The National September 11 Memorial is a tribute of remembrance and honor to the nearly 3,000 people killed in the terror attacks of September 11, 2001 at the World Trade Center site, near Shanksville, Pa., and at the Pentagon, as well as the six people killed in the World Trade Center bombing in February 1993.
The names of every person who died in the 2001 and 1993 attacks are inscribed into bronze panels edging the Memorial pools, a powerful reminder of the largest loss of life resulting from a foreign attack on American soil and the greatest single loss of rescue personnel in American history.
The National September 11 Memorial Museum serves as the country’s principal institution for examining the implications of the events of 9/11, documenting the impact of those events and exploring the continuing significance of September 11, 2001.
The Museum’s 110,000 square feet of exhibition space is located within the archaeological heart of the World Trade Center site—telling the story of 9/11 through multimedia displays, archives, narratives and a collection of monumental and authentic artifacts. The lives of every victim of the 2001 and 1993 attacks will be commemorated as visitors have the opportunity to learn about the men, women, and children who died.
The monumental artifacts of the Museum provide a link to the events of 9/11, while presenting intimate stories of loss, compassion, reckoning, and recovery that are central to telling the story of the attacks and the aftermath.

CLICK ON PHOTOS TO VIEW SLIDESHOW

Every one of the 2,983 watercolor squares is its own shade of blue – one for each of the 2001 and 1993 attack victims – and the artwork as a whole revolves around the idea of memory. Our own perception of the color blue might not be the same as that of another person. But, just like our perception of color, our memories share a common point of reference. (Photo: Gordon Donovan/Yahoo News) A transmission tower approximately 360 feet tall, assembled atop the roof of the North Tower, began broadcasting televisions signals in 1980. Changes over time included the installation in 2000 of a high-definition TV master antenna. Transmissions for most stations failed shortly after hijacked Flight 11 pierced the North Tower on 9/11. All Transmissions ceased by 10:28 a.m., when the tower collapsed. (Photo: Gordon Donovan/Yahoo News) The description that reads along side Pat Brown's helmet in the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, "Responding on 9/11, Ladder Company 3, Captain Patrick "Paddy" Brown wore a different helmet than one he had left in the trunk of his car. It was this unworn helmet, recently relined, that served as Brown's surrogate at a memorial service held in St. Patrick's Cathedral on November 9, 2001, the date that would have been his 49th birthday." (Photo: Gordon Donovan/Yahoo News)
The Twin Towers were the first skyscrapers to employ a system of local and express elevators, an innovation that reduced elevator time and made the buildings attractive to occupants of the upper floors. This elevator motor, the largest model in the world when installed, powered one of the express or service cars, which moved at a speed of 1, 600 feet per minute. A total of 99 motors operated the elevator system in each tower. (Photo: Gordon Donovan/Yahoo News) On 9/11, hijacked Flight 11 tore into north facade of the North Tower, creating a gash from 93rd through the 9th floors and tearing apart steel columns weighing many tons. The underbelly of the aircraft mangled the top of this facade segment with force sufficient to twist and shred the steel. (Photo: Gordon Donovan/Yahoo News) The rear mount aerial truck was parked on West Street near Vesey Street. When the North Tower collapsed, the truck was damaged beyond repair, with its entire front cab destroyed. A bumper and back door panel were later removed from the rig and placed on display as a memorial in Ladder Company 3’s quarters on East 13th Street in Manhattan. The inscription "Jeff We Will Not Forget You!" was painted on the panel by a firefighter related to Jeffrey John Giordano, one of the 11 Ladder Company 3 members who perished that day. (Photo: Gordon Donovan/Yahoo News)
A tank, positioned on the buttress slab at the bottom of original slurry wall, held diesel fuel for emergency generators. During cleanup of the World Trade Center site after 9/11, the tank was cut apart for removal. Its torched-out base was left in place. (Photo: Gordon Donovan/Yahoo News) Using technology pioneered in Italy, workers dug a trench around the perimeter of the site and filled it with a mixture of clay and water. This slurry stabilized the trench, allowing engineers to pump in concrete. Heavier that slurry, concrete sank to the bottom of the trench, displacing the slurry from the ground up and hardening into a solid, watertight wall. Construction of the slurry wall took 12 months, after which reinforcing steel stable, known as tieback, were drilled in the wall and anchored into bedrock. (Photo: Gordon Donovan/Yahoo News) Part of a pipeline that carried water from the Hudson River to an underground refrigeration plant, this 17, 800-pound valve was installed in 1993 in connection with an upgrade to the World Trade Center’s air-conditioning systems. The subterranean motorized valves could be closed manually for maintenance and in case of emergency. After the collapse of the Twin Towers, engineers concerned about the risk of flooding searched for valves underneath the wreckage and closed them as a precautionary measure. (Photo: Gordon Donovan/Yahoo News)
