The National 9-11 Memorial Museum

When I visited New York City this summer to attend some family functions, a few of the places I wanted to see that were not yet open when I lived there was the One World Trade Center Observatory (click here to see that post), and the 9-11 Memorial Museum. I have written a 9-11 blog post every year since my blog began in 2007, as it was a day I will always remember and an anniversary I feel should remain as a solemn tribute to those lost. The museum commemorates the September 11 terrorist attacks of 2001, in which 2,507 civilians, 343 firefighters, 72 law enforcement officers, 55 military personnel were killed, and also the World Trade Center bombing of 1993, which killed six civilians. (All photos and photo collages in this post will enlarge for easier viewing if clicked on.)

The 9-11 Memorial Museum is located at the World Trade Center site, the former location of the Twin Towers, which were destroyed by the terrorist attacks. There are Memorial Waterfalls in the approximate footprints of the destroyed towers, and the names of those that perished in the towers are inscribed around the waterfalls (click here to see a post about the Memorial Waterfalls).  The Museum opened on May 21, 2014, and has been visited by millions of people so far. My husband and I spent six hours in the museum, as we wanted to read every placard, listen to all the recordings, watch all of the videos, and spend time looking at all the artifacts.  I would suggest if you want to visit the museum someday that you purchase your admission ticket(s) online,  and visit early in the day.

All photos in this collage taken of photos inside the 9-11 museum

The Twin Towers were a large part of the New York City skyline, and over 50,000 people came to work in their 12 million square feet of office space, including my husband who worked in 7 World Trade Center. Many New Yorkers watched the towers being built in the late 1960s and early 1970s, never dreaming they would see them destroyed that fateful day in 2001.  I know there are still people who cannot bear to return to Lower Manhattan because of the traumatic memories of that day, and I respect their feelings.  I also know there were many, many controversies about the museum during the years of its construction and opening. The tragic events of 9-11, and its aftermath, left heartaches and turmoil for the families involved and many of them could not agree on how the tragedy should be displayed and memorialized.
Although I spent much of my visit to the 9-11 Museum in tears, I was very grateful I visited it.  There will soon be a generation of adults who were not yet born when these events happened, and I believe the museum will be a future reminder of what was, and what was lost, and the innocent victims who went to work one day and never returned home.  We must never forget!

Most of the 9-11 Museum is 70 feet below ground, and the first objects one sees as you ride down the escalators are two tridents that remained standing from the Twin Towers.

The story and timeline of the events of 9-11 are explained in placards and the sights of bent and shredded steel that once comprised the towers shows the impact of their destruction.

There are many exhibits to see, videos to watch, and voices to hear of people involved in the events. A portion of the museum does not allow photography, which I did not realize at first until a young visitor told me so.

Some of the building artifacts recovered--the brass World Trade Center buildings signs, a portion of the antenna that was on tower two, an elevator motor, one of the fire engines destroyed as the building fell.

The large slurry wall that holds back the Hudson River and the last standing column.

The Vesey Street stairs, which are now called the "Survivor Stairs."   They were located in the northernmost section of the World Trade Center Plaza. To reach these stairs to get away from the towers on 9-11, many survivors had to run across the plaza, dodging falling debris from the North Tower.  When my husband worked in Tower 7,  I often waited for him at the bottom of these steps so that we could go home together, so it was poignant for me to see them again in the museum.

Another poignant sight for me was this wall, that contains a quote from Virgil.

The blue squares make up a mosaic of different shades blue. They represent the beautiful blue sky that most New Yorkers remember that made up the sky on the morning of September 11, before the terrorist attacks began.  Upon closer examination, this wall, on the lower right, was a plaque that states: "Reposed behind this wall lies the remains of many who perished on the World Trade Center site on September 11, 2001."  These are the remains of those that could not be identified by today's methods.  It is a very solemn sight to see and I stopped to say a prayer.

 In this area, there are also walls filled with the photos of all the people who were lost on 9-11, and touch screens to read the story of each person.  There is a darkened room in which you can sit and hear a recording of the names of each person and memories about them from family members. My husband and I spent a lot of time here looking up the people we knew who perished that day and said a prayer for each of them.

The 9-11 Memorial Museum also contains uplifting stories about how New York City and our nation came together in unity to remember and honor those lost, and to revitalize patriotism.   Click on to enlarge the photos mosaic above to read two of them.

I was happy to see that the entire World Trade Center area was thriving again.  It was full of visitors and new construction that was in progress and already completed.  Life and progress go on, but it is also good to look back and remember. I felt that the National 9-11 Memorial Museum allowed me to do just that. It was a very powerful experience.  

The world today is full of tragic events--famine, wars, persecution, prejudice, poverty, and abuse. If only we could all work together, each and every day in our best way to make the world a better place to conquer hate and evil.  A dream perhaps, but as Mahatma Gandhi once said: "Be the change you wish to see in the world."  It is up to each and every one of us!