St. Paul's Church Will Be Home For Princeton's WTC Beam, 9/11 Memorial

Princeton, NJ -- St. Paul’s Church will be the home for a 10-foot beam from the World Trade Center that Princeton acquired five years ago, the Princeton Packet reports.

The beam was originally acquired for a memorial on Route 206 by Monument Hall, according to a Patch report from 2013.

The effort began in 2011.

The project required state approval, which proved to be a touchy situation because the beam had a cross cut out of it.

Many first responders carved the crosses out of the beams to memorialize their fallen colleagues. Those crosses were then presented to the families of the deceased.

When appearing before council in 2013, Princeton firefighterRoy James said “the cross is not an endorsement of religion, but a symbol of strength and renewal amidst tragedy.”

The American Atheists then threatened to sue the town over the issue, and Princeton put the project on hold, according to nj.com.

Former borough councilman Ray Wadsworth sits on the the pastoral council at the Catholic congregation on Nassau Street, and approached St. Paul’s Church about putting the memorial there, according to the packet’s report.

The sides reach an agreement, and on Monday night, council approved a resolution allowing the 10-foot beam to be put on the church’s grounds.

Both James and the Union County-based American Atheists were pleased with the outcome, according to the report.

Patch file photo