Downtown Residents to Be Among the First to Visit 9/11 Museum

Twin, 70-foot-high tridents are among the many artifacts that visitors will see at the National September 11 Memorial Museum. Photo: Carl Glassman/Tribeca Trib

Lower Manhattan residents will be among the first to visit the National September 11 Memorial Museum, before it officially opens to the public on May 21.

During a “dedication period” from May 15 to May 20, those who live or work below Canal Street, as well as victims’ family members and 9/11 rescue and recovery workers will be able to visit the museum, free, prior to the general public. During that time, the museum will be open 24 hours a day.

Joe Daniels, president of the Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum, told a meeting of Community Board 1 on Tuesday that the invitation is “in recognition of the impact that the Sept. 11 attacks—as well as the World Trade Center rebuilding—has had on the Lower Manhattan community.”

During that “dedication period,” according to a statement, the museum will be open continuously in tribute to those who worked around the clock in the aftermath of the attacks. People who want to visit during that period must make a reservation at 911memorial.org/dedication, where they can also enter a lottery to attend the museum’s dedication ceremony.

Currently, museum officials are working with the state Department of Transportation and the Port Authority to remove “enough of the fencing” around the September 11 Memorial to make the plaza an unenclosed site, according to Daniels.

“We are looking forward to the vision of integrating the memorial into the very fabric of the surrounding area,” Daniels said.

Beginning Wednesday, March 26, $24 general tickets can be purchased at 911memorial.org. A variety of discounts are available, and admission is free Tuesdays from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Those who lost family members on Sept. 11, as well as rescue and recovery workers who are registered with the museum, will be granted free access.

In the museum, visitors will find an exhibition called “In Memoriam,” displaying the names and portraits of all 2,983 victims of the Sept. 11 attacks and the Feb. 26, 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. A historical exhibition tells the story of 9/11, both of the three attack sites and the worldwide impact of the terror strikes. Artifacts, photographs, audio and video footage, first-person testimonials, and personal possessions and memorabilia related to the event are displayed throughout the museum. Visitors can also record their own 9/11 experiences at an audio installation called “Reflecting on 9/11.”

“The museum will acknowledge that the events of Sept. 11 are part of an ongoing story,” Daniels said, “one that began well before that day and one that continues to shape our world well beyond it.”