NYC – 9-11 Memorial Museum. Photo by Edgar El – Wikimedia Commons

Top 10 Amazing Facts About the National September 11 Memorial and Museum


 

The National September 11 Memorial and Museum emanates from the happening on September 11, 2001, when 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al Qaeda hijacked four airplanes and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States.

Two of the planes were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, and a third plane hit the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C. The fourth plane crashed in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Almost 3,000 people were killed during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which triggered major U.S. initiatives to combat terrorism and defined the presidency of George W. Bush.

1. The National September 11 Memorial & Museum was put up in commemoration of the September 11, 2001 attacks

 

This photo is of the north pool and the soon-to-be museum at the September 11th Memorial in New York City. Photo by Aspensti – Wikimedia Commons

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum (also known as the 9/11 Memorial & Museum) is a memorial and museum in New York City commemorating the September 11, 2001 attacks, which killed 2,977 people, and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing which killed six.

2. The Memorial and Museum is located where the attacks happened

Guided tour around the National September 11 Memorial in New York City. Photo by Ashleywalter10 – Wikimedia Commons

The memorial is located at the World Trade Center Site, the former location of the Twin Towers that were destroyed during the September 11 attacks. It is operated by a non-profit institution whose mission is to raise funds for, program, and operate the memorial and museum at the World Trade Center site.

3. The World Trade Center came to be from the September 11 attacks

9/11 Memorial Preview Site, 9/13/2010. Photo by AIGA/NY from New York, NY, USA – Wikimedia Commons

On September 11, 2001, at 8:45 a.m. on a clear Tuesday morning, an American Airlines Boeing 767 loaded with 20,000 gallons of jet fuel crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.  

The impact left a gaping, burning hole near the 80th floor of the 110-story skyscraper, instantly killing hundreds of people and trapping hundreds more on higher floors.

As the evacuation of the tower and its twin got underway, television cameras broadcasted live images of what initially appeared to be a freak accident. Then, 18 minutes after the first plane hit, a second Boeing 767—United Airlines Flight 175—appeared out of the sky.

This turned sharply toward the World Trade Center and sliced into the south tower near the 60th floor.

4. The winner of the World Trade Center Site Memorial Competition was an architect with an Israeli- American origin

9/11 Memorial Museum. Photo by qwesy qwesy – Wikimedia Commons

The winner of the World Trade Center Site Memorial Competition was Israeli-American architect Michael Arad of Handel Architects, a New York- and San Francisco-based firm. Arad worked with landscape-architecture firm Peter Walker and Partners on the design, creating a forest of swamp white oak trees with two square reflecting pools in the center marking where the Twin Towers stood. 

5. Heavy construction on the memorial and museum was begun in August 2006 by the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation and the  Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

National September 11 Museum. Photo by Creative Commons Attribution – Wikimedia Commons

In August 2006, the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation and the  Port Authority of New York and New Jersey began heavy construction on the memorial and museum. The design is consistent with the original master plan by Daniel Libeskind, which called for the memorial to be 30 feet (9.1 m) below street level—originally 70 feet (21 m)—in a plaza.

It was the only finalist to disregard Libeskind’s requirement that the buildings overhang the footprints of the Twin Towers.

The World Trade Center Memorial Foundation was renamed the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in 2007.

6. The attackers in the September 11 attack in New York City were Islamic terrorists

A wayfinding sign at the south end of the National September 11 Memorial, at the northwest corner of Liberty Street and Greenwich Street in the Financial District, Manhattan. Photo by Tdorante10 – Wikimedia Commons

The hijackers were Islamic terrorists from Saudi Arabia and several other Arab nations. They were reportedly financed by the al Qaeda terrorist organization of Saudi fugitive Osama bin laden.

They were also allegedly acting in retaliation for America’s support of Israel, its involvement in the Persian Gulf War, and its continued military presence in the Middle East.

Some of the terrorists had lived in the United States for more than a year and had taken flying lessons at American commercial flight schools. Others had slipped into the country prior to September 11 and acted as the “muscle” in the operation.

7. The attackers were able to fulfill their mission by smuggling weapons through security at the three East airports

9-11 Museum. Photo by Creative Commons – Wikimedia Commons

The 19 terrorists smuggled box-cutters and knives through the security at the three East Coast airports and boarded four early-morning flights bound for California, chosen because the planes were loaded with fuel for the long transcontinental journey.

Soon after taking off, the terrorists commandeered the four planes and took the controls, transforming ordinary passenger jets into guided missiles.

8. Millions of people watched the September 11 attacks happen

World Trade Center, New York City, New York. Photo by Travis Wise – Wikimedia Commons

As millions watched the events in New York unfold, American Airlines Flight 77 circled over downtown Washington, D.C., before crashing into the west side of the Pentagon military headquarters at 9. 45 a.m.

 

Jet fuel from the Boeing 757 caused a devastating inferno that led to the structural collapse of a portion of the giant concrete building, which is the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defence.

9. September 11 was named a Patriot Day on December 18, 2001, and is celebrated annually in commemoration of the September 11 Attacks

9/11 Memorial Museum at Ground Zero in New York City. Photo by Bjoertvedt – Wikimedia Commons

On December 18, 2001, Congress approved naming September 11 “Patriot Day” to commemorate the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. In 2009, Congress named September 11 a National Day of Service and Remembrance.

The first memorials to September 11 came in the immediate wake of the attacks, with candlelight vigils and flower tributes at U.S. embassies around the world. In Great Britain, Queen Elizabeth sang the American national anthem during the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. Rio de Janeiro put up billboards showing the city’s Christ the Redeemer statue embracing the New York City skyline.

For the first anniversary of the attacks in New York City in 2002, two bright columns of light were shot up into the sky from where the Twin Towers once stood.

 The “Tribute in Light” then became an annual installation run by the Municipal Art Society of New York. On clear nights, the beams are visible from over 60 miles away.

10. The names of all 2,983 victims are engraved on the 152 bronze panels

As night falls on the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, a red rose is placed on the parapets of a fallen victim. Photo by Savidge Michael – Wikimedia Commons

The names of all 2,983 victims are engraved on the 152 bronze panels surrounding the pools, arranged by where individuals were on the day of the attacks, so co-workers and people on the same flight are memorialized together.

The site was opened to the public on September 11, 2011, to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of 9/11.

The National September 11 Memorial and Museum followed, opening on the original World Trade Center site in May 2014. The Freedom Tower, also on the original World Trade Center site, opened in November 2014.  

 

Planning a trip to Paris ? Get ready !


These are Amazon’s best-selling travel products that you may need for coming to Paris.

Bookstore

  1. The best travel book : Rick Steves – Paris 2023 – Learn more here
  2. Fodor’s Paris 2024 – Learn more here

Travel Gear

  1. Venture Pal Lightweight Backpack – Learn more here
  2. Samsonite Winfield 2 28″ Luggage – Learn more here
  3. Swig Savvy’s Stainless Steel Insulated Water Bottle – Learn more here

Check Amazon’s best-seller list for the most popular travel accessories. We sometimes read this list just to find out what new travel products people are buying.