Above-ground museum pavilion, designed by Snøhetta and below-ground work designed by Aedas.
It was thirteen years ago when the most despairing news was spread worldwide and made for the dimmest of headlines. Chaos struck in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. New Yorkers were hit especially hard, but the nation as a whole was in mourning. The incident could have prevented New Yorkers from reaching a future filled with progress and prosperous accomplishments, and instead weighed them down with emotional baggage. But as the past years have shown us, it’s only made our perseverant city stronger.
As a tribute to all of the lives that passed away in the collapse of the World Trade Center in 2001 and its bombing in 1993, the construction of the 9/11 Memorial Museum began in March 2006 and is concluding this year. Residents of Lower Manhattan, along with the families of the victims and rescue workers, will receive the honor of visiting the museum before it opens to the public on May 21. During this dedication period, the Museum will be open 24 hours from the 15th to the 20th of May.
Museum Pavilion at night
On opening day, a dedication ceremony will take place seven floors underground at bedrock. Seating is reserved for President Barack Obama, former Presidents, and former and current political figures of New York and New Jersey. The rest of the seating will be assigned via lottery amongst the people entitled to free entry during the dedication period. Joseph Daniels, the 9/11 Memorial President, told The New York Times, “The museum was created to recount the full history of the 2001 terrorist attacks, and the opening events reflect this broader mandate.”
One of the exhibitions, “In Memoriam,” will display the names and portraits of the 2,983 victims of the 9/11 attacks and the February 26 bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993. All around the museum there will be audio and video footage, personal possessions, artifacts, first-person testimonials and more items displayed that relate to the 9/11 incident. Visitors are also welcomed to share through an audio software installation, “Reflecting on 9/11,” their own experiences of the attacks.
Joseph C. Daniels, President and CEO of the National September 11 Memorial Museum.
At a Community Board 1 meeting last Tuesday, Daniels said, “the museum will portray to the audience that the events of September 11 are part of an ongoing story, one that began well before that day and one that continues to shape our world well beyond it.”
Those invited to visit during the dedication period can make their reservations at 9/11memorial.org; starting Wednesday, March 26, general admission tickets will be available through the same website for $24.
-Luis Cuevas
