NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — A New York City church destroyed on 9/11 is finally being rebuilt across from the World Trade Center.
The new St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church is going up in Liberty Park, just to the east of where the old church stood for 85 years.
“The original St. Nicholas was fully destroyed, and really crushed by the South Tower,” said Jerry Dimitriou, executive director of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese.
The church’s distinctive dome has been installed as have the blast proof concrete columns.
Soon the church will be cloaked in marble.
“All the marble in this church is coming from Greece. It’s all from the same vein of marble that was used to build the Parthenon 2.5 thousand years ago. It’s the Pentelic marble,” Dimitriou said.
Visitors of all faiths will be welcome.
“Certainly because of the lives lost on 9/11, this place has a tremendous amount of meaning both for the Orthodox church, for all Christians and for the whole world,” Dimitriou said. “We want them to feel at peace.”
The $52 million project should be finished by next October.
