I saw Ground Zero when I was 17 just months after the Towers fell and then again years later just before the new memorial site opened. I wanted to go back someday to pay my respects to those whose lives were taken there that day.
The Oculus
As I exited the subway station up to the street level to the 9/11 Memorial, I was soon overwhelmed with the giant white structure spanning well over a city block and 160 feet tall with long ribs jutting out from a central spine of window panes. The Oculus. A shopping mall on the original site replacing the one that was previously located beneath the Twin Towers for 25 years is now enclosed in a white, oblong structure with a series of ribs spreading out from a skylight above the entire space.
It’s aligned with the direction of the sun from that day in 2001 so that on September 11th each year, the sun moves along the central spine filling the space with light from 8:46am when the first plane struck to 10:28am when the second tower fell. Two parallel columns of light are illuminated for those 102 minutes as the “Wedge of Light” creates a thoughtful way to remember all the lives that were lost on this spot in those horrific moments.
Remembering why we never forget.
The memorial site features twin waterfalls called Reflecting Absence, placed in the footprint where each Tower stood. Now, water continually flows, peacefully downward into a void, below the bronze banners with the names of the fallen, surrounding these two places where their lives ended. Every year on their birthday, a white rose is placed in their name to honor and remember their life. The names of people who died together are grouped together on the parapets such as colleagues and flight crews. Those who were connected in real life have their names side by side in what the memorial foundation calls “meaningful adjacencies.” The victims’ families were invited to request their loved one’s name appear next to those of the people they loved. Now, as they were connected in their lives so they remain together forever at the Memorial.
This site also includes those killed in the 1993 bombing as well as those aboard American Airlines Flight 11 which flew into the North Tower, United Airlines Flight 175 which flew into the South Tower, American Airlines Flight 77 which flew into the Pentagon and those who died in the Pentagon, and those aboard Flight 93 whose passengers forced to crash near Shanksville, Pennsylvania after learning mid-flight about the Twin Tower attacks.
During my visit, I saw a young man in his mid-twenties standing in front of one of the names, clearly mourning a life lost. I can’t imagine the trauma of losing a loved one in such a horrific way. But it makes you realize the power and importance of having places like this to honor the impact of what happened and how tragic and deeply devastating the loss was and continues to be decades on.
The Survivor Tree
Apart from the names and the meaning around the fountains, one of the most poignant parts of the Memorial is easy to miss. It’s the Survivor Tree. Its placard reads: “This Callery pear tree stands distinct from the hundreds of swamp white oak trees on the Memorial. It was discovered amidst the wreckage on the 9/11 attacks, its bark charred from fires at the site and many of its limbs reduced to stumps. Yet somehow, the tree, still bearing leaves, showed signs of life. Recovery workers transported the tree to a nursery in the Bronx to be cared for by the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. With careful tending, the stumps of burned and gnarled bark gave growth to longer and smoother branches. Replanted at the 9/11 Memorial in December 2010, this Survivor Tree bursts into magnificent blossom each spring, embodying a living symbol of resilience.”
St. Paul’s Chapel
Just across the street from where the Twin Towers stood is Manhattan’s oldest church built in 1766. When the 9/11 attacks happened and the Towers fell, no one could believe it when miraculously, the chapel was still standing next to the rubble. A great sycamore tree on the northwest corner protected the church and took the brunt of felling debris, its roots now enshrined in a bronze memorial on the grounds. The chapel remained whole with not even so much as a broken window. It was a miracle.
As its walls held the cries and prayers of centuries past, it became an even stronger place of refuge in the following months for first responders, recovery workers, and construction workers to find rest. They were cared for by hundreds of volunteers working 12-hour shifts serving meals and providing beds, prayers, and counseling for those on the front lines of what became known as Ground Zero. With the church facing away from Ground Zero, her back surely carried the weight of thousands of prayers and cries from outside as never heard before inside. Her chapel grounds held the flowers, photos, and teddy bears for those who lost their lives just yards away. She became known as “The Little Chapel That Stood.”
My final thoughts:
This is why we never forget. This is why we need a place to come together to remember and dedicate time and reflection to what happened and why it’s so important to learn to love and accept other people groups on this planet. We’re all in this together and we need to take care of each other. Live and let live. Love and let love.
“Inspired by the ancient game of jacks, Daniel Anderson’s monumental sculpture, XO WORLD, was unveiled on the 40th anniversary of World Peace Day in September 2021. ‘The dramatic juxtaposition of scale in this work was meant to minimize the scale of its viewers,’ says Anderson, ‘making the impact and importance of its message that much bigger.’ That message is ‘inclusiveness, hope, and positivity,’ and Anderson hopes XO WORLD and its sister sculpture XO PLAY—which depicts four children playing jacks—will ‘ignite a global “Share the Love” movement embracing equality, unity, peace, and love.’ Both sculptures are scheduled to travel to other cities around the world, including Paris, London, and Hong Kong, beginning in 2023.”
The history of Manhattan Island.
It was a 46-second elevator ride up the One World Tower to visit One World Observatory. Once inside the elevator, a fascinating, historical video showing the evolution and progression of Manhattan Island. The year is shown on the left side in the middle. Eventually on the right side, the Twin Towers will appear and then disappear. Please watch.