Koenig's 'Sphere' Moved To Liberty Park

FINANCIAL DISTRICT, NY — Workers have begun re-installing the "Sphere," the famous fountain sculpture that was previously situated between the Twin Towers and miraculously survived the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The sculpture, which was created by the legendary artist Fritz Koenig and was commissioned specifically for the towers, was badly damaged by the 2001 terrorist attacks but somehow survived in a recognizable form. It's now returning to a permanent home in Lower Manhattan. Workers began installing the sculpture last week in Liberty Park, where it will sit overlooking One World Trade Center and the National September 11 Memorial from the park at about 25 feet above sea level. The installation is expected to be completed in September. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

Since 2002, the "Sphere" has been in nearby Battery Park, where it was rededicated as New York City's interim memorial to the the victims of the attack in its immediate aftermath. Last year, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey approved a plan to install the sphere in Liberty Park near the St. Nicholas National Shrine, which is currently under construction.

The "Sphere" was the best known work of Fritz Koenig, the German sculptor who created after the Port Authority commissioned it in the 1960s. Koenig died in February.

Lead image via Ciara McCarthy / Patch; secondary image via AP Photo/Ted Warren, Pool/File.