Where to find other Sept. 11 memorials in the suburbs
A 22-foot-tall sculpture by Erik Blome of Crystal Lake will be the centerpiece of Oak Lawn’s Sept. 11 memorial. Other towns also have memorials to remember the 2001 attacks and honor victims and rescuers. Among them:
Arlington Heights: A Chinquapin oak was planted outside Our Lady of the Wayside School, 432 S. Mitchell St., on the first Arbor Day after Sept. 11. A stone at its base vows “We will always remember Sept. 11, 2001” and students sometimes hang yellow ribbons on it. Last spring, a swamp white oak was also planted there as a 9/11 memorial.
Carpentersville: The Carpentersville Fire Department will dedicate a memorial at 10 a.m. Sept. 11 at the fire station at 213 Spring St. The memorial features a piece of twisted metal from the World Trade Center. It also includes a flagpole, two stone monuments displaying the words to the Fireman’s Prayer and the Last Alarm poem that honors fallen firefighters, as well as brick pavers in the shape of a Maltese cross, the fire service logo. A stone monument holds a brass fire helmet, and the World Trade Center artifact will pierce the monument.
Darien: The Darien-Woodridge Fire District will unveil a steel beam recovered from the World Trade Center collapse at a dedication ceremony Sunday, Sept. 11. The 8:45 a.m. memorial at the fire station, 7550 Lyman Avenue, also will feature a brief talk from a Darien resident who was in the south tower when it was struck by an airplane.
Carol Stream: A steel section from the World Trade Center will be dedicated as a memorial to the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks during a ceremony at 8 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 11, at Glenbard North High School, 990 Kuhn Road, Carol Stream.
Des Plaines: A permanent memorial outside City Hall will be unveiled on the 10th anniversary of the attacks and will contain a 114-pound steel girder standing 33 inches high and 11 inches wide that was among the supports holding up the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.
Huntley: The Huntley Fire Protection District has already unveiled and dedicated the steel beam it received from the World Trade Center, which is mounted in the lobby of the new fire station, 4151 W. Algonquin Road, Algonquin. It will be the centerpiece of a ceremony at 8:30 a.m. Sept. 11.
Maine Township: The North Maine Fire Protection District will incorporate a 6-foot-long, 4-inch-wide steel remnant of the World Trade Center towers into an existing memorial at Ridgewood Cemetery in Des Plaines. The piece will be unveiled on Sept. 11.
Mundelein: A Sept. 11 memorial at the main fire station on Midlothian Road will be unveiled on the anniversary. The centerpiece will be part of a beam from one of the fallen World Trade Center towers.
Naperville: Naperville’s memorial was inspired by Naperville native Naval Commander Dan Shanower, who died in the attack on the Pentagon. Dedicated on Sept. 11, 2003, the memorial is nestled between the DuPage River and the Municipal Center in downtown Naperville.
At the center of the memorial, a sculpture designed by Benton Harbor, Mich., artist Bill Cooper integrates 100 pounds of rubble from the damaged portion of the Pentagon, a twisted steel beam from the World Trade Center and granite from the Pennsylvania region where Flight 93 crashed after passengers took on the hijackers. Incised into the sculpture are an outline of Commander Shanower’s boot print, the insignia of New York-area rescue workers, and the number “93,” in memory of the Pennsylvania crash victims. The memorial plaza is surrounded by a perennial garden. See more at http://naperville.il.us/shanower.aspx#AboutWaukegan: A memorial display case is located in the Lake County Board office on the 10th floor of the county government building in Waukegan. It includes debris from ground zero, photographs and a flag.