9/11 stair remnant gets final placement.

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum and The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey last week moved the historic Vesey Street Stair Remnant (known as the Survivors' Stairs) to its final placement in the Memorial Museum site.

The Stairs, which were used as a vital route to safety on the morning of September 11,2001, were the first artifact moved to the Museum site when they were lowered to a temporary location at bedrock level in July 2008.

In partnership, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum and Project Rebirth last week began offering a special opportunity for the public to view the historic rebuilding of the World Trade Center site through time-lapse footage available online. The new feature on http://www.national911 memorial.org/ will be updated regularly with multi-media material focused on different perspectives of the rebuilding progress and highlighting major events.

Memorial & Museum President Joe Daniels said, "This week's tremendous construction is an outgrowth of so many people's dedication and commitment to building the Memorial & Museum. The Survivors' Stairs are now in their final position, becoming the first historic artifact moved into the Memorial Museum, while the ramp's removal this weekend will allow the steel structure of the Memorial to continue to rise. The rebuilding itself is truly historic and the public can view this process through edited segments of Project Rebirth's World Trade Center rebuilding documentary project, which will be posted regularly on our website."

Port Authority Executive Director Chris Ward said, "We've worked hard to make sure this important piece of the World Trade Center's history was safely delivered from street level to its final destination in the Memorial bedrock. Now we can continue the progress we've made to aggressively build the Memorial around it."

Port Authority Chairman Anthony R. Coscia said, "We're proud of our role alongside the Memorial Foundation in preserving this important piece of the site's history. Its move to a permanent home today will allow us to continue installation of steel and other work needed to meet our public commitments for building the Memorial."

Last week, work crews began assembly and connection of the rigging of the structure, which stands 21-feet high; 64-feet long and weigh 57 tons. After connection, the Stairs were lifted by crane, set on a temporary midpoint location, and then re-rigged in order to prepare for a second lift.

The Stairs were then moved for the final time 150 feet north in the Memorial quadrant for their permanent installation in the Museum.