Trinity Root

The last Bronze Root sculpture produced in my studio was the TRINITY ROOT, the first and only art/sculpture memorial near Ground Zero commemorating the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Permanently located at the corner of Wall Street and Broadway in Lower Manhattan, the TRINITY ROOT stands 20 feet high and consists of over 200 separate bronze castings of the historic ‘sycamore tree that saved St. Paul’s Chapel’ on that fateful day. Installed and dedicated on the four-year anniversary of the attacks, I simultaneously decided to transition to steel for the root forms.

Sculptor Steve Tobin was captivated by the story of a sycamore tree outside St. Paul’s Chapel at Trinity Church in Lower Manhattan, just steps from Ground Zero. When everything around the church was devastated on 9/11, the church remained miraculously protected, thanks to the sycamore tree that absorbed the shock and was uprooted in the process. Inspired by the tree’s story and the miraculous energy it represented, Tobin created the TRINITY ROOT, becoming the first substantial September 11 memorial. Its installation was celebrated in a ceremony in 2005.

Steve Tobin, known for his monumental bronze Roots sculptures and other large-scale works, aimed to commemorate and honor the victims of 9/11 and the unwavering spirit of the volunteers and rescue workers who supported St. Paul’s during its eight-month Ground Zero relief ministry. The completed sculpture was dedicated and installed at Trinity Church on September 10, 2005.