Remembering 9/11

Yesterday I spent the afternoon with my roommate at the World Trade Center 9/11 Memorial. I hadn't been to the site since the memorial opened in 2011, so after the spire was recently added to the top of One World Trade Center I decided it was time.

The memorial consists of the North Pool and South Pool, the museum (not yet open), the tridents within the museum (not yet open), and the Survivor Tree. The site is surrounded by the tall buildings of the World Trade Center, including 1776-feet-tall One World Trade Center, and 977-feet-tall Four World Trade Center. Between buildings Two and Three will be the WTC transit hub. Although the site is not finished, we were able to get a good look at what has been done so far.

The North and South Pools are located where the original Twin Towers stood. Along the perimeters of the pools are the names of the victims of 9/11, as well as the names of the six people who were killed in the bombing of the WTC garage in February of 1993.

The Survivor Tree is a Callery Pear tree that workers recovered (in stump form) at Ground Zero. The tree was replanted in a park where it could grow, but today resides once again at the World Trade Center. You can touch the bark (but not the leaves) when you visit the memorial.

When the museum opens it will feature two steel tridents, recovered from the North Tower facade. Other artifacts from the original site will also be featured.

The memorial contains electronic directories that allow visitors to look up victims from the attack, and then locate their names on either pool.  Visitors can search the name, flight number, or hometown of the victim; my roommate comes from a very small town, and we were surprised and saddened to find that someone born there had been a passenger on Flight 77.

Memorial Museum

In spite of the tragedy that occurred on September 11th, the memorial that honors the victims and heroes of that day is quite beautiful. I highly recommend taking a trip down to see it, and I look forward to returning when the museum is open, and the surrounding buildings are complete.

Let's Talk Logistics.

• Cost The memorial is free to the public. Visitor passes can be acquired at the site itself (which requires a long wait in line), or you can reserve passes online for a $2.00 fee. We chose the latter option because it was hot outside and we didn't want to be stuck in line, and I'm very glad that we did!
• Security The security is like that of an airport. You will need to remove your watches, keys, and sunglasses, and make sure you don't have a pocket knife on you. Ladies keep your purses small, as bags that exceed 8"x17"x19" will not be accepted. 
• Transportation The 1/2/3/4/5/6 trains all stop close to the location. The M5, M20 and M22 buses are also options. We took the 1 train to Rector street, and it was a quick walk from there to the memorial's entrance. 

Check the forecast ahead of time to visit on a day with good weather. It is pretty amazing to sit on one of the benches and look up at how tall those buildings really are...