their investigation after the crash and the families were first brought to overlook the crash site. The foundations and floor slabs of buildings there will remain to evoke the memory of the structures. A meandering path will allow visitors to access this area. Two of the building footprints are among planned trees and one will be within the Field of Honor clearing; marking the location where the families first viewed the crash site below. |
Did You Know?
In past September 11 ceremonies, first responders, community leaders and recovery workers have participated by ringing the "Bells of Remembrance." The bells ring during the time of the crash, 10:03 AM, while the names of Flight 93 crew and passengers are read aloud.