My ongoing quest to gain new perspective continues, with a family trip to the 9/11 Memorial Museum

After a guided tour of Ground Zero and the Reflecting Absence memorial, we entered the 9/11 Memorial Museum. It was completed in 2014 and is quite comprehensive. The bright and airy street-level entrance was bustling with activity. But as the escalators funneled visitors down into the 9/11 Memorial Museum, located in the original World Trade Center parking garage, the mood shifted abruptly. The lights dimmed and an air of solemnity took hold. People spoke in hushed tones. Cell phones were silenced. Everything was soft and muffled. Visitors moved slowly.

 

We passed by tall video screens and maps that lined the wide ramp sloping down to the Foundation Hall. Here, an overlook exposes a vast chasm. It’s easy to become disoriented. Proportions are warped. Before us stood a massive steel beam, spray-painted graffiti style, jutting toward the ceiling. Badges of brotherhood from local fire houses, steel worker unions, and police precincts blazed their bright neon numbers

(https://www.911memorial.org/images-videos/video/last-column-symbol-resilience)

Beyond the beam was the 70′ high slurry wall, built in the 1960’s to hold back the Hudson river.  It represents yet another sign of resilience as it withstood the 1993 bombings and the 2001 destruction, protecting lower Manhattan from flooding.

Continuing down to the Exhibitions Level, we took in the artifacts that endured the explosions. There was a cement stairwell that survivors used to escape, the mangled remains of a hook and ladder truck, and gigantic pieces of twisted metal from elevators shafts, suspended in air, like a finely curated art show. There were also personal effects that miraculously remained intact, a high-heeled shoe, a pair of eyeglasses, a clock.

As we meandered down the ramp my kids asked questions about what we were seeing. I found it difficult to explain the unthinkable acts that caused this destruction. It is similar to visiting the Holocaust Museum, or a Southern plantation. Sometimes there are simply no words.

 

Down in the Memorial Hall, there is a beautiful mosaic cast in blue, lavender and turquoise tiles, representing the colors of sky on morning of 9/11. Running the full length of the wall within the mosaic is a quote from Virgil stating; No Day Shall Erase You From The Memory of Time. (http://www.911memorial.org/blog/look-museum’s-memorial-hall-0)

On our final stop, we entered the Historical Exhibition through a glass door that acted as a sound barrier. Inside were walls of television monitors re-playing the events of 9/11, including the live newscasts. Amidst the cacophony of sound, I was jerked back in time to that morning and its swirling emotion, shock, and incomprehension. Though I had been thousands of miles from the scene, I was tethered by telephone line to my friend in Manhattan as the events unfolded.

The further I ventured into this exhibit, the more unsettled I became. Tears blurred my vision as our floating family group coalesced into one of the alcoves. We sat cross-legged on the floor while voiceovers were transcribed in white lettering on a black screen.  We had wandered into a reenactment exhibit, playing out the last moments of United flight 93. This flight was diverted from the White House due to brave passengers and crew. They were aware of what had transpired in New York and had the presence of mind to make a plan to take back control of their doomed jetliner.

We sat in stunned silence as the film played answering machine messages to loved ones from people like Jane C. Folger, who was traveling to San Francisco with her sister-in-law Patricia Cushing. (Earlier we had seen a rose honoring Patricia’s birthday at the Ground Zero South Pool.) The static-filled audio ended when the jet crashed into a field in Pennsylvania.

We continued to explore the museum until we were emotionally exhausted. My goal was to provide some context for my children about the historic events of 9/11. But given they were reluctant visitors, I doubted we’d spend more than 30 minutes here. Instead, the experience caught us off guard and we remained enthralled for two hours.

 

Shortly before sunset, we made our way across the plaza to the top of the new One World Trade Center. The elevator ride alone is worth the price of admission. Wall panels project a living map of New York from the 1500’s fast forwarding to present day. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22oJwUJQQkI)

The 360-degree views from the 104^th floor were breathtaking. As the sun set over New York we watched the city come alive in a sea of lights; a perfect ending to our day. I could almost hear Frank Sinatra singing about ‘the city that never sleeps’. Next time you are in the Big Apple, head down to lower Manhattan and alter your perspective at Ground Zero. It’s well worth the trip.

 

 

(Here is a time lapse video of construction of OWTC.)