National 9-11 Memorial Museum

Twenty-one years ago today, I remember driving to work. It was to a more distant office that year so there was more time to listen to news on the radio. Broadcasters were trying to fill in a ‘breaking news’ story after the first plane hit the North Tower. Was it some kind of horrible accident? How could that happen on such a clear, calm day? Stay tuned.

9/11 Memorial and Museum,

New York (13 December 2021)

The building is merely an impressive pavilion since all it

does is direct visitors to the escalators that take them well

below ground…to the vast space that houses all there is to see.

Meanwhile Beck was home with a crew of painters who were finishing our kitchen renovation. She’ll always remember how they all stopped to watch on the bedroom TV as the second tower was struck and then local networks reported the Pentagon crash. That was too close to home and painters then excused themselves and left early. The entire nation had entered a new scary time.

The Oculus, Interior (13 December 2021)

Right next to the Museum is the stunning building that is a transportation hub with a retail concourse above it. The former World Trade Center Terminal has been restored in grand style. Commuter rail service from New Jersey and city subways all converge here. Retail businesses fill the spaces and keep the traffic moving.

Thirteen years after the towers fell, on May 15, 2014, President Obama dedicated the National 9/11 Memorial Museum. Six days later, the Museum was open to the public.

9/11 Memorial and Museum,

New York (13 December 2021)

The museum is deep underground. For me, that was a significant aspect of this experience. The great square here is the footprint of the North Tower. Inside are exhibits and remembrances.

This is the sixth and should be the last time I have something to show or say about the event. In 2011, on the tenth anniversary, I posted old pictures of the soaring towers to encourage scanning and updating old images. As the three national memorial sites were completed, there were posts from the Pentagon in 2014, the World Trade Center in 2015 and the Flight 93 site in Shanksville, PA in 2021. In 2018, the anniversary post came from Arlington National Cemetery and was more of a lament on the endless wars that followed the attack.

Foundation Hall, 9/11 Memorial and Museum,

New York (13 December 2021)

Beside the North Tower footprint is Foundation Hall. On the right is the giant concrete slurry wall that holds back the waters of the Hudson River. Its construction dates to the earliest excavations for the World Trade Center in the mid-60’s. It survived the collapse of the towers and remains a symbol of strength and resilience.

At the center is the Last Column, the final piece of steel removed from Ground Zero. Recovery workers covered the 36-foot girder with inscriptions when its removal on May 30, 2002 marked the official end of the recovery period.

9/11 Memorial and Museum,

New York (13 December 2021)

Memorial Hall is the vast space between the footprints of the Twin Towers. Using steel recovered from the site, an artist forged a quote from Virgil – “No day shall erase you from the memory of time.” Surrounding the quote are 2,983 paper panels, each a different wavelength of sky blue, there to represent the lives lost on 9/11 and the earlier 1993 bombing.

9/11 Memorial and Museum,

New York (13 December 2021)

There are permanent and temporary rotating exhibits of photography and artwork. The South Tower space includes ‘In Memoriam,’ a space dedicated to the victims of the attack and the earlier bombing in 1993. The North Tower space prohibits photography and details the story of the attack. It is still unsettling and I had absolutely no interest in making images there.

Back to the Surface

9/11 Memorial and Museum,

New York (13 December 2021)