Memorials and services for the September 11 attacks


The first memorials to the victims of the September 11 attacks in 2001 began to take shape online, as hundreds of webmasters posted their own thoughts, links to the Red Cross and other rescue agencies, photos, and eyewitness accounts. Numerous online September 11 memorials began appearing a few hours after the attacks, although many of these memorials were only temporary. Around the world, U.S. embassies and consulates became makeshift memorials as people came out to pay their respects.
The first reading of the names of the victims of 9/11 took place at the World Trade Center site on September 11, 2002.
The Tribute in Light was the first major physical memorial at the World Trade Center site. A permanent memorial and museum, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center, were built as part of the design for overall site redevelopment. The 9/11 Memorial consists of two massive pools set within the original footprints of the Twin Towers with waterfalls cascading down their sides. The names of the victims of the attacks are inscribed around the edges of the waterfalls. Other permanent memorials have been constructed around the world.
One of the places that saw many memorials and candlelight vigils was Pier A in Hoboken, New Jersey. There was also a memorial service on March 11, 2002, at dusk on Pier A when the Tribute in Light first turned on, marking the half-year anniversary of the terrorist attack. A permanent September 11 memorial for Hoboken, called Hoboken Island, was chosen in September 2004.
The Sphere, the monumental and world's largest cast bronze sculpture of modern times created by German artist Fritz Koenig stood between the twin towers on the Austin J. Tobin Plaza of the World Trade Center in New York City from 1971 until the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The artefact, weighing more than 20 tons, was the only remaining work of art to be recovered largely intact from the ruins of the collapsed Twin Towers after the attacks. Since then, the bronze sphere, primarily known in the United States as The Sphere, has been transformed into a symbolic memorial to commemorate 9/11. Having become a major tourist attraction, the unrestored sculpture was rededicated on August 16, 2017, by the Port Authority at a permanent location in Liberty Park overlooking the September 11 Memorial.

List

Temporary memorials

Soon after the attacks, temporary memorials were set up in New York and elsewhere.
  • On October 4, Reverend Brian Jordan, a Franciscan priest, blessed the World Trade Center cross, two broken beams at the crash site which had formed a cross, and then had been welded together by iron-workers.
  • On October 13, the North Charleston Coliseum raised a special banner featuring the retired number of Mark Bavis, who was on United Airlines Flight 175. Bavis had played for the ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays, and his retired number hangs in a special corner, independently from the Stingrays' retired numbers and awards banners, with the years he played for the team, the date of his death, and an American flag.
  • Also on October 13, The September 11 Photo Project was founded. The Project was a not-for-profit community-based photo exhibit in response to the September 11 attacks and their aftermath. It toured seven cities over two years, collected photographs from more than 700 participants, and had over 300,000 visitors over its run. The Project provided a venue for the display of photographs accompanied by captions by anyone who wished to participate. The exhibit aimed to preserve a record of the spontaneous outdoor shrines that were being swept away by rain or wind or collected by the city for historic preservation. The Project was also made into a book titled "The September 11 Photo Project" in May 2002. It has sold over 60,000 copies to date.
  • On March 11, 2002, the damaged sculpture The Sphere, formerly displayed in the World Trade Center, was dedicated by the city as a temporary memorial in Battery Park City.

