A Light Burns in Suwanee for 9/11

History again came alive in Suwanee on Wednesday, the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. And in typical Suwanee fashion, there was an artistic touch.

"Why are we here," Suwanee Mayor Pro Tem Dick Goodman asked rhetorically during a public dedication ceremony for the display base for the city's 9/11 artifact.

"We are in a community that has a vision," Goodman continued. He described how the city's public arts movement began in 2007 under then-Mayor Nick Masino, and has continued to a point where "art is truly woven into Suwanee's fabric."

The display for the 1,600-pound piece of twisted steel is artistic to the point that a vertical cone-like light element is actually at the center of the base, which is located near a corner of Town Center Park.

This was all the work of Georgia Southern University art professor Marc Moulton, who was commissioned to do the display in 2012 after a city proposal process.

Linnea Miller, a City Council member to be, noted that the light structure is built to give off shadows that simulate the New York skyline as seen from the top of the buildings. The light is on a timer and will come on every evening.

Those shadows are projected on a base that contains a timeline of events as they unfolded on Sept. 11, 2001 -- a timeline done in stainless steel lettering.

The steel artifact itself arrived in Suwanee in mid-2011, in a process handled with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. It was dedicated in September 2011, and for a time was on display in front of City Hall.

Miller noted in her speech that the artifact and display symbolize "not just a tragedy, but all that is good about a free nation and a close community."

-- What are your thoughts on 9/11? What do you think of Suwanee's display? Tell us in the comments below.

Don’t miss any Suwanee news. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.