“Every day I get up and come to work in the same place as they did. 9/11 started as just an ordinary day,” says Lucas Camp, sales and partnerships manager at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in Lower Manhattan. It’s a sobering thought. The day I visit there are a couple of white roses placed on the dark bronze parapets of the memorial, seemingly immune from the drizzle. “We lay a white rose to commemorate the birthday of each name inscribed here,” explains Lucas. “It always moves visitors when we tell them the reason.”
At 8:46am on September 11, 2001, New York City was changed forever when terrorists flew a hijacked plane into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Seventeen minutes later another hijacked plane hit the South Tower. All seven buildings of the World Trade Center complex eventually collapsed or had to be demolished, reduced to a pile of steel, concrete and glass rubble.
Birthday roses. Photo: David E. Starke. Courtesy, 9/11 Memorial & Museum
As the 25th anniversary approaches, the transformation of the area has been astonishing. Built to commemorate those lost in the attacks, the parklike memorial is at the heart of a dynamic district of skyscrapers, shopping malls and arts centers. Its two giant pools and waterfalls, surrounded by a tranquil grove of oak trees, are complemented by the underground museum, covering not only the events of 9/11 but also the lead-up and aftermath. “It’s a sad story, of course,” says Lucas, “but most visitors are surprised to find there’s also hope and inspiration.”
There’s a lot to take in. I opted for the Memorial + Museum Tour to get the most out of my visit.
Memorial Plaza from overhead. Photo: David E. Starke. Courtesy, 9/11 Memorial & Museum
Some History
My interpretive guide was Marcus Stewart, who has been working here for 14 years. Our group met just outside the museum, where he began with some background. As we stood beneath the oak trees it was hard to imagine “Ground Zero,” the giant crater swarming with construction crews that followed the years after 9/11.
In 2003, Daniel Libeskind won the competition to be the master planner for the World Trade Center redesign. Libeskind’s plan was modified many times and individual buildings were designed by different architects, but his core concept endured: that the original footprints of the Twin Towers be turned into a memorial and not used for commercial space.
Architect Michael Arad and landscape architect Peter Walker were appointed designers of the memorial in 2004, while Snøhetta, a Norwegian architectural firm, designed the museum's graceful steel-and-glass pavilion. Construction began in 2006, and the 9/11 Memorial was dedicated on the 10th anniversary of the attacks. The museum opened in 2014.
9/11 Memorial. Photo: Brittany Petronella
The Memorial
Dubbed “Reflecting Absence,” Arad’s design features two one-acre pools with the largest man-made waterfalls in the US, all set within a plaza of white oak trees. After falling 30 feet into a square basin, the water drops another 20 feet into a smaller, central void that cannot be seen and can never be filled. Combined with the presence of billowing trees, the sound of the cascading water shields the memorial from the City and adds to the sense of tranquility and contemplation. The tour spends around 20–25 minutes here, beginning at the North Pool.
Marcus explained that the bronze parapets edging the pools are inscribed with the names of the 2,983 people who were killed in 2001 and in the 1993 World Trade Center terrorist attack, grouped by a system of “meaningful adjacencies”—essentially, location and relationship. The North Pool parapets include the names of those who were killed at the North Tower, on hijacked Flight 11, and in the 1993 bombing. Marcus pointed out a section dedicated to financial firm Cantor Fitzgerald, which lost 658 employees on 9/11. Listed close together were Amy O’Doherty and Joseph and Daniel Shea; the latter two were brothers, while Amy had been a babysitter for the Sheas before becoming their colleague.
The South Pool parapets include the names of first responders, grouped together by squad, as well as victims who were killed at the South Tower, on hijacked Flight 175; at the Pentagon, on hijacked Flight 77; and in southwest Pennsylvania, on hijacked Flight 93. In all, citizens from some 90 nations are represented. As Marcus said, “It’s a memorial for everyone.”
Memorial Glade. Photo: David E. Starke. Courtesy, 9/11 Memorial & Museum
The plaza between the pools is slowly turning into a forest, with over 400 swamp white oak trees—bare in winter, foamy green in summer and golden in the fall. The oaks can reach 60 to 80 feet at maturity and live 300 to 350 years. Marcus took us to the 9/11 Memorial Glade, dedicated in 2019 to those who are sick or who have died from exposure to toxins in the aftermath of 9/11. It’s a pathway flanked by six granite monoliths, each inlaid with remnant World Trade Center steel in a style inspired by kintsugi (the Japanese art of repairing broken ceramics), where imperfections are part of the design.
Nearby a small tree stands out from the rest, surrounded by a silver railing festooned with colorful tags. This is the “Survivor Tree,” a Callery pear planted in the 1970s on the original site; it was badly burned on 9/11 and replanted in 2010 to symbolize resilience. You can write wishes or messages on tags provided at a nearby desk and then tie them to the railing.
Museum entrance. Photo: David E. Starke. Courtesy, 9/11 Memorial & Museum
The Museum
We entered the museum via airport-like security at the light-filled Pavilion, before dropping down to the dimly lit Concourse Lobby, passing the two giant structural steel “tridents” from the North Tower’s facade—so big the pavilion was built around them.
