National 9/11 Memorial & Museum
On May 15, 2014, President Barack Obama and 9/11 Memorial Chairman Michael R. Bloomberg held a ceremony to dedicate the 9/11 Memorial Museum. On May 21, 2014, it was officially opened to the public. Since then, the Museum has accommodated visitors from all 50 states and more than 175 countries.
Visitors access the Museum via the Memorial’s aboveground entrance pavilion. The Pavilion, designed by Snhetta, acts as a link between the remembrance of previous events and the promise of regeneration via repair. Below ground, architects Davis Brody Bond created Museum rooms that honor the force of location while highlighting the World Trade Center’s original archaeological relics. Click here for more info
The tiered descent of the Museum allows visitors to see into the massive hole of the old World Trade Center complex. Preservationists, survivors, and other campaigners battled hard after 9/11 to safeguard the World Trade Center site and its archaeological artifacts. Typically, sites aren’t considered for the National Register of Historic Places until they’ve been historically significant for at least 50 years. However, after being deemed “exceptionally important in the history of the United States as the place of events that directly and profoundly touched the lives of millions of American citizens,” the World Trade Center site became eligible in February 2004.
The Survivors’ Stairs, one of these historical relics, may be found at the end of the ramp. This stairway, located at the edge of the raised World Trade Center Plaza, offered an unimpeded escape for individuals leaving the site on September 11, 2001. The steps were intended to be demolished after 9/11. Still, they were preserved during the government examination of the site’s historic assets. Visitors ascend the stairs that took hundreds of survivors to safety on September 11, 2001, as they reach the main display and education level.
At the location where the Twin Towers once stood, the 9/11 Memorial Museum allows visitors to learn about the history of the 9/11 attacks and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. The Museum’s dramatic combination of architecture, archaeology, and history gives an unparalleled interaction with the tale of the assaults, their aftermath, and the individuals who lived.
Every year on September 11, the relatives of 9/11 victims assemble at the 9/11 Memorial plaza for a ceremony. First, the 2,983 men, women, and children who died in the September 11 attacks and the World Trade Center bombing on February 26, 1993, are read out. Then, six minutes of silence are observed at the exact times when each of the World Trade Center buildings was hit, when each tower collapsed, and at the same periods when the Pentagon was attacked and when United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in Pennsylvania.
The National 9/11 Memorial & Museum may be reached at (212) 312-8800 for further information.