    In other countries

In Europe, Nissoria was one of the first public places that dedicated a memorial to September 11 in Europe. Nissoria is in a small town located in the Province of Enna in Sicily, Italy. Two family members of this community, Vincenzo DiFazio and Salvatore Lopez, died on Sept 11 at the World Trade Center.
The then-mayor Dr. Marco Murgo along with the Chiara family Benito Sr. and son Mario developed the project to dedicate a small plot of land adjacent to a local school and museum that was entitled "Parco 11 Settembre". The Commanding Officer of the nearby U.S. Naval Air Station Sigonella met with this delegation from Nissoria and embraced this truly heartfelt initiative.
Ever since its dedication, and thanks to the present-day Mayor of Nissoria Dott. Armando Glorioso and Dott. Alberto Lunetta who continues this important event, a representation of both American and Italian military personnel from the nearby Military base NAS Sigonella comes to visit and annually commemorate along with all local Italian Authorities, Dignitaries and citizens who truly will never forget this tragic event.
  • According to Radio Farda's website, when the attacks' news was released, Iranian citizens gathered in front of the Embassy of Switzerland in Tehran, which serves as the protecting power of the United States in Iran, to express their sympathy and some of them lit candles as a symbol of mourning. This piece of news on Radio Farda's website also states that in 2011, on the anniversary of the attacks, the United States Department of State, published a post on its blog, in which the Department thanked Iranian people for their sympathy and stated that they would never forget Iranian people's kindness on those harsh days. After the attacks, the President and the Supreme Leader of Iran condemned the attacks. BBC and Time magazine published reports on holding candlelit vigils for the victims by Iranian citizens on their websites.

    Permanent memorials

In addition with the main permanent memorial in New York City, other permanent memorials are located mostly across the United States.

