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News & Events - 9/11 DISASTER: World Trade Center artifact
heading to Kennewick
By Tri-City Herald Staff
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Ladies and Gentlemen, this story was written by a staff member at the Tri-City Herald in Kennewick,
WA. As the editor of Lampson Blue, I would like to provide you with a bit of back ground on how this
project came to be. About a year and a half ago Bill’s sister, Jenny Lampson, read an article about
various cities around the United States that were acquiring pieces from the World Trade Center and
using them to create memorials in honor of the brave men and women who lost their lives on that
historic day. Having read this, Jenny approached Bill about the possibility of acquiring an artifact to
erect a memorial in the Tri-Cities, and that is how the artifact came to reside in our community.
Kennewick The bent remains of a column left from the 9/11 destruction of the World Trade Center
Towers is headed to Kennewick, thanks to Lampson Crane of Kennewick.
The artifact was picked up in New York Tuesday with Lampson coordinating and paying for its
transportation.
It was donated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to Kennewick after Bill Lampson,
President of Lampson Crane, approached city leadership about the possibility of obtaining and
displaying an artifact from 9/11.
Kennewick officials agreed, not knowing if they would receive a piece of metal that would fit into a
display cabinet or the nearly 6,000 pound column that’s heading across the nation now.
Much of the steel from the twin towers was melted and used for a Naval Ship, so Kennewick was
fortunate to be one of the communities to receive one of the artifacts, said Kennewick Fire Marshal
Mark Yaden.
Kennewick plans a public viewing of the steel column while it is on the trailer, possibly on July 4.
A permanent memorial with the column as its centerpiece is planned within the new Southridge
Sports Complex near Highway 395.The monument is planned to be dedicated on the 10th anniversary
of 9/11 later this year.
This bent column was part of the World Trade Center in New York that was
destroyed Sept. 11, 2001. It is being donated by the Port Authority of New
York and New Jersey to Kennewick, thanks to Lampson Crane.