9/11 Memorial

A week ago I got online and reserved tickets for us to go and see the 9/11 Memorial Museum. I picked today to go because Brian was off work and the temperature seemed like it would be fairly warm. However, we woke up this morning to temps in the high 20's. With the wind chill it felt like 18 degrees. Whoops. Oh well. We bundled up...layers, lots of layers....and braved the freezing cold anyways. As we were leaving the apartment to walk to the subway, a few snowflakes started falling. Last weekend it had been in the 50's with a high of 57! Talk about bad timing. Oh well.

Because there is so much construction and schedule changes ongoing with the subway lines lately, it was a bit of a hassle trying to figure out the best way to get there. We ended up taking the 4 train south to the Wall Street stop. When we exited through the turnstiles of the station, we passed by this tiny door. A door under the stairs...I wonder what's inside?

We had to walk a few blocks from the subway stop to get to the entrance to the Memorial. Here is a view of the corner where we were headed. The new building they are constructing there is really cool. I like how the buildings all reflect off of each other.

After winding through a line for about 20 minutes we reached security. We had to remove all of our coats, hats, gloves and scarves...which took some doing. It was like going through security at an airport. We had to send any bags through, remove our belts and any pocket stuff. After getting screened and redressed we walked some more and finally entered the plaza where the memorial is located.

The memorial consists of two square pools, with a pool placed where each tower stood. The memorial's design is named "Reflecting Absence." The pools are set into the ground to symbolize the void that the terrorist attacks and deaths caused in life. The reflection of the sky in the pools was really neat. It made me think of the void in the air that was once filled by the World Trade Center Buildings.

Each pool is 1-acre. The water runs from the top of the pool downward and then falls into the smaller square void at the bottom center. The falling water is also meant to block out the sounds of the city and create a place for meditation. The surrounding area is paved in cobblestones with lots of trees planted throughout. These are pictures of the South Pool.

  

 The names around this pool include those that died in Tower 2, on Flight 175 that hit Tower 2, first responders to the scene, on Flight 77 that hit the Pentagon, in the Pentagon and on Flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania. The names are cut clear through the bronze plaque so that you can see the water through the letters. Someone had stuck a rose through the letters of a name on the memorial.

The 9/11 Museum is located on the plaza but won't open until later this year. Here is a picture of the windows of the museum reflecting the images of the surrounding buildings.

The North Pool contains the names of those killed in the February 1993 bombing of the WTC, the names of those killed in Tower 1 and those on Flight 11 that hit Tower 1. The water was turned off on the North Pool.

Here is a view of the site from the north west corner of the North Pool.  

Reading and running my hands over the names of those who died that day made the incident more real to me. It brought those who died that day and the families that they left behind to life. There was an air of reverence around the memorial. There was a feeling of sadness, but also hope. While we were there, we did not feel any anger or fear, just a sense of determination and perseverance to keep going and move forward without forgetting.

 Brian and I talked about how even though we were not physically present that day, or did not lose loved ones, how the event is still personal to us. We witnessed the destruction and devastation from miles away through television. I saw the second plane hit the second tower while watching it on TV. I went home after class, and my mom and I watched the towers fall. We have also had to live through the aftermath of the event...changes and increases in security, the war and increased suspicion and awareness. Every big monument we've gone to see in the city has required an airport-like security screening. There have been other events in American history such as Pearl Harbor that we learn about and know have had a long-lasting impact as well, but when thinking about those events we experience a disconnect. September 11th is different.

It happened during our lifetime, through modern technology we witnessed it, we have to live with real-life changes because of it. I felt like this memorial was a little bit for us too...for all of us.

It was a very neat experience, one that we both enjoyed. I'm very glad that we got to see the memorial, even if it isn't quite finished yet.

The wind picked up and we were both shivering despite our planned wardrobes. We left the memorial and stopped in at the 9/11 Memorial Gift Shoppe for lack of a better name to warm up before walking to the subway. They had pieces of the steel beams from the towers, crushed aluminum siding, pictures, and a worn fireman's hat from that day. After thawing out just enough to feel our fingers and noses again, we headed to the subway.

They had these cool metal poles that wrapped around the pillars in the subway station to form seats. They weren't comfortable by any means, but not that uncomfortable either.

The plan was to head for China Town for some shopping and dumplings, but we chickened out. We were just too blasted cold! Brian gets a three day weekend, so maybe we'll head out and about again on Monday.