LaVerdiere & Myoda
Phantom Towers
©2001

LaVerdiere & Myoda
Towers of Light Over The Brooklyn Bridge
©2001

LaVerdiere & Myoda
Towers of Light Over The Empire State
©2001

LaVerdiere & Myoda
Towers of Light Over The Liberty Island
©2001

LaVerdiere & Myoda
Towers of Light Over The Promenade
©2001

LaVerdiere & Myoda
Towers of Light Over Ellis Island
©2001

On March 11th, the six-month anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks, two great beams of light rose from a site just north of Ground Zero into the night sky to honor those lost on September 11th and to celebrate the spirit of all the New Yorkers who have worked to rebuild and renew our City. The Tribute in Light was illuminated each night through April 13th, from dusk until 11 pm.  This public artwork has subsequently been selected to become a permanent addition to the WTC Memorial and will be illuminated every forthcoming September 11^th.

Conceived in the aftermath of the September 11th tragedies, The Tribute in Light was a temporary artistic gesture bringing together the vision and talent of numerous individuals who independently envisioned two beams of light rising from downtown New York. Finding support for their vision they joined forces in the spirit of the emergency rescue and recovery effort. The creative team consisted of artists, Julian LaVerdiere and Paul Myoda, architects, John Bennett, Gustavo Bonevardi and Richard Nash Gould, and lighting designer Paul Marantz. Two non-profit cultural institutions, The Municipal Art Society and Creative Time, provided production support with the assistance of Battery Park City Authority.

The first of these twelve artist renderings by Julian LaVerdiere and Paul Myoda appeared on the cover of The New York Times Magazine, on September 23rd, 2001. This image helped to lift the heart and spirit of the city during its darkest hour and sparked the inspiration to launch the Towers of Light Initiative, later re-titled The Tribute in Light. All of these renderings, created on behalf of the Initiative, served as conceptual designs and preliminary plans, and were intended to help the citizens and members of New York city government pre-visualize and grasp the emotional impact and healing effect that it was believed the lights would offer.

These twelve renderings were conceived and titled in the following order:

1   Phantom Towers, LaVerdiere & Myoda ©2001*
2   Towers of Light Over The Brooklyn Bridge, LaVerdiere & Myoda ©2001
3   Towers of Light Over The Empire State, LaVerdiere & Myoda ©2001
4   Towers of Light Over The Liberty Island, LaVerdiere & Myoda ©2001
5   Towers of Light Over The Promenade, LaVerdiere & Myoda ©2001
6   Towers of Light Over Ellis Island, LaVerdiere & Myoda ©2001
7   Towers of Light Over Tribeca, LaVerdiere & Myoda ©2001
8   Towers of Light Over Soho, LaVerdiere & Myoda ©2001
9   Towers of Light Over The Woolworth Building, LaVerdiere & Myoda ©2001
10 Towers of Light Over Trinity Church, LaVerdiere & Myoda ©2001
11 Towers of Light Over Houston Street Pier, LaVerdiere & Myoda ©2001
12 Towers of Light Over The Winter Garden, LaVerdiere & Myoda ©2001

*Source photograph by Fred R Conrad.  New York Times Company, © 2001.