Gala Simon design selected for Worcester firefighters memorial
September 27, 2004
Contact:
Link McKie
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WORCESTER, Mass. - A design featuring six encircled columns leaning toward each other and shooting shafts of light into a common point in the night has won the national competition for the memorial to the six Worcester firefighters who died in a warehouse fire in 1999.
An 11-member jury chose the design of Gala Simon Associates Inc. of Watertown from among five finalists to design the $3-million to $5-million memorial and the memorial park surrounding it.
The Worcester Fire Fighters Memorial Committee announced the winning design at a news conference Monday, Sept. 27, at Worcester Fire Department headquarters, near the seven-acre site of what will become Worcester Fire Fighters Memorial Park 5-1438. The site is off Grove Street on scenic Salisbury Pond across from historic Institute Park. The numbers stand for the five alarms and the Fire Department code for the location of the fire.
"This exciting design represents the most important step forward in our memorial committee's three-year quest for a tribute worthy of our six courageous fallen heroes," Michael J. Donoghue, chairman of the Worcester Fire Fighters Memorial Committee, said. "This bold design fulfills our dream of finding a memorial fitting for their sacrifice.
"Our search for a memorial design equal to their valor has ended today. But our work is far from over. Now begins the two important tasks of seeking continued public support to finance the memorial park and then building it," Donoghue said. "We hope that the memories of the six firefighters, the faith of their families, and the honor of our community are all as well served by these continuing efforts as we believe they are with this stunning design."
The Worcester Fire Fighters Memorial Committee began working in late 2001 to establish a memorial to honor Firefighters Paul A. Brotherton, Timothy P. Jackson, Jeremiah M. Lucey, James F. "Jay" Lyons III, Joseph T. McGuirk and Lt. Thomas E. Spencer. They died Dec. 3, 1999, trying to save the lives of others in an abandoned warehouse off Route 290 near downtown Worcester. Their deaths were the worst loss of firefighters' lives in more than 20 years in a building fire in America, and the third worst fire in Massachusetts' history.
Gala Simon's design finished first in a vote taken by the blue-ribbon jury Friday, Sept. 24. A design dominated by a single stone column and a black granite slab listing the names of the six firefighters, set beside Salisbury Pond, won second place for Stephen Stimson Associates of Falmouth. Third place was awarded to Benjamin Kou of Cambridge for a memorial highlighted by six pillars placed on a plaza in the relative positions where the bodies of the six firefighters were recovered from the wreckage of the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. The designs of Ben Smoot of Brookline and Chuni Wang of Waltham placed fourth and fifth, respectively.
Gala Simon will receive $30,000 and will be given the opportunity to continue to develop the design of the memorial and memorial park. Second place won $8,000; third, $5,000; and fourth and fifth, $1,000 each and commendations for design excellence.
The winning design emerged from a two-stage national design competition that attracted 158 entrants from 30 states. The jury chose five finalists in July during the first stage of the national competition. The jury reviewed the finished work of the five finalists Thursday and Friday, Sept. 23 and 24, before picking the Gala Simon design.
Worcester Fire Fighters Memorial Park 5-1438 will be financed through a public fund-raising campaign. Donations can be sent to Worcester Fire Fighters Memorial, 34 Glennie Street, Worcester, Mass. 01605.
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Last modified: Sep 27, 2004, 16:12 EDT