'Tower of Voices,' Final Piece of the Flight 93 Memorial, Set to Open in September

Tommy Rowan offers a preview of the under-construction Tower of Voices, a memorial for United Flight 93 that will open to the public on the 17th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

"The new concrete belfry juts 93 feet above a vast palette of summer greens, high enough for breezes aloft to catch the 40 wind chimes inside, each sounding a different tone," writes Rowan.

"The tower looms over the site of one of the triad of 9/11 tragedies — the open field in Somerset County where United Flight 93 crashed as its 40 passengers and crew foiled a band of al-Qaeda hijackers who were attempting to redirect the aircraft, presumably to Washington and the U.S. Capitol.  It is intended both as a marker and a monument to a planeload of heroes, with every chime representing the distinct voice of one lost that day."

The Tower of Voices is the final piece, and keystone, of the Flight 93 memorial, which has been under constriction since 2011. Philadelphia-based architect Paul Murdoch Architects designed the Tower of Voices after winning a design competition in 2005.