Officials kick off work on memorial
By BOB McCLURE
Article published on Tuesday, May 6, 2008  |
 |
![[Image]](/content_images/050608_bhb-02.jpg) |
| Photo by BOB McCLURE |
| From left, Madeira Beach Fire Chief Derryl O’Neal, Zoe Roseman, Redington Beach Mayor Nick Simons, artist Vladamir Hostomsky, Pinellas County Commissioner John Moroni and retired New York Fire Department Battalion Chief Ken Margraff break ground May 3 on a memorial to 9/11 victims at Friendship Park in Redington Beach. |
|
REDINGTON BEACH – A crowd of about 50 people turned out May 3 for the groundbreaking of a memorial to 9/11 victims in Friendship Park.
The memorial, a sculpture by Redington Beach artist Vladamir Hostomsky, will stand 13 feet tall and will be dedicated Sept. 6.
“I did this for the American people,” said Hostomsky, who built a smaller version of the memorial and displayed it in his Redington Beach yard. “I felt like this should be in a public place so I asked the city of Redington Beach and they said yes.”
The memorial features two glass columns, representative of the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center.
Chips of broken glass inside the columns are symbolic of the broken hearts of Americans, according to Hostomsky who came to this country from the Czech Republic in 1984.
The memorial will feature a pentagon-shaped base to honor those killed at The Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
It also includes a circular rose garden around the perimeter of the sculpture that Hostomsky said represents a symbol of love and life.
Participating in the groundbreaking were Madeira Beach Fire Chief Derryl O’Neal, Hostomsky, Redington Beach Mayor Nick Simons, Redington Beach resident Zoe Roseman, Pinellas County Commissioner John Moroni and retired New York Fire Department Battalion Chief Ken Margraff.
|
Article published on Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Copyright © Tampa Bay Newspapers: All rights reserved. |
