9/11 Memorial

While the 9/11 Museum is not yet open the Memorial is and stands as a tribute of remembrance of the nearly 3,000 people killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

Architecturally it is an 8 acre park with 2 reflecting pools that are placed exactly in the foot prints of the  Twin Towers. Each person lost has their name inscribed on the bronze panels surrounding the two reflecting pools.  Every day white roses are placed along the names of those victims who would have been celebrating a birthday.

The park has been planted with more than 400 Swamp White Oaks which can reach heights of over 60 feet and live up to 300 years.  Among the Swamp White Oaks stands one special tree called the “Survivor Tree”.  This Callery Pear tree was planted on the original World Trade Center plaza in the 1970’s and was found buried in the rubble and severely damaged but still alive. Nursed back to health it has been returned to the WTC site standing just west of the South pool.

The reflecting pools are each 1 acre in size and have 30 foot deep black granite walls where 480,000 gallons of recycled water are pumped at a rate of 4 ft per second or 52,000 gallons per second. The flowing water creates a cascading waterfall which gives off a nice, peaceful background of sound that almost nearly eradicates the sounds of the city bustling around it. Together the two fountains make up the largest man made waterfalls in the nation and are called Reflecting Absence.

In addition to the trees and reflecting pools a new museum is being built. The museum stands today where the sphere once stood in the center of the WTC plaza. I saw the sphere in Battery Park during my visit to the Statue of Liberty. While not complete we were able to look through the windows of the museum and see iconic Survivor’s Staircase and the Twin Tower Tridents.

It was most inspiring to see the large crowds all stand in silence and look down deep into the reflecting pools as if they were looking deep into the soul of America. Each person there most definitely left with a tear in their eye and a sense of pride in their country. While I reflected on my visit I couldn’t help but remember all those years ago when my family and I visited the Twin Towers and rode the elevators to the observation deck on the 107th and 110th floors of the South Tower. I can remember feeling like were in the clouds and watched the planes fly by nearly at eye level. It makes me wonder what those visiting that day must have seen and experienced.

Later in the day I will visit the 102nd floor of the Empire State Building and I look forward to visiting the observation deck of One World Trade Center when it opens in 2015.