During the recent KTDY trip to New York, one of the attractions that many of our listeners attended was the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.  This should be on the bucket list of every American.

The September 11, 2001 attacks killed 2,977 people.  The memorial, a salute to all who lost their lives, is located at the World Trade Center original site, the former location of the two twin towers in lower Manhattan.

Most of the memorial and museum are underground.  Having the memorial and museum underground, you get a firsthand look at the very base of the original towers.  You see the actual slurry wall that held back water from the original towers.  Today that same wall has been reengineered to hold back water from the new memorial and museum.

Inside the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, one can see original beams and pieces of the twin towers.  On display is the only remaining unbroken window from one of the towers.  There are tons of artifacts, haunting recordings left on answering machines from victims, burned fire trucks, an original elevator motor from one of the towers and so much more.  And of course, the water pools with waterfalls to mark each footprint of the twin towers which opened in the early 70s.  Each water pool is surrounded by names of the dead.  It is a very emotional place.

My daughter and some very close friends spent hours at the memorial and museum and still didn't see all of it.  We simply couldn't take the emotional drain seeing it all at one time.  Prepare to be sad..  Take two days to see it if you'd like.  Breaking it up may be a bit easier.  Prices for entry vary depending on if you want a guided tour or not.

This video of one of the water pools, in no way does this sacred place justice.  You must see it in person.  We did not go into the new One World Trade Center building because we were emotionally drained and  because of time constraints.  I do plan on returning soon.

 

 

 

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