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Focus on the Memorial


•  Ideas For Memorials Downtown
•  Tributes and Remembrances


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9/11 In Arts And Culture
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Tributes and Remembrances

From the moments immediately after the morning of September 11, New Yorkers and others around the world began commemorating the September 11 victims. See the different ways that these tributes and remembrances have sprung to life.

Links To Tributes and Remembrances

Here Is New York
An online collection featuring donated photographs from a Soho gallery
http://www.hereisnewyork.org/

NYC Diary
Metropolis Magazine chronicles impromptu memorials around New York City in this photoessay
http://www.metropolismag.com/html/content_1201/vis/index.html

The Memorial Quilt
An idea for a giant quilt made of photo image quilt blocks for each and every life lost on September 11th at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and on Flight 93.
http://www.memorialquilt.com/default.asp

September's Mission: Remembering The Children
A short slideshow of drawings and poetry reacting to September 11
http://www.septembersmission.org/remembering/

Heroes by Marvel Comics
A comic book commemorating the heroes and the victims of September 11
http://www.marvelcomics.com/comics/onsale/1001/heroes.htm

9-11
Another comic book reflection on September 11, featuring artists and writers from DC Comics, Chaos! Comics, Dark Horse Comics, and Image Comics. Includes a gallery and an e-comic http://www.dccomics.com/features/911/911.html


News Stories

Rockaway Artist's Tribute Will Honor Victims of World Trade Center Attack - Feb 17, 2003
Drawing on a variety of materials and themes, 40 artists submitted entries for a memorial to the 70 residents of the Rockaways, including many firefighters, who lost their lives at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. Though entries were submitted from as far away as Greece, the winning design came from a local artist. "The Heavens Over the Rockaways" was designed by stained-glass artist Patrick Clark of Rockaway Park. (Newsday)

Garden of Remembrance To Honor 9/11 Victims - Jan 16, 2003
A "garden of remembrance" honoring the victims of Sept. 11 will be designed by Dutch horticulturist and landscape artist Piet Oudolf in lower Manhattan, the city announced yesterday.The garden of remembrance will encompass 10,000 square feet of perennial plantings, flowers and passages for meditation, according to the Battery Conservancy and the city Parks Department. (New York Post)

Memorial Fence at St Paul's Chapel Being Cleared - Nov 8, 2002
A grass-roots memorial to the victims of the World Trade Center attack that grew in the last year from a few remembrances on the fence surrounding St. Paul's Chapel to a cluttered collection of tributes is slowly being cleared, one flag, one shirt, one doll at a time. One day a week, workers will clear away memorial tributes on 10 feet of the fence, five feet in each of two sections. The fence should be clear shortly after New Year's Day. (New York Times)

New Yorkers Among Pentagon Design Finalists - Oct 30, 2002
When they learned of the competition to design a memorial at the Pentagon, Brooklyn architects Edwin Zawadzki and Mason Wickham finally found a way to assist in the recovery after Sept. 11. The Fort Greene couple and two other New York City teams have been named finalists in the Pentagon memorial competition, three of six chosen from 1,126 eligible submissions to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. (Newsday)

Firehouse Memorial Honors Its Heroes - Oct 14, 2002
Made with granite, stained glass and love, a memorial to 10 firefighters from Engine 8/Ladder 2 who died in the terrorist attack now fills their midtown firehouse. Relatives of the 10 men broke into applause seeing the 9-foot-high memorial and then wiped away tears as they placed single red roses upon it. This scene was repeated in many of the city's 75 firehouses during the FDNY's weekend dedicated to its fallen. (New York Daily News)

Creator of a Memorial Wall To Face Review By City Art Commission - Sep 29, 2002
A Brooklyn native spurred creation of a granite memorial wall in honor of the 115 Brooklyn-based firefighters who died on Sept. 11, but the project hit a bump when the man found he must get approval of the city Art Commission before the wall can be erected. (Newsday)

