National September 11 Memorial (New York City, New York)

www.national911memorial.org/

The National September 11 Memorial is two reflecting pools surrounded by shrubs trees and pathways and set right beside One World Trade Center. Part of the New World Trade Center. Its design was proposed by Michael Arad, who at the time, was an obscure 34-year-old city architect working for the New York City Housing Authority. An earlier proposal for leaving the "bathtub" on the site exposed was scrapped for being too insensitive.

Arad's final design was for two square, below-ground reflecting pools, each nearly an acre, fed from all sides by waterfalls that begin just above ground level and bordered by continuous bronze panels inscribed with the names of those who died there and in Washington and Pennsylvania. Arad imagined the surface of a river shorn open and forming two square voids, symbolically marking the Twin Towers; even though the river would flow into them, they would never fill up. The surrounding names are grouped by their adjacency, meaning that victims who knew one another or perished close to one another would be listed in close proximity.
 memorialparkopen air museuminteresting place
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_September_11_Memorial_&_Museum
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:  40°42'41"N 74°0'47"W

Comments

  • God bless NY
  • Interesting NYT article "9/11 Memorials and Remembrance" http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/s/sept_11_2001/memorials/index.html
  • Little known fact...the memorial pools are actually slightly smaller than the actual footprint of the former towers. The first row of trees next to each pool marks the "true" footprint of the towers. In other words, if you were standing immediately next to the memorial pool, you would be inside the tower if it were still there. Very eerie.