Now here's an idea that's about time.

A group of esteemed New York scholars has proposed that a world-class history museum
 take its rightful place at the site of the city's most significant historical 
event: Ground Zero.

Historian Mike Wallace (no, not the guy from "60 Minutes") is leading the charge to
 memorialize the events of Sept. 11 by putting them into historical perspective.

"Obviously a memorial will focus on the events of that day," said Wallace, author of
 "Gotham," a history book that centers on societal trends rather than places and
 dates. "But we need something right next to it to set that historic day into a
 larger context."

Paraphrasing that old cliche that those who don't know history are condemned to
 repeat its mistakes, Wallace believes that those who don't know history can't make
 sense of the future.

"Sept. 11 was an enormous blow, but New York City is a colossal organism," Wallace
 said. "And colossal organisms can not be knocked off course by even a large
 catastrophe."

New York has come back from a lot worse. During the American Revolution, for
 example, the city was defeated, burned to the ground and occupied by enemy troops
 for seven years. And in 1835, a fire burned everything south of Wall Street. And
 during the Civil War, the draft riots tested the very notion of civil order.

Yet in every case, Wallace said, the city came back even stronger. "That's a
 powerful message," he said.

The new museum would be created by the merger of the New-York Historical Society and
 the Museum of the City of New York -- two under-appreciated uptown facilities.
 Although neither museum could be reached for comment, both are apparently amenable
 to a merger, especially if it could lead to a new home in the city's historic
 crucible, Lower Manhattan.

On June 5, Wallace and 12 top historians sent Mayor Bloomberg a letter outlining a
 "full, bells-and-whistles" museum. The mayor has not commented, but, let's face it,
 the guy owes something to the Museum of the City of New York even since he
 unceremoniously scuttled sweetheart deal to move into the Tweed Courthouse.

And, according to Wallace, he owes something to history, too.

"New York is always trying to move past its history," Wallace said. "But the past
 lives. And if Sept. 11 really was the first day of the rest of our lives, we won't
 be prepared if we don't know where we've been."

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gersh.kuntzman@verizon.net