Structures

  • The Avalon September 11th Memorial Plaza, in Avalon, New Jersey, includes a beam from the World Trade Center which is a height of nine feet, eleven inches above the Plaza, and leans toward Manhattan at 9 degrees, 11 minutes. It also includes a wall which is nine feet, eleven inches from the beam, and a plaque. It was erected in 2012, and is at 21st Street and Dune Drive.
  • The Jersey City 9/11 Memorial on the Hudson Waterfront includes steel beams from the WTC, a granite stele, and the sculpture Makeshift Memorial.
  • The Hudson Riverfront 9/11 Memorial, also known as the Weehawken 9/11 Memorial, is in Weehawken, New Jersey, commemorates 9/11 boat lift, the emergency response workers, and the five residents of Weehawken who perished.
  • Memorial to Connecticut victims, Danbury, CT. Glass tower by sculptor Henry Richardson
  • Overland Park Fire Department Training Center 9/11 Memorial, Overland Park, Kansas
  • Memorial at Cove Island Park in Stamford, Connecticut.
File:Twin Towers Memorial in Israel.jpg|thumb|Twin Towers Memorial in Jerusalem
File:Where the Twin Towers Were.jpg|thumb|View of a Jersey City 9/11 Memorial across the Hudson River from the site of the Twin Towers
File:King of Prussia 9-11 Memorial.jpg|thumb|right|King of Prussia Volunteer Fire Company 9/11 Memorial in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania
  • Reflect 9/11 Memorial, Rosemead, California
  • Flight 93 National Memorial, Shanksville, Pennsylvania
  • Pentagon Memorial, The Pentagon, Arlington County, Virginia
  • Tribute in Light, World Trade Center site
  • Fulton County 9/11 Memorial, Wauseon, Ohio
  • 9/11 Memorial, Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza, Phoenix, Arizona
  • Postcards, Staten Island, New York
  • Memorial, Eisenhower Park, East Meadow, New York
  • Rockland County September 11th Memorial, Haverstraw, New York
  • Sussex County September 11th Memorial, located on the grounds of Sussex County Community College in Newton, New Jersey, featuring a steel i-beam from the World Trade Center.
  • Honolulu September 11 Memorial. Dedicated November 11, 2001. A monument bearing an eternal flame and a Twin Towers likeness located outside Honolulu Hale in Downtown Honolulu, Hawaii.
  • 9-11 Remembrance Garden, Winslow, Arizona
  • Beverly Hills 9/11 Memorial Garden, Beverly Hills, California
  • 9-11 Memorial Bridge, Saddle Rock, New York; dedicated on December 27, 2001.
  • Seaford 9/11 Memorial, Seaford, New York
  • Huntington Heckscher Park 9/11 Memorial, Huntington, New York
  • Freedom Plaza, Metuchen, New Jersey
  • Semper Memento, Heisler Park, Laguna Beach, California
  • Indiana 9/11 Memorial, Indianapolis, Indiana
  • September 11 Memorial Park, Westfield, New Jersey
  • 9/11 Memorial Fairview, New Jersey
  • To the Struggle Against World Terrorism, Bayonne, New Jersey
  • Eagle Rock Reservation, West Orange, New Jersey
  • Samuel Oitice Memorial, Peekskill, New York
  • 9/11 Flight Crew Memorial, Grapevine, Texas
  • September 11 Memorial, Vista Verde Cemetery, Rio Rancho, New Mexico
  • September 11 Memorial, Patriots Park, Venice, Florida
  • Flight 93 Memorial, Union City, California
  • John F. Kennedy Space Center 343 first responder victims memorial, Cape Canaveral, Florida.
  • 9/11 Memorial, Naperville, Illinois. Located on the City's Riverwalk between the DuPage River and the City's Municipal Center, it includes 140 faces made by local school children to symbolize the victims of the attacks, a sculpture made from 100 pounds of debris from the Pentagon, granite from the region in Pennsylvania where United 93 crashed, a steel beam from the World Trade Center, and an Eternal Flame.
  • College of DuPage 9/11 Memorial. Located in the lobby of the college's Homeland Security Education Center, it features several exhibits about the attacks and at the center is a steel beam from the World Trade Center.
  • Hero's Memorial, University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, Richland Township, Pennsylvania
  • , Appleton, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
  • In 2011 the South Carolina 9 -11 / First Responders Memorial was erected by First Responders Memorial Committee in Columbia.
  • The Texas State Cemetery has a memorial to the September 11 victims. It is composed to symbolize the damaged Twin Towers, made with two twisted iron girders that had been part of the WTC and salvaged from the Ground Zero wreckage.
  • The Crazy Horse Memorial, South Dakota, has a 9/11 memorial dedicated to the victims and first responders of the attacks. It is located at the entrance of the Crazy Horse Tourist Center.
  • Frank Hotchkin Memorial Training Center in Los Angeles has an upright trident steel from the WTC on display in memory of firefighters lost.
  • The city of Coral Springs, Florida, has its own memorial dedicated to the victims of the attacks. It is located outside the Northwest Regional Library, the city's only public library.
  • September 11 Memorial Plaza California Exposition Sacramento, California, includes an I Beam extracted from Ground Zero. It is open to the public during all Cal Expo events including the California State Fair and on 9/11
  • Hermosa Beach 9/11 Memorial, Hermosa Beach, California
  • Manhattan Beach 9/11 Memorial, Manhattan Beach, California
  • 9/11 Memorial
  • The Garden of Reflection 9-11 Memorial is located in Memorial Park in Lower Makefield Township, Pennsylvania. Designed by Yardley architect Liuba Lashchyk, it is intended to symbolize light that follows darkness.
