Photo: PATRICK T. FALLON / AFP / Getty Images
A 21-foot steel beam from the South Tower of the World Trade Center is traveling across the nation as part of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s “Steel Across America” tour, commemorating the upcoming 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. The beam, weighing 16,900 pounds, began its 10,500-mile journey in Lower Manhattan on Saturday, May 2, and will visit more than 20 states, including stops in California, Texas, Washington, D.C., and Colorado before returning to Ground Zero on Friday, September 11, 2026.
According to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, the tour is designed to bring a piece of Ground Zero to communities nationwide, ensuring that future generations remember the lives lost and the heroism displayed on 9/11. Foundation chairman and CEO Frank Siller said, “This tour is about ensuring that every generation can remember, and truly understand, what happened 25 years ago.” Siller founded the organization to honor his brother, Stephen Siller, a firefighter who died responding to the attacks.
The steel beam serves as a mobile memorial, making appearances at museums, sporting events, town squares, and the White House. On its recent stop in Denver, the beam was displayed at the Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum, where community members gathered for a ceremony led by retired FDNY Battalion Commander Jack Oehm and Stephen Siller Jr.The event honored the continuing legacy of service inspired by those who lost their lives on 9/11.
As reported by the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, the tour aims to connect generations by bringing an authentic relic from the World Trade Center to Americans too young to remember the attacks. The tour will conclude at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey before the beam returns to Ground Zero for the anniversary.
Moving forward, the foundation plans to continue its mission, including supporting families of first responders and service members, and delivering 343 mortgage-free homes this year to honor the 343 FDNY firefighters who died on 9/11. The “Steel Across America” tour remains a powerful symbol of remembrance and unity as the nation prepares to mark 25 years since the attacks.