The Pile - Definition and Overview

"The Pile", Manhattan

The Pile was the term coined by the rescue workers to describe the tons of wreckage left from the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks on the World Trade Center. They avoided the incorrect use of "ground zero," which describes the epicenter of a bomb explosion. The area is usually referred to as the World Trade Center or World Trade Center site by most New Yorkers as the slang terms are considered offensive.

Workers worked day and night to clear the wreckage and recover colleagues killed during the attacks. The site was officially cleared around Memorial Day, 2002, about 4 months earlier than expected.

The last standing piece of building steel, which was part of the South Tower, was draped with an American flag and carried out during a ceremony marking the last day of the recovery work. It was a symbol for all those lost whose bodies were never recovered or identified. It will be used to construct the bow of a new San Antonio-class amphibious assault ship, USS New York (which is specifically named for the state, not the city).

See World Trade Center site for reconstruction news.