Custom Laser Welded Beams for a 9-11 Memorial

This past September 11, 2017 was the 16^th anniversary of the tragic events that took place on this date at the World Trade Center in Manhattan, the Pentagon and other parts of the United States. The City of Hoboken, New Jersey wanted to honor the victims lost in this tragedy. A special Memorial along the banks of the Hudson River in Hoboken had been in the works for years and it finally came to fruition.

Hoboken Park 9-11 Memorial

Hoboken, New Jersey lies just across the Hudson River from Manhattan and provides spectacular views of the New York City skyline and its most popular destinations. From Pier A Park you can see the new World Trade Center towers. During the 9-11 tragedy, 56 residents from the City of Hoboken lost their lives in the attack. The city wanted a memorial constructed to honor these victims.
It took several years for funding to come through and for the designs to be approved, but this past 9-11, the memorial was complete and opened to the public. The actual memorial consists of 56 glass panels to honor each of the 56 Hoboken residents whose lives were taken. Each panel of glass had the name and birthdate engraved for each person. One unique feature is that the memorial lines up directly with the original World Trade center site of the twin towers. It is lit at night and surrounded by a grove of trees that were planted in 2002. This tree grove was the first memorial to honor the victims of Hoboken.

Custom Laser Fused Beams for the Project

The architectural metal and glass fabricator tasked with the production and install of this special memorial was Jaroff Design from Hicksville, NY. They contacted Stainless Structurals directly about producing a custom double stem wide flange beam that would act as the base and shoes to hold the 56 glass panels in place. In discussing the project and application with Jaroff Design, we determined that the best manufacturing technology to produce these beams was laser fusion. Because the memorial was exposed outside and along the banks of the Hudson River, 316/L stainless steel was the alloy of choice. 316/L provides excellent corrosion resistance in these conditions. Our blasted and pickled finish was chosen for its aesthetic appearance. In total, we supplied 6,000 pounds of these custom beams to Jaroff. We also supplied them with several laser cut plates that had to have the same blasted and pickled finish to match the beams. Jaroff did a fantastic job with the fabrication and install of the beams and glass panels and the memorial turned out great.

Honored to Participate in this Project

At Stainless Structurals America, we were honored to participate in this project and produce the beams for this memorial. 9-11 is a day we will never forget and to be able to help provide custom profiles for a place to recognize these victims was special to us. If you are ever in New York or New Jersey, we encourage you to visit this special memorial at Hoboken Park, Pier A. Please contact us for any questions on this project or for any help with your next stainless steel design.