Commemorations Begin As Anniversary Nears - Sep 8, 2002
As the anniversary of Sept. 11 approached, New Yorkers and visitors to the city remembered the terrorist attacks with tributes, ceremonies and recollections of private grief. Events taking place Sunday included a memorial walk led by paralyzed police detective Steven McDonald and the presentation of a plaque honoring transit workers. A coalition of groups opposed to President Bush's war on terror and his plans for attacking Iraq held a march from Times Square to Union Square. (Associated Press)

Long Island Teen Creates 9/11 Memorial - Aug 26, 2002
Two Atlantic Beach residents who died on September 11 were honored yesterday with a memorial next to Atlantic Beach's new village hall. It was a memorial conceived and designed entirely by Zara Zimmerman, who will be a high school senior. It was Zimmerman's idea to honor the only two Atlantic Beach residents who perished on Sept. 11, and it was her idea to have two pieces of the World Trade Center included at the site. (Newsday)

Neighborhood of Memorials Ponders the 9/11 Addition - Aug 23, 2002
As the public wrestles over the design of a permanent 9/11 memorial, some downtown residents are worried that their community will be turned into a kind of "living graveyard." Battery Park City and adjacent Battery Park are already home to more than a dozen memorials and monuments. As the Sept. 11 anniversary approaches, some downtown residents are calling for a limit on the size of a permanent World Trade Center memorial. Other residents and family members of victims want a large memorial that they say will make a statement about the scope of the tragedy. (Downtown Express)

Makeshift Memorial Brings Event to Human Scale - Aug 19, 2002
David Cohen, the owner of Chelsea Jeans, a clothing store a block from where the World Trade Center used to be, created a preserved shrine leaving things as they were when the impact of the blasts ruined his store. Mr. Cohen's shrine was just one of the makeshift memorials that sprang up around the city after Sept. 11. Now, the process to design an official memorial has begun. (New York Times)

Smithsonian Struggles With 9/11 - Aug 13, 2002
Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's cell phone and baseball cap, a stairwell sign from the World Trade Center, a piece of limestone from the Pentagon, a uniform from a Navy officer who rescued a Pentagon victim. Those are some of the items that will be on display when the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History opens its exhibit, "September 11: Bearing Witness to History," on the anniversary of the attacks. (Associated Press)

Families Plan 9/11 Walks in New York City, Virginia - Aug 12, 2002
Family members will carry photographs of loved ones who died in the Sept. 11 attacks during two "remembrance walks" in Virginia and New York next month, organizers said yesterday. (New York Daily News)

Brooklyn Tribute on Waterfront - Aug 12, 2002
More than 2,000 people are expected to pack the 69th Street pier in Brooklyn to honor the World Trade Center victims on the Sept. 11 anniversary. (New York Post)

Stone Statues Honoring 9/11 On Shoreline - Aug 10, 2002
Three months after the Sept. 11 attacks, New Jersey artist Stephen Shaheen set out to build a stone monument dedicated to the victims of the attacks, dubbing it The Memorial Project. Last week, he finished the two main sculptures, 13-foot-high statues. (Associated Press)

NYPD Plans WTC Service - Aug 8, 2002
The Police Department will hold a separate memorial for its officers killed on Sept. 11th. (Newsday)

Memorial Run Set for Sept. 14 - Aug 8, 2002
The victims of the Sept. 11 attacks will be remembered next month with a four-mile memorial run along Manhattan's West Side, from which the twin towers were once visible. (Newsday)

Sept. 11 to Be Marked With Music and Tributes - Aug 7, 2002
New York City will be transformed into a state of perpetual commemoration on Sept. 11, with readings, concerts and odes to the dead, tributes that in many cases grew out of ideas from people around the world. The business of the city of New York will not cease, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said yesterday, in detailing the city's plans to mark the first anniversary of the terrorist attacks. Rather, it will yield to various events in all five boroughs, beginning with a march into ground zero led by bagpipers and including a visit from President Bush and a reading of the names of every person who died in the World Trade Center attack. (New York Times)

Schedule for the Ceremony - Aug 7, 2002
A full schedule for the Sept. 11 commemoration, beginning with five bagpipe processions in each of the five boroughs. (Newsday)