Photo: Gabby Jones
The Ramp: Introductory Exhibits
From the lobby, the exhibits begin with the last photo ever taken of the Twin Towers. Marcus pointed out what a beautiful day 9/11 was, with clear blue sky. Wooden ramps slowly lead down beneath the two memorial pools. “They want to ease you into it,” said Marcus. There’s a dramatic viewpoint providing a close-up of the 36-foot-tall “Last Column,” heavily inscribed by various squads of first responders. You’ll also see an exposed section of the vast slurry wall protecting the site from the Hudson River. The ramp continues below the North Pool, encased in soundproofed aluminum like a giant silver box.
Trying to Remember the Color of the Sky on That September Morning" by Spencer Finch. Photo: Gabby Jones
Memorial Hall
We made the final descent into the Memorial Hall alongside the concrete 9/11 remnant known as the Survivor Stairs, preserved like an ancient Roman ruin. Dominating this space is the immense Blue Wall, a captivating art installation made up of 2,983 hand-painted tiles, all slightly different shades of blue, by local artist Spencer Finch. Officially titled “Trying to Remember the Color of the Sky on That September Morning,” the wall is emblazoned with a quote from Virgil’s The Aeneid: “No day shall erase you from the memory of time.”
Lady Liberty, Collection 9/11 Memorial & Museum. Gift in memory of the courageous firefighters from Engine 54/Ladder 4/Battalion 9 killed at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Photo: Bruce White
South Tower Excavation
The tour continued around the South Tower Excavation, lined with special exhibits, box column remnants and small memorials. Here is the painted garage door from Brooklyn Heights’ FDNY Engine Company 205/Ladder Company 118, which lost eight firefighters that day, and a 6-foot fiberglass replica of Lady Liberty, smothered with mementoes that had been placed anonymously outside Midtown’s FDNY Engine 54 firehouse. Stopping in front of a twisted steel beam, Marcus explained how the weakened beams caused the Twin Towers to collapse. You can return to this area to visit “In Memoriam,” a deeply moving space with photos of all 2,983 people killed in 2001 and 1993, rotating selections of personal artifacts and profiles of individual victims through audio remembrances provided by family members and friends. Please note that taking photos is strictly forbidden here as well as in the Historical Exhibition and a few other areas.
Historical Exhibition
From the Blue Wall, the Center Passage—with its ghostly half-crushed FDNY fire truck—leads to the North Tower Excavation and the core Historical Exhibition. The first section is “Events of the Day,” chronicling 9/11 itself, minute by minute: there are chilling walkie-talkie recordings of firefighters in the towers just before the collapse; harrowing phone calls made by passengers on doomed Flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania; and traumatic images of people jumping from the burning towers (in a separate, screened-off section—discretion advised). “Before 9/11” provides historical context leading up to the attacks, including a disturbing but instructive section on al-Qaeda and the men who hijacked the planes. The more uplifting “After 9/11” covers the recovery period and the ongoing consequences of 9/11.
Foundation Hall. Photo: Jin Lee. Courtesy, 9/11 Memorial & Museum
Foundation Hall and Auditorium
Exit at the Foundation Hall, which contains the slurry wall, “Last Column” and temporary exhibitions like the current Dust: Illness and Advocacy after 9/11, a distressing look at the effects of the toxins that blanketed city streets after the attacks. To commemorate the 25th anniversary, In Their Honor: 25 Years of 9/11-Inspired Service will open in September.
It’s also worth taking in the films shown in the museum auditorium: Facing Crisis: America Under Attack (at the top of the hour), which explores 9/11 from the perspective of US leaders, and Facing Crisis: A Changed World (at the bottom of the hour), which features interviews with world leaders like Tony Blair and Pervez Musharraf. The museum also arranges special programs, workshops and talks that tackle everything from Muslim American identity after 9/11 to survivor accounts.
9/11 Memorial. Photo: Lucía Vázquez
A Quiet Moment
Once back out in the open, take a minute for reflection at a bench under the oak trees. “As the site has developed, a real community has grown up around it—lots of people work and live here,” says Camp. “It’s also very much a city park, with locals passing through every day.”
Though insulated from New York’s bustle, sirens and beeping horns, the 9/11 Memorial & Museum has become an essential part of the City’s fabric, its tranquil green spaces, moving tributes and enlightening exhibits serving as both reminder and inspiration.
Practicalities
The 9/11 Memorial is free and open to the public daily, 8am–8pm. The museum is open Wednesday–Monday (and select Tuesdays), 9am–7pm, and requires tickets, which can be purchased up to six months in advance—but you can usually just line up the day of. The closest subway approaches are the1 train to WTC Cortlandt, the N or W to Cortlandt and the E to World Trade Center.
All tours are in English and are intended for adult and teenage visitors; most include museum admission. You can opt to tour the museum only (1hr), the memorial only (45min) or the 90-minute combined tour detailed above. Audio guides in nine languages (including American Sign Language) are available for rent at the museum, and you can download the free 9/11 Outdoor Memorial Audio Guide from Bloomberg Connects.
Nearby Exploration
Lower Manhattan Historic Sites
St Paul’s Chapel
Liberty Park:The Sphere & St. Nicholas National Shrine
One World Observatory
