9/11 Memorial and Museum

The events of 9/11 changed not only life in New York City forever but also the way we travel around the world. The 9/11 Memorial and Museum is the national focal point for documenting what happened, exploring the aftermath, and remembering all those impacted by the events of that day. It also explores the 1993 World Trade Center bombing which took place where the Twin Towers once stood.

The design of the museum really highlights the scale of this tragedy; the entrance winds down to the bedrock and the huge slurry wall, which remained intact. The museum has acquired over 70,000 artifacts to date; from multi-ton steel beams that held the towers up, to paperwork from the offices and boots worn by recovery workers, each has a story to tell. The exhibitions are also thoughtfully curated and offer different perspectives on the events, some are more factual whilst others are more personal. 

The memorial section of the site centres around two 30ft-deep, cubic waterfalls where the towers once stood; a tribute to the 2,977 killed on September 11th 2001 at the World Trade Center, at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania, as well as the six people killed in the World Trade Center bombing on February 26th 1993. The names inscribed on the bronze parapets of the waterfalls are arranged so friends and colleagues appear alongside each other. A single white rose is placed beside each name every year to mark what would have been their birthday. Amongst the 400 swamp white oak trees is the “Survivor Tree”; this pear tree was severely damaged but nursed back to health and returned to the World Trade Center site in 2010. In 2019, the Memorial Glade opened and is dedicated to the first responders, volunteers, local residents and many more who are still battling or have died from the exposure to toxins in the aftermath of the attacks.