Wednesday Last Day for WTC Memorial Service Ideas - Jul 30, 2002
City officials planning ceremonies to commemorate the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks say they have received more than 4,000 suggestions, ranging from a candlelight vigil in Central Park, to a parade down Broadway honoring rescue workers, to a nationwide moment of silence. Wednesday is the final day to offer ideas.Suggestions for the ceremonies can be made on the city’s Web site at www.nyc.gov, or by calling 212-788-7799. (Newsday)

First Panels of Project to Honor 9/11 Victims on Display Saturday - Jul 11, 2002
The first 60 panels of a quilt honoring Sept. 11 victims go on display this weekend in Central Park. Nearly 400 families and friends of those who died Sept. 11 have each agreed to make a 3-foot-by-6-foot panel. (Newsday)

Giant Sept. 11 Quilt Displayed - Jul 5, 2002
A giant American flag being decorated with quilted squares from around the country was unveiled in the park on the nation's birthday. The September 11th Quilt Project was begun as a way to bring New Yorkers and the rest of the country together to heal after the terror attacks on the World Trade Center, said project co-founder Alexis Owen of Denver. (New York Daily News)

Stamp Tribute to 9/11 Heroes - Jul 5, 2002
This week, the Postal Service presented a tiny yet powerful memorial to Sept. 11 ‹ the Heroes of 2001 Stamp. The stamp features the Thomas Franklin photograph of three firefighters raising the American flag at Ground Zero and is available nationwide. It sells for 45 cents, 8 cents of which will be donated to the September 11th Victims' Fund. (New York Daily News)

Relatives of Sept. 11 Victims Gather to Remember Civillian Heroes - Jun 29, 2002
Relatives of victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks paid tribute Saturday to the unheralded acts of heroism performed by unknown numbers of civilians who helped evacuate the World Trade Center. Their stories, though largely overshadowed by the more publicized deeds of firefighters and police officers, were remembered by former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, Gov. George Pataki and others in a memorial service in midtown Manhattan. (Newsday)

Push on to Keep Cross at Ground Zero for Good - Jun 6, 2002
A movement to keep the Ground Zero cross at Ground Zero got a boost yesterday when a redevelopment official suggested it be made part of a permanent memorial. An effort is afoot to make these steel girders Ñ found broken into the shape of a cross in the rubble of Building 6 Ñ part of permanent memorial. Ed Malloy, a board member of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., asked the agency to incorporate the steel cross into the design of a planned Sept. 11 memorial at the World Trade Center site. (New York Daily News)

Ceremony Honors Those Lost As Recovery At WTC Site Ends - May 31, 2002
A solemn and wordless procession punctuated by tears, the tolling of bells and muted applause rose out of Ground Zero and up into the sunny streets of lower Manhattan yesterday on a morning as bright as the September day terror shattered the city. There were no speeches by the many elected officials and dignitaries present. The only words uttered aloud called those assembled to attention. The removal of debris remaining after the clearing of nearly 2 million tons of rubble is expected by the middle of next week. (Newsday)

Mural and Garden At Staten Island School Pays Tribute To 9/11 Victims - May 13, 2002
A mural and a garden at Intermediate School 51 in Staten Island pay tribute to the victims of September 11.The mural, painted by IS 51 graduate Marco Cammayo, 23, was inspired by the famous news photo of three firefighters raising the American flag at Ground Zero. Below the mural, students planted a garden. (New York Daily News)

Tribute In Light Ends As Spotlights Fade Into Dawn - Apr 15, 2002
The twin pillars of light that rose as an ethereal monument to the losses of Sept. 11 ended their monthlong illumination early yesterday morning, the 88 searchlights silently blending into the hazy dawn before a police officer pressed a button and cut off the 616,000 watts of power. "They aren't turning them off," said a security guard at the scene. "They are fading off in the morning light." (New York Times)

Hundreds Downtown Bear Witness End of Tribute In Light - Apr 14, 2002
Hundreds of people traveled to lower Manhattan yesterday to view the last night of the Tribute in Light. Police said crowds were greater than at any time since the twin shafts of light were turned on March 11, the six-month anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Center. (New York Daily News)

