Church Club Honors the Fallen
Following its annual meeting, the Church Club of New York concluded its 120th year with a special tribute to the fallen firefighters of 9/11 with a reception at the law firm of Holland and Knight and a visit to the FDNY Memorial Wall, a 56-foot bronze bas relief installed on the west wall of Engine Company 10 – Ladder Company 10 on the corner of Greenwich and Liberty Streets. “Ten House” was damaged in the collapse of the Twin Towers, sitting directly south of the former World Trade Center Plaza. The wall honors the sacrifices of the 343 active FDNY personnel who lost their lives in the tragedy.
Club member Brian Starer (pictured above), senior partner at Holland & Knight, said that the firm raised the monies for the wall entirely through private donations from its employees. The wall is dedicated to the memory of Glenn J. Winuk, volunteer firefighter, partner and colleague of Holland and Knight, who lost his life as he tried to save others in the fall of the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001.
Starer introduced sculptor Joseph Petrovics (pictured below) and Assistant Chief Harry Meyers. Petrovics, a Hungarian-born artist, completed the full-scale models in clay for the design of fourteen bronze panels,weighing over three tons. He showed a scale concept panel he had created, as well as planning sketches.
Helping to oversee the project, Chief Meyers (pictured below) was the Manhattan borough commander for the FDNY and retired just after the dedication of the wall in June 2006. He had planned to retire in 2003 but stayed on to make sure the memorial was finished. He told the story of the installation of the enormous bronze panels, which had been lying flat before being mounted.
"When they were lying down," he said, "the eyes of the figures on the panels filled with water. When the panels were lifted, the water spilled out, like the men were crying. Now I'm not a misty guy. But I got misty when I saw that."
After a reception, Club members walked over to the wall at twilight to hear Petrovics and Meyers talk more about the work. The evening concluded with a singing of "America the Beautiful."
The Church Club is grateful to Holland and Knight and to Brian Starer for providing such a lovely and enriching evening for the Club.
See more pictures here.
