On September 11, 2011, the long-awaited memorial to the 2,982 victims of the 9/11 attacks was dedicated and, on the following day, opened to the public, officially unveiling the two nearly one-acre-sized footprints set one story deep into the plaza in the exact places where both of the Twin Towers once stood. Four waterfalls spring from each of the two footprints' four sides, creating a serene and reflective sound that counterbalance the noise and bustle of the city around them. Each waterfall is framed with bronze plates with the names of the victims from each tower, organized by category: first responder, worker, and so on. The names of each section of the Memorial follow the headings below:
Framing the North Pool:
World Trade Center: Those who worked in or were visiting the North Tower (1 World Trade Center) on 9/11
Flight 11: The crew and passengers of American Airlines Flight 11
February 26, 1993: Those who were killed in the February 26, 1993, bombing of the World Trade Center
Framing the South Pool:
World Trade Center: Those who worked in or were visiting the South Tower (2 World Trade Center) or other areas of the WTC complex on 9/11
Flight 175: The crew and passengers of United Airlines Flight 175
Pentagon: Those who worked in or were visiting the Pentagon on 9/11
Flight 77: The crew and passengers of American Airlines Flight 77
Flight 93: The crew and passengers of United Airlines Flight 93
First Responders: Those who received the 9/11 Heroes Medal of Valor awarded by the White House on September 9, 2005
Enter the 9/11 Memorial at the intersection of Liberty Street and Greenwich Street or at the intersection of Liberty Street and West Street.
The 9/11 Museum Requires Tickets and Visitors are urged to purchase them online. Purchasing tickets in advance allows you to visit the 9/11 Memorial Museum at your preferred date and time.
The National September 11 Memorial Museum serves as the country’s principal institution for examining the implications of the events of 9/11, documenting the impact of those events and exploring the continuing significance of September 11, 2001.
The Museum’s 110,000 square feet of exhibition space is located within the archaeological heart of the World Trade Center site—telling the story of 9/11 through multimedia displays, archives, narratives and a collection of monumental and authentic artifacts. The lives of every victim of the 2001 and 1993 attacks will be commemorated as visitors have the opportunity to learn about the men, women, and children who died.
The monumental artifacts of the Museum provide a link to the events of 9/11, while presenting intimate stories of loss, compassion, reckoning, and recovery that are central to telling the story of the attacks and the aftermath.
The Museum offers both a Historical Exhibition and Memorial Exhibition.
Historical Exhibition
In the Historical Exhibition visitors learn about first responders arriving to Ground Zero shortly after the attack.
Part 1: The Day-9/11
The opening section of the historical exhibition presents the events of the day as they unfolded on September 11, 2001. Visitors learn how the normalcy of a beautiful late summer day was overtaken by a sense of shock, disbelief and increasing horror as America came under attack. Using artifacts, images, video, first-person testimony, and real-time audio recordings from 9/11, the exhibition provides insight into the human drama underway within the hijacked airplanes, the Twin Towers, and the Pentagon; the courageous actions of first responders and civilians assisting one another, and the experiences of people near and far from the attack sites, as day turned to night and our collective sense of history had changed: there would now forever be a "before 9/11" and an "after 9/11".
Part 2: Before 9/11
After learning about the day of 9/11, visitors enter a series of galleries that chronicle what led up to the attacks. The exhibition examines the World Trade Center as a symbol and a target. It then addresses the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the evolution of the terrorist network al-Qaeda. The exhibition features trial evidence, oral testimony and archival news footage.
Part 3: After 9/11
The culminating chapter of the historical exhibition takes visitors from the immediate aftermath of 9/11 to the present moment, exploring the character and challenges of the post-9/11 world. From presentations on collective grief, global responses, and the search for the missing in the immediate days and weeks after the attacks, the exhibition will explore the prodigious efforts of recovery and rebuilding at the three attack sites, describing innumerable acts of compassion, volunteerism and public service. A concluding presentation presents the ongoing questions arising out of 9/11, and the evolving nature of how we understand its significance and place in history.
Memorial Exhibition
The Memorial Exhibition commemorate the lives of those who perished on September 11, 2001 and February 26, 1993 and provides visitors with the opportunity to learn about the men, women, and children who died. Visitors enter the exhibition along a corridor in which portrait photographs of the nearly 3,000 victims form a "Wall of Faces," intended to communicate the scale of human loss. Nearby, interactive tables allow visitors to discover additional information about each person, including additional photographs, remembrances by family and friends, artifacts, and the location of individual names on the Memorial plaza. Rotating selections of personal artifacts are also featured. An adjoining chamber presents profiles of individual victims in a dignified sequence through photographs, biographical information, and audio recordings.
Rounding out the Museum experience is Foundation Hall, a room of massive scale and soaring height. Here, the "slurry wall," a surviving retaining wall of the original World Trade Center that withstood the devastation of 9/11, is presented as a testament to survival and determination. Against this backdrop is the "Last Column," 36-feet high and covered with mementoes, memorial inscriptions, and missing posters placed there by ironworkers, rescue personnel, and others. Removed during the ceremony marking the close of the recovery effort at Ground Zero, the column, laid prone, was draped with an American flag and escorted by honor guard. Standing tall once again, the Last Column encourages reflection on the foundations of resilience, hope, and community with which we might build our collective future.
Transit
As with most things in New York City, the MTA provides the best way to reach both the memorial and museum. Subway lines with stops at Fulton, Rector, and Chambers Street, Brooklyn Bridge, City Hall, and Port Authority ferries and PATH train service are your best bets to reach the site.
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