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9/11 remembrance tour stops in Houston
Tunnels to Towers brought a 16,000-pound piece of remembrance from 9/11 to Houston in honor of the upcoming 25th anniversary. FOX 26's Angie Rodriguez gives a look into the "Steel Across America" tour.
HOUSTON - A powerful and emotional piece of American history has arrived at Space Center Houston.
What we know:
The Tunnel to Towers "Steel Across America" tour made its 11th stop in Space City, putting a massive, 16,000-pound steel beam recovered from the World Trade Center South Tower on display for the public.
The tour comes ahead of a major milestone for the nation.
A Mission to 'Never Forget'
What they're saying:
For those transporting the artifact, the cross-country journey is deeply personal. Among them is Stephen Siller Jr., the son of fallen 9/11 firefighter Stephen Siller, after whom the Tunnel to Towers Foundation is named.
"For us to be traveling the country with this steel, I mean, it is overwhelming. It's huge. It's an undertaking," Siller Jr. said. "This is 21 feet, 16,900 pounds. There's a reason we're doing that. And that is our mission of never forgetting."
The Story Behind the Lodged Pepsi Can
The backstory:
The beam contains eerie, frozen-in-time details from the construction of the World Trade Center towers—including a Pepsi can that remains lodged inside the wreckage.
Siller Jr., who was just nine months old when his father lost his life on September 11, shared the emotional moment he first discovered the artifact.
"It was the first time in my life that I had seen rubble from the World Trade Center," Siller Jr. recalled. "I wasn't there to see the rubble at Ground Zero. When I walked up to it, I was so overwhelmed. I ran my hand across the entirety of the beam... And as I was doing that, my hand brushed up against this Pepsi can, which you can see lodged into this beam."
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9/11 Remembrance: Victims, heroes remembered in NY, Houston area
Sept. 11, 2025 marked 24 years since the 9/11 terrorist attack that killed almost 3,000 people. Memorial events were held in New York. Meanwhile, FOX 26's Angie Rodriguez attended an honorary stair climb in Sugar Land.
He explained that the can was likely left behind by a construction worker decades ago when the building was first erected.
"A construction worker put that in there when they were pouring the cement in there. The steel beam never should have been exposed," Siller Jr. said. "We were never supposed to see this Pepsi can. We were never supposed to see the steel beam. And unfortunately, now it's such a massive part of our history. This beam represents so much."
Where the Tour Goes Next
What's next:
Houston is just one early stop on a massive, patriotic journey. The steel beam is scheduled to travel over 10,000 miles, visiting more than 35 cities across 21 different states.
- June 2nd - Austin, TX
- June 3rd - Texarkana, TX
- June 5th - Arlington, TX
- June 9th - Fort Worth, TX
- June 12th - Oklahoma City, OK
- June 17th - Scottsdale, AZ
- June 23rd - San Diego, CA
- June 26th - Huntington Beach, CA
- June 28th - West Los Angeles, CA
- June 30th - Los Angeles, CA
- July 1st - Simi Valley, CA
- July 10th - San Francisco, CA
- July 17th - Seattle, WA
- July 23rd - Salt Lake City, UT
- July 28th - Keystone, ND
- August 1st - Denver, CO
- August 5th - Kansas City, MO
- August 8th - St. Louis, MO
- August 12th - Chicago, IL
- August 19th - Indianapolis, IN
- August 22nd - Cincinnati, OH
- September 1st - West Point, NY
- September 3rd - Boston, MA
- September 9th - Washington, DC
- September 11th, Brooklyn, NY
The Source: Steel Across America.