BY NICK DIAMANTIDES
Staff Writer
A sculpted monument adjacent to Signal Hill’s Discovery Well Park serves as a reminder of one of the most horrific events in America’s history. Seven years ago today, the unthinkable happened. A group of terrorists took over four jetliners, crashed two of them into New York City’s Twin Towers and one of them into the Pentagon in Washington D.C. The fourth jet crashed into a Pennsylvania field after the passengers staged a counterattack against the terrorists.
The collapse of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center and the two other plane crashes resulted in the loss of approximately 3,000 lives. The attacks cost the United States hundreds of millions of dollars, significantly reduced air travel, and severely impacted the nation’s economy.
One local sculptor, Patrick Vogel, was so moved by the tragedy he felt he had to design and build a memorial to honor the victims and to help ensure that no one on the West Coast would ever forget the horrors of that terrible day. Originally, he wanted to put the monument up somewhere in Long Beach, but as it turned out, the memorial ended up in Signal Hill.
On September 8, 2002, almost one year after the tragedy, the sculpture was unveiled in a dedication ceremony at the park. A few days later, the Signal Tribune published an article about the event written by Mark Eastman.
“Under blue skies of which ideas are conceived, the dream of an artist and a city of 10,000 people was made public Sunday in a colorful dedication,” Eastman wrote. “Local metal fabricator Patrick Vogel came before the Signal Hill City Council on July 2, determined that his ‘Unity Monument’ saluting the courage and heroism of the 9/11 tragedy should be built.”
Eastman noted that Long Beach’s lack of action led Vogel to seek a home for the monument in Signal Hill. Vogel elaborated. “I approached the City of Long Beach and they seemed very interested, but they didn’t have the money and they didn’t know where it would go,” he said. “I spoke to the owner of the World Trade Center (in downtown Long Beach) but he was in the middle of a deal to sell it to (foreign) investors, and he didn’t want to sour the deal by having artifacts that would remind people of the attack.”
Sensing that doors were not opening in Long Beach, Vogel began talking with Signal Hill officials and made his formal request to the council in June 2002. “They were very excited because they understood the gravity of this and wanted to participate,” he said. “They found a place for it, I think within a week.”
Vogel designed the monument in 2001, about two months after the attack. “I started pedaling the idea in late December of that year, but people were having a hard time visualizing what it would look like,” he said. “Then I built a one-to-twelve scale model and that’s when people really got it.”
During its July 2, 2002 meeting, the council unanimously agreed to have the monument installed near the intersection of Temple Avenue and Panorama and Skyline drives. At that meeting the council enthusiastically told Vogel to proceed with his plan to raise funds for the project.
Three weeks later, the Signal Tribune reported that $80,000 had been raised. Eastman wrote: “According to project coordinator Ken Davis, major donors of late include Signal Hill Petroleum, $20,000; Comstock, Crosser & Associates $20,000; Centex Homes, $15,000; Office of Supervisor Don Knabe, $10,000, Universal Care, $5,000 and Signal Hill Disposal, $5,000.”
Eastman also reported that by July 25, 2002, Vogel had purchased materials for the monument’s superstructure and had commenced work on its construction.
Several thousand dollars more was raised in the next few weeks and by late August the sculpture had been completed. The 12-foot statue combines five metals that are not normally welded to each other: stainless steel, copper, brass, bronze and copper-nickel. Vogel said the five metals represent the racial, cultural and religious differences in the nation.
In another Eastman article, the artist explained what the sculpture’s form represents. “The shape is random in nature, which is parallel to the event,” Vogel said. “The events were random and premeditated, preplanned by individuals who carried out those plans.”
Vogel also told Eastman that he designed the project to symbolize the enormity of the 9/11 devastation. “I want people to take note and have a little humility when they see it,” he said.
Now, six years after the monument was installed, people still visit it, leaving an occasional bouquet of flowers in memory of the victims. Most visitors are Southern Californians, but some come from other parts of the state and from other states as well. Vogel, who undertakes public art projects for several California cities, drives past it twice a day on his way to and from his Vogel Designs metal fabrication shop, which is located in Signal Hill. He also takes the time to clean the statue at least once every six months.
The City of Signal Hill placed a line of American flags in the area in front of the monument this week. “We are very proud to have it in our city,” said Mayor Mike Noll. “It is amazing what this symbol means to so many people.”
Vogel noted that during this election year there has been a lot of bipartisan talk about making sure nothing like 9/11 ever happens again. “This sculpture just serves as a way of keeping the memory of that terrible day alive,” he said. “Hopefully, the Unity Monument will remind Americans of how fortunate we are to live in this country, how important it is to safeguard our liberties and to never forget the innocent victims of the tragedy.”
