By CHRISTINE HAUSER

Published: July 4, 2004

In an Independence Day ceremony with fluttering American flags and the wail of police bagpipes, a sparkling 20-ton block of granite was laid today as the cornerstone of the Freedom Tower skyscraper that will rise as the centerpiece of rebuilding at the World Trade Center site.

Gov. George E. Pataki of New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Gov. James E. McGreevey of New Jersey watched from a stage with an audience including families of victims and survivors of the Sept. 11 attacks, as a crane heaved the block into a recess carved into the 70-foot-deep foundation.
Applause went up as the stone came to rest, guided by men in hard hats, onto a timber platform.

Morris Robinson, an opera singer, broke into an unaccompanied rendition of “God Bless America.”
“I cannot imagine a more appropriate day to stand on this sacred ground and lay a cornerstone dedicated to freedom, the defining principle of our nation and the reason that we were attacked on September 11, 2001,” Mr. Bloomberg said.

As the first piece of foundation, the cornerstone ceremony symbolized the start of construction of the 1,776-foot Freedom Tower, which will serve as the centerpiece structure for the rebuilding of the trade center site.

“Today we take 20 tons of Adirondack granite — the bedrock of our state — and place it as the foundation, the bedrock, of this new symbol of American strength and confidence,” Mr. Pataki said.
“Today, we lay the cornerstone for a new symbol of this city and of this country, and of our resolve to triumph in the face of terror,” he said.

The event was infused with religious and historical symbolism and references. A rabbi, a priest and a Muslim Imam stood together on the stage, giving speeches to emphasize religious unity.

A 13-year-old boy, Julian Davis, whose father, Clinton Davis, was killed in the attack while trying to evacuate people, read the passage from the Declaration of Independence that proclaimed equality for all.

The granite stone was flecked with the New York state gemstone, garnet, that reflected light off its facets. It is inscribed:

“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.”

After the ceremony people in the audience crowded around the stone to photograph and examine it.
Among those at the ceremony were three generations of Sheila Kaufman’s family. The 44-year-old Port Authority employee was a survivor of the attacks, escaping from the 73rd floor before the first tower collapsed. She held hands with people who made it out with her. On her way down, she saw others who did not.

When she reached the lobby, she could hear a thump which she only later realized was the sound of people who had jumped or fallen, hitting the ground.

Mrs. Kaufman held her 10-month-old daughter, Kayla, as she inspected the stone up close. She came to the ceremony for her children, she said.

“For them to be part of history,” she said, standing near her young son Gabriel. “And the re-birth.”
The Freedom Tower skyscraper will include about 60,000 square feet of retail space at its base, followed by 2.6 million square feet of office space on 70 stories, topped by three stories including an observation deck and restaurants. Above the enclosed portion will be an open-air structure with wind turbines and television antennas. The governor’s office is a prospective tenant. Occupancy is expected in late 2008.

The cost of the tower, apart from the infrastructure below, is estimated at $1 billion to $1.3 billion.

The developer, World Trade Center Properties, an affiliate of Larry A. Silverstein’s Silverstein Properties, says it will be financed with insurance proceeds, but the total pool available to Mr. Silverstein has shrunk because of his losses in a legal battle with insurers.