Memorials remind us of two essential ideas:
- To commemorate historic and important moments, people, and places;
- And, perhaps more important yet less spoken, to remind us that we forget.
In the throes of anger, horror, grief, sorrow, loss or in celebration happiness, achievement, and triumph, we rightfully live moments to its fullest. But as people, time, and the world move on, memorials transcends us back and evoke a sense of history, a sense of place, and that sense of belonging and togetherness we share.
As we remember 9/11 and the changes it made to the world, from grand to humble ways, it is one among many courses of humanity that it recognises and recalls that what binds us together is always stronger than that which tears us apart.
From our partners:
1. Flight 93 National Memorial (Shanksville, Pennsylvania)
The Flight 93 National Memorial is located at the site of the crash of United Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked in the September 11 attacks, in Stonycreek Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania, about 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Shanksville, and 60 miles (97 km) southeast of Pittsburgh.
The memorial was made to honour the victims of Flight 93, who stopped the terrorists from reaching their target. A temporary memorial to the 40 victims was established soon after the crash, and the first phase of the permanent memorial was completed, opened, and dedicated on September 10, 2011. The current design for the memorial is a modified version of the entry Crescent of Embrace by Paul and Milena Murdoch.
2. The Pentagon Memorial (Arlington County, Virginia)
The Pentagon Memorial, located just southwest of The Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia, is a permanent outdoor memorial to the 184 people who died as victims in the building and on American Airlines Flight 77 during the September 11 attacks.
Designed by Julie Beckman and Keith Kaseman of the architectural firm of Kaseman Beckman Advanced Strategies with engineers Buro Happold, the memorial opened on September 11, 2008, seven years after the attack.
3. Tribute in Light (World Trade Center site)
The Tribute in Light is an art installation of 88 searchlights placed next to the site of the World Trade Center to create two vertical columns of light in remembrance of the September 11 attacks. It is produced annually by the Municipal Art Society of New York.
The two beams cost approximately $1,858.56 (assuming $0.11 kWh) to run for 24 hours. There are 88 spotlights (44 for each tower) which each consume 8,000 watts.
4. 9/11 Memorial (Arizona)
The 9/11 Memorial in Arizona is a state memorial to the events and aftermath of the September 11 attacks, located at the Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza near the State Capitol in Phoenix, Arizona. The monument is a circular plan with a flat inclined metal ring. The ring was inscribed with written statements by cutting each letter through the metal, thus allowing sunlight to project the statements onto the concrete base of the monument.
“A member of the design team, Eddie Jones, stated: “The attacks gave America a sense of what the rest of the world is feeling, sometimes on a daily basis” and “We’re certainly not as innocent as we used to be.”
Although she had no editorial control over the final result, the memorial is endorsed by former Arizona Governor, Janet Napolitano. “This Memorial is unique, bold, dynamic, educational and unforgettable,” says Napolitano. “The thoughts and remarks etched in stone will serve as learning tools for all of us, our children and our children’s children.”
5. Postcards Memorial (Staten Island, New York City)
Postcards is an outdoor sculpture in the St. George neighbourhood of Staten Island, New York City, US. Built in 2004, it is a permanent memorial honouring the 274 Staten Island residents killed in the September 11 attacks of 2001 and in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. The dead include many who worked at the World Trade Center, police and firefighters who joined the rescue effort, and one passenger on United Airlines Flight 93 who was lost in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. One individual who was killed in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing is also represented.
The memorial is called “Postcards” because its two white marble wing sculptures represent large postcards, each standing 30 feet (9m) high, to loved ones.
6. Eisenhower Park (East Meadow, New York)
Eisenhower Park, formerly known as Salisbury Park, is centrally located in East Meadow, New York bordered by Hempstead Turnpike on the south and Old Country Road on the north. At 930 acres (3.8 km2), it is larger than Central Park (in Manhattan, New York City), with much of the area devoted to three 18-hole golf courses, including the Red Course, host to the annual Commerce Bank Championship (Champions Tour). The park is home to the September 11th Memorial for residents of Nassau County.
7. Honolulu September 11 Memorial
The eternal flame that sits in front of the Honolulu Hale was placed there by the City and County of Honolulu in memory of those who died and those who put themselves in harm’s way during the World Trade Center tragedy on September 11, 2001. The memorial was dedicated two months after the event, on November 11, 2001.
From the plaque displayed with the memorial:
“Let this eternal flame unite our country in memory of those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001, and honour the brave men and women who put themselves in harm’s way to save others. The love and spirit of our grateful nation, and the hearts and prayers of our people will always be with them.”
8. Beverly Hills 9/11 Memorial Garden (Beverly Hills, California)
The Beverly Hills 9/11 Memorial Garden is a memorial space in honour of the victims of the September 11 attacks in Beverly Hills, California at the corner of North Rexford Drive and South Santa Monica Boulevard/Burton Way. Dedicated on September 11, 2011, exactly ten years after the attack, it is centered on a 30-foot bent steel beam salvaged from the wreckage of the World Trade Center. It was entirely funded by private donors. It forms part of the grounds of the Beverly Hills Fire Department.
The memorial commemorates the victims of the September 11 attacks as well as the heroism of first responders, firefighters and law enforcement officers that day.
9. Project 9/11 Indianapolis (Indianapolis, Indiana)
Project 9/11 Indianapolis was begun early in 2010 as a grass roots effort to establish a permanent Memorial dedicated to those killed in the September 11 attacks. Greg Hess, a firefighter paramedic with the Indianapolis Fire Department, was the primary lead of the initiative. In 2001, Hess was a member of Indiana Task Force 1 (INTF-1), one of the first FEMA Search and Rescue teams to arrive at Ground Zero. INTF-1 spent 8 days in New York assisting the local agencies in the rescue and recovery efforts.
Project 9/11 Indianapolis is located at 421 West Ohio Street, next to Indianapolis Fire Station 13 along the Indiana Central Canal. It is a part of a city landscape that includes the USS Indianapolis Memorial and the Medal of Honour Memorial. The focal point of the memorial consists of two 11,000-pound (5,000 kg) beams from the Twin Towers. Behind the beams stand a pair of six-foot tall black granite walls inscribed with remembrances of the events in New York City; Washington, D.C.; and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Perched atop one of the beams is a bronze, life-size sculpture of an American bald eagle, with wings outstretched and gazing east toward New York City.
10. To the Struggle Against World Terrorism (Bayonne, New Jersey)
To the Struggle Against World Terrorism also known as the “Tear of Grief and the Tear Drop Memorial” is a 10–story sculpture by Zurab Tsereteli that was given to the United States as an official gift of the Russian government as a memorial to the victims of the September 11 attacks and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. It stands at the end of the former Military Ocean Terminal in Bayonne, New Jersey, and was dedicated on September 11, 2006, in a ceremony attended by former U.S. President Bill Clinton and then–President of Russia Vladimir Putin.
The sculpture is in the form of a 100-foot (30 m) tower made of steel and coated in bronze, split with a jagged opening through the middle. Inside the opening hangs a large stainless–steel teardrop, 40 feet (12 m) high, in memory of those whose lives were lost during terrorist attacks in the United States. The eleven sides of the monument’s base bear granite name plates, on which are etched the names of those who died in the September 11 attacks and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
11. The Rising, Westchester, NY
The Rising is a memorial located in the Kensico Dam Plaza of Valhalla, Westchester County, New York, created by architect Frederic Schwartz. It stands against the backdrop of Kensico Dam, commemorating the September 11 attacks on America and remembering in a special way the men and women from Westchester County who were victims of those attacks.
From our partners:
