Yesterday, more than 1000 people gathered at the National September 11 Memorial plaza for the annual reading of victims' names from both the 1993 and 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. The solemn proceedings were held around two reflecting pools that stand in the footprint of the fallen twin towers. Flags, flowers, photos, origami, stuffed toys and other items were left on the bronze panel edging of the memorial pools as captured in these images made earlier today, one day after the 12th anniversary. The reflecting pools opened to the public two years ago (see previous post).
A cascade of water that describes the perimeter of each square feeds the pools with a continuous stream. They are large voids, open and visible reminders of the absence.
Memorial names inscribed on bronze parapets (lit at night) surrounding the pools. Names have been stencil-cut into the parapets, allowing visitors to look through the names at the water, and to create paper impressions or rubbings of individual names. At night, light shines up through the voids created by each letter of a name.
Daytime image of the pool
Memorial Plaza
North Pool with the 9/11 Museum Pavilion in the background
9/11 Museum Pavilion (under construction)
The "Survivor Tree" is a callery pear that survived the devastion, preserved for re-planting, and now replanted at the Memorial Plaza.
Lamp posts evoke the architecture of the Twin Towers
video (from IsraeliPM) of NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg showing Israel Prime Minister the 9/11 Memorial
The National September 11 Memorial or 9/11 Memorial opened to the public last September 12. The memorial is a tribute of remembrance and honor to the nearly 3,000 people killed in the terror attacks of September 11, 2001 at the World Trade Center site, near Shanksville, Pa., and at the Pentagon, as well as the six people killed in the World Trade Center bombing in February 1993.
The Memorial’s twin reflecting pools are each nearly an acre in size and feature the largest manmade waterfalls in the North America. The pools sit within the footprints where the Twin Towers once stood. Architect Michael Arad and landscape architect Peter Walker created the Memorial design selected from a global design competition that included more than 5,200 entries from 63 nations.
The names of every person who died in the 2001 and 1993 attacks are inscribed into bronze panels edging the Memorial pools, a powerful reminder of the largest loss of life resulting from a foreign attack on American soil and the greatest single loss of rescue personnel in American history.
The photos of the memorial were taken yesterday, September 24, 2011.
To visit the 9/11 Memorial, free advance passes are required and are available through the Memorial's online reservation system (see website below). A limited number of passes for same day visits are also available daily at the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site at 20 Vesey St (at Church St.) beginning at 9:00 AM, the NYC & Co. kiosk at City Hall and the NY Water Taxi booth at the South Street Seaport (limited to 4 passes per person on a first-come, first-served basis).
