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World Trade Center Recovery Operation Exhibited at Casa Romantica Cultural Center

Casa Romantica's spectacular ocean view is just one of the beautiful features to be enjoyed at this very unique Cultural Center.

The Main Salon features historical photographs of Southern California surrounded by the Center's original Spanish architecture.

San Clemente's Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens will host Recovery: The World Trade Center Recovery Operation exhibition from April 23 to July 10, 2005. Mounted by the New York State Museum, this important exhibit documents the monumental effort to locate personal objects and material evidence from the wreckage of the Twin Towers - an effort that has been an essential step on the nation's road to emotional recovery from the 9/11 tragedy.

Casa Romantica is the ONLY west coast site that will host Recovery, providing residents and visitors to Southern California with the only local opportunity to experience the determination that pulled dignity and history from the ashes. Overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the serene, peaceful setting of Casa Romantica provides a unique location to view and reflect on this moving exhibition.

The exhibition consists of 65 photographs and more than 50 objects recovered from the World Trade Center. Collectively, they help to tell the unheralded story of what happened when the recovery effort moved beyond Ground Zero to Fresh Kills landfill, the "city on the hill" where recovery workers toiled for long, tedious hours at a disheartening task.

The landfill's name, which means "fresh stream," came from early Dutch settlers and described an area made up of meadows, marshlands and wetlands. The landfill operated for 50 years, encompassing 3,000 acres on the western shore of Staten Island. The last landfill in New York City, it was slated to close in March, 2001 and become a wildlife refuge and park. But instead, on the morning of September 12, 2001 the landfill was declared a crime scene and trucks began arriving from Ground Zero with the steel and crushed debris that were once the World Trade Center. The landfill was the ideal location for the recovery operation because it was reachable by land and water, it could be secured and resources of the New York City Department of Sanitation were readily available.

Firefighters, ironworkers, engineers, contractors, police officers, and volunteers eventually moved 1.8 million tons of debris from Ground Zero to the landfill. The recovery operation quickly evolved from simple hand sorting into an elaborate technical sifting and sorting process. The New York State Museum staff became well acquainted with the army of workers from the New York Police Department (NYPD), FBI, 25 state and federal agencies and 14 private contractors, whose daunting, meticulous task was the sorting and examination of the World Trade Center material. In addition to collecting objects, the Museum staff photographed the stark landscape of Fresh Kills, the sorting and sifting operations, hundreds of debris piles and vehicles, and the people involved in the recovery process.

FBI Special Agent Richard Marx said, "We normally never let outsiders see a crime scene, let alone take photographs or touch anything. . . We were so focused we didn't realize that we were part of history." The resulting exhibition includes a recovered American flag, several World Trade Center souvenirs, building keys, signs, guns, sections of the building fa�ade, marble floor and a fragment of one of the planes. Among the rescue-related objects are a NYPD radio holster, New York Fire Department (NYFD) boot, a firefighter's Scott pack (oxygen tank) and a fragment of a destroyed fire truck. An interactive touch screen contains FBI film of the operations and an inventory of objects in the museum's collections.

"This exhibition shines a light on the many unsung heroes who worked tirelessly at the 'city on the hill' and offers a glimpse of what they found," said Mark Schaming, the Museum's director of exhibitions who led the WTC collections effort. "Over many months, State Museum staff became acquainted with key recovery personnel and was granted unique access to this historic material. Everyone came to realize that many everyday items were now artifacts that took on added significance because of where they had been, what they had gone through and what they represented."

The objects for the exhibition come from the New York State Museum's large collection of objects, art, oral histories and memorial material from Ground Zero and the Fresh Kills Landfill. Many of these make up what is the nation's largest and most comprehensive permanent exhibition about the World Trade Center history and September 11 attacks, which is at the Museum. The World Trade Center: Rescue, Recovery and Response opened to the public in September 2002. The public is invited to visit this important exhibition at the Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens, one of the most unique destinations in Southern California. Overlooking San Clemente Pier, Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens brings unprecedented educational and cultural opportunities to southern Orange County. This beautiful, recently restored, 1928 estate of San Clemente founder, Ole Hanson, houses a permanent exhibit of historic photographs and documents detailing the development of Southern California. Four former bedrooms have been converted into galleries which house rotating exhibits from art houses and museums across the country. Musical, theatrical and literary programs are held on a regular basis in the main house and the magnificent courtyard is the perfect setting for the children's programming. Casa Romantica is quickly emerging as one of the most unique destinations in Southern California. Casa Romantica is located at 415 Avenida Granada, San Clemente, CA 92672. Hours of operation are Tuesday, 1 pm to 5 pm; Wednesday 10 am to 9 pm; and Thursday through Sunday, from 10 am to 5 pm. Admission is $6 adult and $3 student; military, police and fire department free with id. For further information, visit the Casa's website at www.casaromantica.org or call 949.498.2139.