In September 2016, Toledo Memorial Park dedicated a powerful tribute to those who answered the call on September 11, 2001. The 911 First Responders Memorial serves as a lasting symbol of remembrance and gratitude.
What Makes it Special
The centerpiece of the memorial is a surviving steel beam from the World Trade Center wreckage, brought to northwest Ohio in the spring of 2016.
Attached to the beam is a jib from a 1940s‐era Bucyrus Erie Crane—a nod to fire truck ladders—and at the end, a weighted cable holds a U.S. flag that once flew over the US Capitol.
The beam rests on a 70-yard reinforced concrete base, shaped like a bolt, standing nearly 10-feet-tall. Its alignment is precise and points just one degree south of due east, directly toward the site of the World Trade Center.
In 2017, the memorial was complemented with the addition of a custom cast bronze bell crafted by Verdin Bell Company. The bell weighs approximately 250 pounds and rings in the musical note of E. It was first rung on 9/11/2017 by the Sylvania Fire Department.
A Place for the Community
The memorial area includes 185 niches for first responders and their spouses or significant others, and more than one thousand graves for first responders and their immediate family members. The area offers both cremation and traditional burial options. Personalized markers and monuments help make the section a deeply personal place of remembrance.
Annual Remembrance
Each year on September 11, the community is invited to gather at this memorial for a ceremony honoring those who sacrificed their lives, and to remember the courage and commitment of first responders. The “Last Call” ritual used in ceremonies for fallen police officers or firefighters is the inspiration for the memorial’s name and is observed during the service.
Over the past 10 years, this memorial has become a touchstone for remembrance, a place for families and the community to reflect and pay respects. The presence of the tower-beam, the bell, the symbolic design and the annual gathering all work together to ensure the heroism and selflessness of first responders is never forgotten.
