The Seventeenth Anniversary of this fateful day is just a few weeks away. I had been wanting to go to the 9/11 memorial and Museum since it first opened back in September 11, 2011. I don't have any family members or anyone that I know, who were directly involved in that day, but like every other American, this day has stuck with me through out these 17 years. I was only 10 Years old when it happened, yet I still remember everything as if it was yesterday.
The 9/11 Memorial
We took the E train that leaves you right at the World trade centers site. Once you get off the subway train, you step foot into this beautiful mall. It's called Westfield World Trade Center. It has restaurants and stores and is absolutely stunning.
Designed by renowned Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, the design was inspired by the image of a dove being released from a child’s hands. The Oculus is designed in such a way that every September 11, at 10:28 AM, the sun will shine directly through the central skylight. This creates a symmetrical shaft of light that perfectly bisects the Oculus floor.
Once you walk out of Westfield, you cross the street and you're right at the Memorial Site. We went really early so there were a minimal amount of people. The moment you step foot on the land a wave of emotion comes over you. There was this peacefulness. This unexplainable sentiment. A mixture of calmness and sadness all at once.
The first thing you notice is the 104 Floor One World Trade center. It's absolutely stunning. Click here to read more about it.
North Pool / South Pool
We walked right up to the North Pool, where the north tower use to be.
Standing and looking out at these two huge squares on the ground, surrounded by trees. wrapped around a sea of names is so surreal. It's an unexplainable feeling being at this spot where thousands lost their lives so many years ago.
All you hear is silence. Everyone there is deep in thought. Filled with so much emotion. Wondering about the what ifs. About those that lost their lives, their family members, and friends. You hear whispers of people explaining what they were doing at that exact moment or how they found out.
You see some people placing flags or flowers inside the names, and you wonder if those we family members or just a random person paying their respects. There are people taking pictures of the memorial, of the names. Reading their names and wondering about that persons life.
It's hard to believe that life continued to go on around this exact spot where it once was stopped still. It feels as if you're on top of sacred land & that life stops. It's quiet and calm, and everyone or everything is moving at a slow pace.
The water falls and the fountains were turned off that day due to the wind and how cold it was.
In the (north/south) tower I was reading some names and read two different ladies names, and right next to each of their names was "and unborn child". That's where I broke down. When you're their you can't help but feel an immense amount of heart break. I cried for those mothers and cried for the lives of all those people.
In the (north/south) tower there was a white rose inside a name. When you look closer, the flower is in the name of a Fireman from Battalion 6.
The 9/11 Memorial is such a sacred area, and it stands for something in history. I was annoyed at seeing some people taking selfies and smiling or joking around. Please, when you're here pay your respects. Be courteous to those around you. Family members of those who passed might be there. Honor those fallen.
The Museum
My Personal Experience
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The outside of the museum is a weird rectangular square shape, that is covered in see through and crystallized glass. Once inside & you pass security, you start on this decent on a slanted slope that starts taking you underground. You come across two steel columns and steel shaped like a cross. You keep walking and you see original signs from the trade centers, as well as where the towers use to be.
You walk out onto an underground balcony overlooking the museum floor, some 40 feet below, and gaze out into a vast, nearly empty space punctuated by the Last Column—the final piece of steel hauled away from Ground Zero during cleanup. Weighing 60 tons and standing nearly 40 feet high, it’s still covered in spray-painted messages, tributes to the dead left by those who did the work.
To the left of the "Last Column", you see a three foot thick cement wall that managed to survive even after the towers fell. It keeps the Hudson River from submerging the museum underwater. On that level there are also artifacts from victims including civilians and First Responders.
When you continue walking, there is a wall with a quote that reads "No Day Shall Erase You From The Memory Of Time". The letters are made from the original steel from the Twin Towers. The blue tiles represent the different shades that people remember from that day before the towers were hit.
If you keep walking, you will be seventy feet underground standing on what rooted the Twin Towers.
I didn't take too many pictures while I was in the museum. I wanted to take everything in. The museum is 110,000 of exhibition space in the heart of the twin towers. There is so much to see and do, that even though I spent over three hours in the museum, I didn't feel as if I had enough time to see all of it.
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 are commemorated as visitors have the opportunity to learn about the lives of 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. - 911memorial.org
The museum has many different exhibits. They have the Cover Stories Exhibit. Over 30 cover stories from the moment when the Trade Center was built, to when the towers fell, even documenting on the new memorial site.
The toughest exhibit in the museum is the Memorial Exhibition. It honors the victims that perished on September 11th as well as the victims from the bombing in 1993. One one room you will hear recordings of family members talking about the victims. In another room, you will see a photo of all 2,983 victims along the wall.
There are also interactive touch screen tables where you can learn more about each victim and look up individual profiles with photos and stories provided by family members. Artifacts from victims are also located in this section.
The museum keeps going with more exhibits such as Witness At Ground Zero and Rebirth At Ground Zero. The exhibit hidden spaces with warning signs for kids where there are videos and photos of people jumping out of the buildings, recordings from voice mails, and flight attendants. Artifacts scattered everywhere.
The Historical Exhibit explains the events of 9/11. Its split into three parts. The events leading up the attacks, the events that took place that day, and the aftermath of that tragic day. In this area there are no pictures allowed, and it is recommending to keep quiet. For the hundreds of people that are in the area at once, no one speaks.
Here is where you get to meet the terrorists and learn all about their years-long journey to becoming pilots for a day and terrorists for eternity. You’ll hear a phone call from a man in the first tower to his mother letting her know that it wasn’t his tower that was hit and he’ll call her back later.
Walking through the 911 memorial is one of if not the most impactful experience of my life. I spent more than 3 hours touring, listening, reading and soaking in all the information and emotions. Yet, I don't believe it was enough. If you visit, I recommend taking the entire day, with no rush, to spend at the museum and memorial.
You get this overwhelming feeling of helplessness. How can this happen to innocent people? How can this happen to us? You get this wave of sadness. Sadness for the victims and their families, sadness for such a tragic feeling of loss. But, In the end, you get this immense passion of pride for your country and the United States. For everything we have over come in the last seventeen years. For how someone so cruel tried to destroy our beautiful Nation, yet we came together and are stronger because of it.
You can have a tour guide walk you through the museum, or you can can tour it alone. I opted to tour myself but you may choose to have a recorded guide that you can take along with you that goes into more detail.
HOURS OF OPERATION:
- 9/11 Memorial: 7:30 AM – 9:00 PM
- 9/11 Museum: Sunday – Thursday 9:00 AM – 8:00 PM Friday – Saturday 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM
- 9/11/2016: Open for 9/11 family members only 7:00 AM – 3:00 PM, and open to the public 3:00 PM – midnight for the viewing of the Tribute in Light.
MUSEUM ADMISSION PRICES:
- General Adult Admission: $24
- Adult Museum Admission + Tour: $44
- Adult Museum Admission + Memorial Tour: $39
- 9/11 Family Members: Free
- 9/11 Rescue and Recovery Workers: Free
- Active/Retired US Military: Free
- FDNY/NYPD/PAPD: $12
What were you doing on September 11, 2001?
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