9/11 Memorial

[nycgirl]

Yesterday I visited the new 9/11 Memorial to pay my respects to those who lost their lives. After going through airport-level security, I made my way to the enormous waterfalls that sit within the footprints where the Twin Towers once stood.



Surrounding the waterfalls are bronze parapets etched with the names of the nearly 3,000 people who were killed during the attacks of 9/11 at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and Pennsylvania, as well as the six people killed during the WTC bombing in 1993.



The falling waters created a peaceful sound and they shimmered prettily in the sunlight. The image of the waters falling into the pool and and further into a deep abyss was sobering, however.





Instead of listing the victims’ names alphabetically, the names were grouped according to where the victims died and also according to relationships and affiliations. One example of the thought that went into this is the placement of the names of two brothers from separate firefighting companies. One brother’s name was placed last in his company and the other name was placed at the beginning of his company, so that their names could be grouped with their respective companies, but still be placed side by side. Strangers who had just met but spent their last moments together were also placed side by side. It was a long and painstaking process in which surviving relatives were closely involved.

Seeing all the names really drives home the enormity of the loss of life.

[bixaorellana]

Oh my goodness, NYCGirl. This is so profoundly moving to just see on the screen, I can't imagine how you kept your composure seeing it in real life.

I've never followed any of the stories, controversies, plans, etc. for the monument, so I'm getting to see it with no preconceptions. Your pictures and captions explain it perfectly. The part about the names is just heartbreaking. What a delicate way to handle it.

[Deleted]

It looks like a very moving place, but the "airport level" security would spoil it all for me. What ever happened to the "land of the free"?

It seems as though everything these days is subject to extreme security. I do not want to live in such a world.

[cheerypeabrain]

An emotive experience indeed, thank you for the photographs...I watched the memorial on TV in 2011 and found it difficult to judge the scale of the waterfalls, but your photographs show just how impressive they are...they look immense. I didn't realise how much care had been taken over the placing of peoples' names either. Very moving.

[Deleted]

Thank you for this.
I share Kerouac's sentiment on the security.

[nycgirl]

I can understand the need for airtight security when it first opened for the 10th anniversary 9/11, since the authorities had credible information about a terrorist threat. However, I hope that the security eventually relaxes, because the memorial, with its rows of trees and flower beds, would make such a wonderful public space.

[bixaorellana]

I just looked at the thread again and so admire your presentation. One thing that struck me on this second viewing was the great variety of last name origins on the parapets, something you caught beautifully with your camera angles.

Surely the designers of the memorial envisioned it as a public space, so it's a shame to have such tight security. I don't know, though. Oklahoma City airport has more stringent security than any other airport I've used in the US, presumably because of the bombing of the federal building in that city in 1995.

[nycgirl]

The memorial plaza is located in the 16-acre World Trade Center complex, currently undergoing major construction. The ambitious projects include several skyscrapers and a transportation hub.

The asymmetrical glass building in the background is the entrance to the Memorial Museum, set to be completed by the 11th anniversary of the attacks. It will extend several floors below ground into the original foundations of the Twin Towers and will include both monumental artifacts and small remembrances. One exhibit will feature recordings of surviving family members paying tribute to their lost loved ones. (That part will probably be too gut-wrenching for me to handle.)







1 WTC (formerly called "Freedom Tower") will be the tallest building in the U.S upon completion. It's radio antenna will reach a height of 1,776 feet (a reference to the year America declared its independence). It's designed for optimum safety and sustainability.





Visitors must pass construction areas going to and from the memorial. The building in the background is 4 WTC.

[nycgirl]

Jan 10, 2012 16:27:41 GMT bixaorellana said:

I just looked at the thread again and so admire your presentation. One thing that struck me on this second viewing was the great variety of last name origins on the parapets, something you caught beautifully with your camera angles.

Thank you, Bixa. It struck me, too, looking some of the sections of names what a far-reaching tragedy it was, because it was clear that many of the victims were international employees and visitors.

It was also poignant when I noticed a woman's name followed by the words "and her unborn child." Heartbreaking.

[nycgirl]

A couple of blocks from the memorial is the museum's preview site. It contains this model depicting what the completed World Trade Center will look like.



Artifacts at the small site include this sculpture, made from steel recovered from the wreckage.



This twisted piece of steel taken from Ground Zero highlights the terrible destruction of the attacks.



After 9/11, this replica of the Statue of Liberty mysteriously appeared outside of the Engine 54 firehouse, which had lost 15 men. Over the following months, the public decorated it with flags, photos, condolence notes, and other mementos. It is now part of the museum's collection, donated in memory of the firefighters who lost their lives.

