Names on the Memorial
The nearly 3000 names surrounding these pools are the most poignant element of the memorial. They are grouped to indicate where the individuals were and their relationship to others who died (see 9/11 Memorial video explaining the positioning of the names). Directories are available to assist anyone looking for a particular name.
Work began in 2006 on a National September 11 Memorial and on the redeveloped World Trade Center [both links will open in separate tabs or windows]. There will be seven new buildings in the World Trade Center complex, and in their midst, an eight-acre memorial plaza.
The 9/11 Memorial was dedicated on the 10th anniversary of the 2001 attacks, and opened to the public the following day.
Access is free of charge but, because of the surrounding construction, entry is controlled. Two pools, each an acre in size and enclosed by 30-foot waterfalls, are set into the footprints of the Twin Tower buildings. Each pool is surrounded by a bronze parapet inscribed with the names of those who died in the attacks on Sept 11, 2001 and on Feb 26, 1993 (right panel).
Immediately north of the memorial, One World Trade Center, also called Freedom Tower (left), rises 1,776 feet. It opened for business in 2014.
The 9/11 Memorial Museum building, under construction when these pictures were taken, is next to the South Pool and will house its exhibits beneath the plaza. Among those exhibits are two forked steel beams known as tridents, visible through the glass walls of the museum atrium, below. Over seven stories high, they were part of the facade of the fallen towers. The atrium walls today reflect the new World Trade Center.
Eventually, this plaza will be open and accessible on all sides, with hundreds more trees creating a park-like environment and enclosing the pools with foliage.
Walking in the memorial plaza, you simply come upon the pools. There are no signs -- only the names engraved in the bronze panels. Even in its current unfinished setting, it is a contemplative space for reflection and remembrance.