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Camera Tracks World Trade Center Rebuilding, Five Minutes at a Time

By Julie Shapiro | October 11, 2010 3:28pm

By Julie Shapiro

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

LOWER MANHATTAN — A camera perched in the graveyard of St. Paul's Chapel has snapped a picture of the World Trade Center site every five minutes since the spring of 2002.

The camera — which has taken 800,000-plus photos that trace the site from a pile of rubble to a bustling construction zone — has withstood heat waves, blizzards and rainstorms, capturing the change of seasons in the foreground and the changing site behind.

It's all part of "Project Rebirth," a documentary about the aftermath of 9/11 that combines survivors' stories with time-lapse photography from 14 cameras around Ground Zero.

Although the film is complete, the camera at St. Paul's chapel is still snapping photos — 12 an hour, 288 each day — for inclusion in the 9/11 museum.

The project was initially envisioned as a six- or seven-year project, but the rebuilding of the World Trade Center has taken much longer than that. Even as deadlines get pushed, Brian Rafferty, chairman of Project Rebirth, said he is determined to finish the job he started.

"We're going to keep going until they're done," he said.

Housed in a sturdy tan box that protects it from the elements, the camera often attracts curious onlookers, so on Monday Project Rebirth organizers installed an informational sign.

"We want people to understand what our project is about," said Rafferty.

The sign describes the 35 mm Mitchell camera and explains that the footage is going to be part of a film, the proceeds of which will support the Project Rebirth Center, which will study how to help first responders and survivors of traumatic events.

Directed by Jim Whitaker, the film will be released in time for the 10-year anniversary of the attacks — a short version is already on display at the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site on Vesey Street.