[fumobici]

Great report and I actually quite like the memorial. Pity it's cordoned off from the city, I'll never go see it as long as it isn't a public space. The idea of a memorial structure behind a security perimeter strikes me as somehow perverse. Looks less and less likely "they hate us for our freedoms"; we're doing our best it seems to take that reason from them.

[Deleted]

Jan 11, 2012 5:08:04 GMT fumobici said:

Great report and I actually quite like the memorial. Pity it's cordoned off from the city, I'll never go see it as long as it isn't a public space. The idea of a memorial structure behind a security perimeter strikes me as somehow perverse. Looks less and less likely "they hate us for our freedoms"; we're doing our best it seems to take that reason from them.

Well worded FB,my sentiments exactly.
Maybe one day it will be made into a public space. I hope so.

[bixaorellana]

No one hates "airport level security" more than I, but it doesn't keep me from flying to where I need or want to go. By the same token, it seems a shame to let overly beefy security deter us from visiting this sensitively designed and beautifully executed memorial. Perhaps the sheer number of people wanting to see it might convince whatever agency that decided on such strict security to relax it somewhat.

[Deleted]

Perhaps this is not the appropriate thread to discuss this but,since the issue is being commented on in every other post...
The whole idea of "airport security" as we have come to know it, is a joke.
If anyone wanted to do" something" at this site,they could, just as they pretty much can anywhere if they put their minds to it.
I respect the sanctity of the memorial and what it honors and represents.
Being a native New Yorker,this obviously is extremely sentimental and sensitive to me.
I feel as though by keeping it under such tight "security" we as Americans have defeated the concept of freedom and what Kerouac mentioned is "the land of the free".
I went with my husband to visit "ground zero" a little after the one year anniversary of the event. There was lax security surrounding the area,at best.We were able to freely walk about with little or no discernible security present except in areas that were not safe because they were a safety hazard (where one could trip and fall etc.).

Again,thank you NYC girl for taking the time to photograph and post this for us.

[nycgirl]

Well, I have to say again, at the 10th anniversary ceremony there was a very credible threat to the memorial. There were thousands of mourning relatives gathered there for the ceremony along with decorated heroes and every politician from Mayor Bloomberg to President Obama. Meanwhile, suspicious activities involving stolen vans and bomb materials were going on in the city. I had no desire to be near the memorial that day, or anywhere downtown for that matter, tight security or not.

But having said that, things have calmed down considerably, and I hope it eventually becomes a public space. I recognize the need to protect potential targets, but it's sad to see a beautiful outdoor space under lock and key.

Thanks for your comments, everyone.

[bixaorellana]

When the focus of the thread veered away from the memorial itself onto security, I neglected to tell you how much I enjoyed your further coverage of the area. Again, your pictures and commentary make it easy to envision it all.

1 WTC will be a gorgeous building upon completion!

NYCGirl, photographically speaking, your last picture in #7 -- the one of the construction site -- is really wonderful.

[Deleted]

I can indeed imagine certain days warranting increased security. After all, this is something we live with in Paris all the time -- sometimes certain streets are blocked off and sometimes they are not.

But it is clear that this particularly symbolic place representing freedom needs to be as free as possible, or else it is all a farce. After all, terrorists can blow up Macy's or Times Square at the drop of a hat if they really want to -- all you need is one big truck driving down the street, for example -- so it is rather risible to overdo it at Ground Zero.

[lola]

Beautiful report, nycgirl. Thank you for that. The Liberty statue is particularly affecting; I always felt worst about the firefighters somehow.

Wasn't this a glorious weekend in NYC? We were downtown, too.

The security sounds like so many barn doors slamming with a backbeat of distant hoofs.

[nycgirl]

Yes, you came during the perfect time. Can't wait to hear all about your trip!

[Deleted]

An illustrated report of your visit would indeed be spectacular, lola.

[Deleted]

Jan 14, 2012 18:10:56 GMT kerouac2 said:

An illustrated report of your visit would indeed be spectacular, lola.

Yes,me too!!!! Please?

[thill25]

I visited the memorial this weekend. Security ruined the experience, but the memorial will be beautiful once all the construction is complete. Right now, I felt like the construction, took away from the "feel" of the memorial.

[nycgirl]

Yes, security is a pain. But although the construction does take away from the serenity of the place, I am fascinated by the revitalization of the downtown area.

Was there anything in bloom? I went in the dead of winter, but I imagine with flowers and leafy trees it will look even prettier.

What time of day did you go? I've seen some lovely nighttime shots of it.

[thill25]

Nothing in bloom and it didn't look as if there were any flowers planted (I assume because the hordes or tourists would just trample them)...no leaves on the trees either. Our reservation was at 3:30 PM, but we arrived a bit early. I'm guessing 3ish.