Queens Public School Receives Solidary Quilt From California Elementary School Students - Apr 14, 2002
Students at Public School 206 in Rego Park received a "solidarity quilt" made by children at an elementary school in California as a show of support for city school kids in the aftermath of Sept. 11. (New York Daily News)

Worshippers Celebrate Easter Near Ground Zero - Mar 31, 2002
Worshippers filled a chapel a block from the World Trade Center site Sunday for a candlelight sunrise Easter service. "The message of Easter is a message of hope, and hope is something to which we cling amid the devastation of ground zero," said Father Lyndon Harris, who delivered the sermon at St. Paul's Chapel. Newsday has a slideshow of photographs taken at the mass. (Associated Press)

Union Square Subway Station Host To A Memorial - Mar 30, 2002
Erected this month by the Manhattan-based nonprofit group ArtAid was a 30-foot long memorial to September 11 victims. There are more than 2,800 names of those killed in the World Trade Center attacks listed in the Vietnam Memorial-like tribute. Beyond memorializing the missing, the tribute invites relatives and friends of the victims to sign their names and leave personal messages. (New York Daily News)

Museum Looking For Home For World Trade Center Photo Exhibit - Mar 17, 2002
A gripping photo exhibit of the devastated World Trade Center by a renowned New York photographer could skip the city because of a dispute involving the Museum of the City of New York. The exhibit, originally slated to be held at the Tweed Courthouse, is now uncertain because Mayor Bloomberg cast doubt recently on the move to the courthouse as a result of the city's financial crisis. (New York Daily News)

SoHo Photo Exhibit a WTC Shrine - Jan 20, 2002
A gallery in Soho filled with 4,000 donated photographs chronicling the events of September 11 has been trying to close its doors since Thanksgiving. However, the demand of 3,500 visitors streaming in every day has kept it open indefinitely. The exhibition does not single out any individual photographers - there are no names on the pictures, and no rights owned on any of them. The pictures, which can be seen at the 116 Prince St. gallery or online at their website (http://www.hereisnewyork.org) will eventually be moved to an archive somewhere else in the city. (Newsday)

Firefighters Block a Plan for Statue in Brooklyn - Jan 18, 2002
After a series of complaints from firefighters, plans to honor firefighters with a statue memorial have been abandoned. The bronze statue would have depicted a now-famous Bergen Record photograph of three firefighters raising the American flag after the collapse of the World Trade Center. However the statue would have represented a black, a white, and a Hispanic firefighter instead of the three white firefighters in the original photograph. Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta said that the
Fire Department will now be reevaluating what kind of memorial will be erected for the firefighters. Opponents of the statue had collected the signatures of more than 1,000 firefighters who objected to the design. (New York Times)

Statue Will Salute Bravest Flag Raisers - Dec 21, 2001
A statue inspired by three firefighters who raised the American flag amid the rubble of the World Trade Center was unveiled yesterday, with officials saying it will serve as a permanent symbol of their bravery and strength. The statue, "Flag-Raising at Ground Zero," will be cast in bronze and is expected to be installed at the MetroTech complex in April. (New York Daily News)

Shrine to WTC Civilian Victims - Dec 7, 2001
A makeshift memorial to the civilian victims of the World Trade Center attacks has been scaled back, while a similar nearby shrine to fallen cops and firefighters has received a more permanent home. The memorials, which sit opposite one another along a path that leads from the Hudson River esplanade in Battery Park City to the fallen south tower on Liberty St., are now strikingly disparate. Battery Park City Authority officials said the changes were made this week for maintenance reasons and to protect thousands of mementos from the coming cold weather. (New York Daily News)

Firefighters Oppose a Plan to Record Their Memories of Sept. 11 - Dec 7, 2001
In the days after the Sept. 11 attack, the Fire Department tried to gather its surviving firefighters to record an oral history of the day when more of their colleagues perished than any other. It was to be a kind of spoken monument of scarred memories, captured in individual voices, to immortalize an awful but seminal event. The department officials wanted to act fast to get the most detailed recollections, in the rawest terms. But the plan hit a wall as soon as it began, and the bid to document the department's saddest and most heroic moments has turned into an ugly dispute between department officials and many firefighters and their unions. (New York Times)