It is difficult to find a person, who has never heard about the terrible events that took a place on September 11, 2001, when almost 3000 people were killed (24 of them missing).
9/11 Memorial.
On our visit in May 2014, the 9/11 Museum was not open yet, and we visited the Memorial only. Now you have to purchase tickets for museum, and the entrance to the Memorial is free of charge! Opening hours: 7-30 AM to 9-00 PM. The best solution is to do not be lazy, and wake up in the morning. Museum tickets can be purchased on the official web-page for $ 24 for a certain time.
We arrived at the memorial in the morning for two reasons: first, it is not so hot; second, lazy tourists were still asleep. As we expected, the line was not long. However, we had to pass not only tickets control, but also inspection of personal belongings through the scanner and metal detector. We recommend not to take a lot of belongings or prohibited things!
The Memorial consists of two fountains, each of them is located on the site of the collapsed twin tower. The Memorial territory does not have any information tables. Most likely, everything is described in detail inside the museum now. If you do not visit museum, we advise to prepare a little or sometimes stand near the tourist groups to listen to the information from the guides. Of course, you can become a member of this group too.
The surface of the monument has the names of victims on it. The names are divided into groups, such as “aircraft”, “rescue workers”, “people who were in the center”.
If you see a rose, this means that on the day of your visit this victim has a birthday.
Also, you can see photos of the victims with messages from their families attached. We did not take photos of letters on ethical reasons.
Each stream of the fountain symbolizes an interrupted human life.
In the wall of the Memorial one can read information about the victims. Pressing the buttons, you can find general information about what a person was doing when killed.
Another important part of the Memorial is a new building erected near the collapsed towers. In May 2014 it was still under construction.
Tower of Freedom.
This is a Tower of Freedom or One World Trade Center opened on November 3, 2014. The Tower is the tallest in the U.S with height of 541 meters, and is in the TOP-10 tallest buildings. The observation deck is expected to open in spring 2015, with an admission fee of $32 per person.
According to the guide, it is the safest building in the world. Its dome provides protection against chemical weapons, and the building is constructed to stand against external attacks or internal explosion. The structure of the glass walls does not allow the pressure to cause collapsing from inside. Technically, it works as a valve opening in case of the excess pressure and bleeding the air.
Near the exit, there is a souvenir shop with some fragments of destroyed buildings on display, and a chopper in the window. The World Trade Center Rebuilding Chopper was designed and custom-built by Paul Jr. and has some architectural references from the World Trade Center site; it was presented at the pre-opening ceremony of the Memorial.
However, the short film presented on a big screen inside the shop was much more impressive. This is the fast mode record of the Memorial construction with some comments. we advise you to take a look on it.
No matter how depressive your 9/11 Memorial visit may be, it is very important. We finish this story with the picture we named “Past and Future”.
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