National September 11 Memorial & Museum
Wikipedia | Google | Google Images | Flickr
used to stand, and underneath the new One World Trade Center.The National September 11 Memorial is a tribute to the almost 3,000 victims of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and also to those killed in the WTC bombing in 1993. The memorial is made up of two large reflecting pools with waterfalls, each covering as much as an acre. They are the largest man-made waterfalls in North America. The two pools lie at the exact spots where the Twin Towers once rose towards the sky. The design by architect, Michael Arad, and landscaper, Peter Walker, was selected from a global competition that received more than 5,200 entries.
The name of every person who died in 2001 and 1993 is inscribed into panels that fringe the pools. They remind visitors of the attacks and of what resulted in the largest amount of deaths of rescue personnel in the history of the United States.
The National September 11 Memorial Museum is located a short distance from the memorial. It is the largest institution for examining and researching the events and its aftermath in the country. The museum documents what happened and continues to follow up on the consequences today. Located in the heart of the World Trade Center site, it covers 110,000 square feet and tells the story of 9/11 through archives, testimonials by survivors' family members, multimedia presentations, and collections of artifacts. The artifacts – there are more than 10,000 of them – are particularly striking, because they are essential to represent the story. These items include the remains of the Twin Tower windows, belts from airplanes, shoes from a victim, twisted metal that used to be the frame of the skyscrapers, and so on. In addition to thousands of items, there are also 25,000 pictures, almost 2,000 stories about victims provided by family and friends and more than 500 hours of video.
History
Construction began in March 2006. On the same day family members of victims and other citizens gathered at the site to protest. They wanted the memorial to be above ground, instead of two pools. The designers and protesters eventually came to a consensus and construction carried on as planned.
The memorial opened to the public on September 12, 2011, one day after the events’ tenth anniversary.
The 9/11 Memorial Museum, officially opened in May 2014, is built on the top of the Sphere, a globe that used to stand in a large pool between the Twin Towers. The museum’s dedication in 2014 was attended by many important people, such as President Barack Obama, former President Bill Clinton, New York’s mayor Bill de Blasio, and former mayors Dinkins, Giuliana, and Bloomberg.
Visiting the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum
The 9/11 Memorial is open to the public every day from 7.30 AM to 9.00 PM. Admission is free for everyone. It is suggested to spend at least an hour there, taking the time to walk around, read the name, and just reflect.The 9/11 Memorial Museum is open Monday through Friday and is free to visit on Tuesday from 5.00 PM until closing time. On all other times, general admission is $ 24 USD for adults, $ 18 USD for seniors, veterans, and students, and $ 15 USD for children between 7 and 17 years old.
The World Trade Center site is located in Lower Manhattan. The site is border by West Street, Fulton Street, Greenwich Street, and Liberty Street. It is recommended to use public transport to get there. The New York City subway system is excellent.
Similar Landmarks
Located on Ground Zero, the 9/11 Memorial and Museum are unique in the world. There are, however, other important war and victim monuments to be found elsewhere in the world, such as The Motherland Calls in Volgograd, Russia, the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C., the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, and the ANZAC Parade in Canberra, Australia.Do you see any omissions, errors or want to add information to this page? Sign up.
Author: bramreusen. Last updated: Jan 16, 2015