New York – day 1, the 9/11 Memorial Museum

The 9/11 Memorial Museum is one of those places in the world everyone should visit in an attempt to gain an insight into human nature and the good and evil mankind is capable of. Thankfully these places are few, and there is no need to name them here, but they all involve acts of atrocity.

Today we paid our respects to those who lost their lives during the 9/11 attack with a visit to the museum located in Manhattan’s financial district where once the twin towers of the World Trade Centre stood until that fateful day in 2001.

Little did we know we would spend five hours at the museum, the inside of which is spacious, but contains a huge amount of information. This could be gained via tours and audio guides, but on this occasion a go-it-alone approach worked well for us.

I was expecting to read stories of what had gone on throughout that day, and to see re-runs of the media footage, but was not expecting to see enormous pieces of crumpled architectural structure that had once supported more than 100 floors of the giant towers; crushed fire engines and police cars that had been on the scene as the buildings collapsed; or the choking thick dust. Even some of the steps down which some people escaped had been left in place – they were advised to walk down the stairs, ‘then just run. Run as fast as you can.’ These exhibits all helped to bring the viewer a tiny bit closer to the reality of that day.

The museum seemed to have every angle covered, including many examples of acts of bravery and humanity, not only by the rescue services but by members of the public who helped day after day in the search for survivors. Many offered support in the form of food and comfort. Others joined the long lines of blood donors.

Some of the stories and photographs were poignant for John whose company at the time had its New York office located in one of the towers. There were also other familiar company names from the insurance and financial sectors that were caught up in the tragic events that day.

It was sobering and not an easy story to relay, but it was part of our trip and a visit to Manhattan would not have been complete without it.

We did manage to end the day on a brighter note, however. While at the museum we received a blizzard warning which was not appropriate for us as sunny weather was scheduled all week. Our next stop was the One World Trade Tower viewing platform on the 100 floor. This is the rebuilt World Trade Centre and also referred to as the Freedom Tower.

It is close to the 9/11 Memorial Museum. We headed outside to find the notifications correct. It was snowing.

Once at the Tower we were advised that we would not see the ground, let alone a skyline view. Our tickets were already booked so we headed upwards, being the only two in the queue. The lift whisked us up in seconds, by which time the snow had stopped and we had beautiful views of the skyline over Manhattan and New Jersey. So we will leave you with some of the more cheery views of the day.

The Freedom Tower at night

Copyright: Words and photos Sue Barnard 2019