National September 11 Memorial Museum Dedicated
May 15, 2014
Standing before one of the foundational walls of the destroyed World Trade Center, President Barack Obama and other speakers today helped to officially dedicate the National September 11 Memorial Museum. The museum was built to honor the memory of those killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the February 26, 1993, World Trade Center bombing. In his remarks, President Obama described the museum as a “sacred place of healing and hope” and insisted that “no act of terror can match the strength and character of our country.”
The September 11 terrorist attacks, also called 9/11, were the worst acts of terrorism ever carried out against the United States. The terrorists hijacked four commercial jetliners and crashed two of them into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and one into the Pentagon Building near Washington, D.C. Hijackers crashed the fourth jet in a Pennsylvania field to prevent it from being reclaimed by passengers. The attacks killed about 3,000 people, including the 19 hijackers.
The museum lies seven stories below the ground-level National September 11 Memorial, which includes twin reflecting pools that lie in the footprints of the North and South towers. The walls of the new museum are lined with some 23,000 photos and images connected to the attacks. On display are 12,500 objects associated with the tragedy, including 2,380 objects donated by survivors, families of the dead, first responders, and others involved in the rescue efforts and the investigation and cleanup. Visitors can also listen to 1,995 oral histories and watch 580 hours of film and video. In addition, the museum incorporates remnants of structural columns that now mark the footprints of the original Twin Towers and sections of the retaining wall, known as the slurry wall, originally built to keep the Hudson River from flooding the World Trade Center site when it was first excavated. Earlier this week, about 14,000 unidentified or unclaimed remains from people killed on September 11 were moved to a repository adjacent to the museum. The museum is “a collective story about how people can be good to one another in times of crisis,” curator Jan Ramirez told CNN. “We’ve put out our first draft of history.”
The National September 11 Memorial stands on the site of the former World Trade Center towers in New York City. Twin reflecting pools lie in the footprints of the two towers. Waterfalls cascade into the pools. The names of people who died in the attacks are inscribed on bronze panels surrounding each pool. (© Richard Levine, Alamy Images; AP Photo)
Additional World Book articles:
- Terrorism
- United States, History of the (September 11 terrorist attacks)
- Terrorism: America’s New Enemy (a Special Report)
- New York City (2001) (a Back in Time article)
- Washington, D.C. (2001) (a Back in Time article)