The proximity of the Hudson River posed a significant challenge to the original excavation and construction of the World Trade Center, which began in 1966. River water threatened to seep into or flood the site. The slurry wall technique, not previously employed on such a vast scale, presented a novel solution that led that led to the construction of a watertight enclosure known as the bank tub. (Photo: Gordon Donovan/Yahoo News) Members of FDNY Ladder Company 3, located in Manhattan’s East Village, bravely responded to the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. Led by decorated Captain Patrick “Paddy” John Brown, Ladder Company 3 asked a dispatcher to deploy its members to the disaster. Eleven of them, many of whom had just gone off duty after finishing their overnight shifts, entered the North Tower. (Photo: Gordon Donovan/Yahoo News) Foundation Hall is a room of massive scale, with ceilings ranging from 40 to 60 feet and nearly 15,000 square feet of floor space. Visitors see a portion of the slurry wall, a surviving retaining wall of the original World Trade Center that withstood the devastation of 9/11. Against this backdrop, the Last Column stands 36-feet high and is covered with mementos, memorial inscriptions, and missing posters placed there by ironworkers, rescue workers and others. (Photo: Gordon Donovan/Yahoo News)
At 27 years old, Gerard Baptiste, a firefighter with New York City Fire Department, Ladder 9, developed an interest in motorcycles. In the summer of 2001, he purchased his first bike, a fixer-upper, and brought it to his East Village firehouse where he intended to work on its restoration. The bike sat in the firehouse and its beat-up condition became a running joke among Baptiste’s fellow firefighters. After Baptiste’s death on 9/11, the surviving members of his company took on the project of restoring the bike. With support from enthusiasts across the country, the 1979 Honda was transformed into a memorial motorcycle now known as the "Dream Bike." (Photo: Gordon Donovan/Yahoo News) The National Tribute Quilt is among the new installations in the museum’s Tribute Walk, an area for large-scale works of art created in the aftermath of 9/11. The 8-foot tall quilt contains nearly 3,500 fabric squares created by people in all 50 states and five countries. Stitched together, the squares depict the New York City skyline with the Twin Towers. The quilt also represents the Pentagon and the four flights hijacked on 9/11. (Photo: Gordon Donovan/Yahoo News) These words are part of a larger art installation in the 9/11 Memorial Museum created in 2014 by artist Spencer Finch, titled “Trying to Remember the Color of the Sky on That September Morning.” The installation is the focal point for Memorial Hall, the area between the two main exhibitions at bedrock in the museum. (Photo: Gordon Donovan/Yahoo News)
Each of these steel columns is the bases of a "trident," the three-branched architecyural elements that gave the Twin Towers their distinctive lower facades. These columns are two of 84 that formed the structural perimetere of the North Tower. (Photo: Gordon Donovan/Yahoo News) In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, an iconic image of first responders raising an American flag over the rubble of the fallen World Trade Center provided a symbol of hope and strength to many Americans. The ground zero flag, as it's commonly called, went missing for years after it was lost during the cleanup of the area. Now, nearly 15 years later, the flag hangs on display at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York City. (Gordon Donovan/Yahoo News) One World Trade Center stands above the 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York City on Sept. 8, 2016.(Gordon Donovan/Yahoo News)
Flowers are laid on the panels of the names of victims from the September 11, 2001 attacks are reflected by the morning light on Sept. 8, 2016.(Gordon Donovan/Yahoo News) A view of the mall and buildings at The National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York City. (Photo: Gordon Donovan/Yahoo News) The panels with the names of victims from the September 11, 2001 attacks are reflected by the morning light on Sept. 8, 2016.(Gordon Donovan/Yahoo News)
One of the 9/11 Memorial pools and Museum in New York City on Sept. 8, 2016. (Gordon Donovan/Yahoo News) Visitors take photos outside the 9/11 Museum in New York City on Sept. 8, 2016.(Gordon Donovan/Yahoo News) One of the 9/11 Memorial pools and Museum in New York City on Sept. 8, 2016.(Gordon Donovan/Yahoo News)
One World Trade Center, the 9/11 Memorial and Museum are seen on a beautiful evening in New York City on Sept. 8, 2016.(Gordon Donovan/Yahoo News) A flag hangs outside the 9/11 Museum in front of One World Trade Center in New York City on Sept. 8, 2016.(Gordon Donovan/Yahoo News) One World Trade Center, the 9/11 Memorial and Museum are seen on a beautiful evening in New York City on Sept. 8, 2016.(Gordon Donovan/Yahoo News)