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The National September 11 Memorial Museum at the World Trade Center will officially open its doors to the public on May 21, 2014, but DOWNTOWN Magazine’s Lifestyle and Family Editor, Denise Courter, had the opportunity to tour the new museum, during this week’s special Dedication Period.
The week was set aside for families of the victims as well as rescue and first responders, recovery workers, survivors, and Lower Manhattan residents and business owners.
Courter is not only a resident of Downtown, but a former consultant for Cantor Fitzgerald, the Wall Street financial services company that lost 658 of its employees in the terrorist attacks.
She worked on the efforts to assist families with the Cantor Relief Fund, the non-profit fund that was created by Howard Lutnick, the CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald and his sister Edie Lutnick, an attorney and advocate for the victims and their families.
Here are her thoughts:
“The museum is 110,000 square feet of solemnity. Visitors descend to bedrock alongside the Vesey Street Stairway remnant known as the “Survivors’ Stairs” which were used by hundreds to escape to safety on 9/11.
Some of the other artifacts on hand include a portion of the Radio and Television antenna from the original tower, a crushed fire truck from Ladder Company 3 and steel remnants from the buildings including one pane of glass that stayed intact through the attacks.
Still, some of the most moving artifacts are of a more personal nature. There are victims’ notes, letters and pictures that were recovered at the site. There are also several objects that were donated by Cantor Fitzgerald, including the miraculously recovered Rodin which was once displayed in the offices of Cantor Fitzgerald in Tower 1.
Donations from two severely burned survivors from Cantor Fitzgerald were also on display. I personally recognized the face mask that tax lawyer Harry Waizer was forced to wear in his recovery after the attack, as well as a watch donated by Senior V.P. and Partner, Lauren Manning.
The Museum maintains a permanent collection of artifacts, oral histories, photos, video and other materials that document the history of the events of 9/11 and commemorate the victims who were lost on that horrible date. As of September 2013, the curatorial team has collected more than 23,000 images and 10,300 artifacts at the museum. T.V. screens are used to replay news stories and project images and to recount the story as it was told in the media during and immediately after the attacks.
To me, the museum is an amazing tribute to the men, women and children that lost their lives on September 11th, as well as those who still grieve for them today. The visitors I observed were deeply moved by its presentation.
The one area that is receiving negative reaction is the museum gift shop. Though all net proceeds will go directly to the Memorial and Museum, many families and visitors are shocked that coffee mugs and clothes for pets are being sold alongside educational materials and other items commemorating the loss of human life. But, the long line at the cash register doesn’t necessarily reflect some of the media criticism. So, time will tell if the Museum bows to outside pressure to revise the merchandise sold in the gift shop.
Controversy or not, The National September 11 Memorial Museum at the World Trade Center will continue to attract worldwide visitors. With more than 12 million visitors to the Memorial since its opening in September 2011, the number of visitors to the Museum will more than likely attract the same kind of traffic.
Ticket prices are $24 for adults; kids from 7-to-17 are admitted for $15, and children under 6 are free. The Museum has also launched a free admission program for all visitors on Tuesday evenings from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. The last allowed entry is at 7 p.m. A limited number of free tickets are available for online reservation two weeks in advance of each Tuesday evening starting at 9 a.m. Same day tickets are available at the ticket windows starting at 4 p.m.
More information can be found on their website at 911memorial.org.
Denise Courter
Lifestyle and Family Editor and Founder of FiDi Families.