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At long last, some measurable progress at ground zero

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There have been moments -- many moments -- when it seemed the rebuilding effort at the World Trade Center site might never be finished. But next month, to mark the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, a significant portion of the rebuilt area -- the long-awaited and much-altered memorial to the victims -- will finally open.

PHOTOS: ‘Reflecting Absence’: The September 11 Memorial

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Designed by architect Michael Arad and landscape architect Peter Walker, the memorial, as I make clear in this review, hasn’t escaped the deal-making and sometimes maddening course of compromise that has marked the rebuilding process as a whole.

But at its heart, the memorial has come through at least somewhat intact. And at ground zero, that is saying quite a bit.

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--Christopher Hawthorne

Above: The September 11 Memorial consists of two 30-foot deep pools in the footprint of the original Twin Towers. Credit: Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times

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