  • Memoria E Luce, The Memoria e Luce is a memorial located in Padua, Italy. A twisted steel beam salvaged from the wreckage of the World Trade Center, which was donated by the United States to the Veneto Region and in turn to the City of Padua, was used to realize the design of an open and luminous book.
  • Parco 11 Settembre 2001, a large public park in Bologna, Italy
  • 9/11 Memorial in Piazza Bartolo Longo in Pompei, Italy
  • 911 Memorial in the Aberdeen, Ohio Green Space along the Ohio River
  • 9/11 Spirit of America Memorial at Riverside Park in Cashmere, Washington
  • 9/11 memorial in Beckley, West Virginia, a monument-styled structure of a real piece of the collapsed World Trade Center.
  • September 11 Memorial in Lisbon, Portugal. It is a steel structure designed by Augusto Cid, unveiled on October 11, 2001.
  • On May 9, 2002, Columbia Business School in New York City erected a plaque and planted a flowering dogwood on its campus in remembrance of the ten alumni who were killed in the attack. In total, forty-two alumni of Columbia University died in the September 11 attacks.
  • A Tribute to Firefighters in The Firefighters' Reserve in Christchurch, New Zealand, was unveiled on October 26, 2002, as a memorial to the firefighters lost in the 9/11 attacks, as well as to firefighters worldwide who have died in the line of duty, at the first World Firefighters Games held after the attacks. The sculpture, created by Christchurch artist Graham Bennett, consists of five steel girders from the World Trade Centre, gifted by the City of New York to the City of Christchurch for the purpose of this memorial.
  • Colts Neck, New Jersey, which lost five members of their community, commissioned sculptor Jim Gary, a lifetime resident, to create a memorial garden featuring his central sculpture of brass, copper, and stained glass—where each victim is represented by a colorful butterfly among plants in a water garden. The contemplative garden was dedicated at the municipal center of Colts Neck on November 10, 2002.
  • Recovering Equilibrium, at Los Angeles International Airport's Theme Building, unveiled on September 9, 2003, and designed by BJ Krivanek and Joel Breaux. Three of the four hijacked planes were originally bound for Los Angeles.
  • The September 11 Memorial Garden in Grosvenor Square, London, United Kingdom, was opened on September 11, 2003, by the Princess Royal and the then-US Ambassador to the UK, William Farish. The central plaque in the garden is dedicated to the 67 Britons who were killed in the attacks and is surrounded by an oak pergola and pavilion which bears a quote from Queen Elizabeth II: "Grief is the price we pay for love".
  • In July 2004, a Boston memorial to the 206 citizens of Massachusetts that died on September 11, 2001, was dedicated at the Arlington & Newbury St. entrance to the Boston Public Garden.
  • The Rising, dedicated in Westchester County, New York, on September 11, 2006, in memory of the residents of that county killed during the 9-11 attacks.
  • The Air Line Pilots Association constructed the 9/11 Remembrance Garden at its Herndon, Virginia, campus, which was dedicated on Sept. 11, 2006. The area includes a 10-ton stone from a western Pennsylvania quarry, split to represent the break that the terrorist attacks created in the airline industry. Two sections of steel I-beams from the World Trade Centers and a piece of the Pentagon's outer wall also adorn the garden.
  • On September 11, 2006, Ocean City, Maryland, erected the Ocean City Firefighter's Memorial to honor local firefighters as well as firefighters who died in the September 11 attacks. In addition to a statue of a firefighter, the monument incorporates a piece of steel beam from one of the towers destroyed at the World Trade Center.
  • The FDNY memorial wall, a bronze wall of cast bas-relief bronze that honors the 343 firefighters who gave their lives in service to the public during the attacks. Commissioned by FDNY and unveiled in 2006 as a memorial to the fallen firefighters, it lists all of the fallen firefighters names, and is installed in the west wall of Engine Company 10 – Ladder Company 10 on Greenwich Street between Albany Street and Liberty Street, just across from Ground Zero.
  • In Union City, New Jersey, which lost four of its residents during the attacks, the first 9/11 memorial was a sculpture placed in Doric Park, in whose courtyard citizens gathered on September 11, 2001, to view the attacks' aftereffects. On September 11, 2007, the city dedicated its Liberty Plaza to commemorate the event. It includes two memorial markers. In subsequent years, citizens of neighboring towns have been honored at Liberty Plaza, including North Bergen resident David Lemagne, a Port Authority police officer who grew up in Union City, and perished during the attacks. Doric Park was later rebuilt as Firefighters Memorial Park, which opened in August 2009, includes a memorial to local firefighters who gave their lives in the line of duty.
  • On November 12, 2009, a 9/11 Living Memorial monument was dedicated in Jerusalem's Arazim Park. Designed by Israeli artist Eliezer Weishoff, the 30-foot high bronze sculpture is composed of a waving American flag transformed into a memorial flame, which rests upon a base of gray granite, part of which is from the original Twin Towers. The sculpture is surrounded by a circular, crater-like plaza and reflection area tiled in stone. It is currently the only monument outside of the United States which lists the names of the nearly 3,000 victims who died in the 9/11 attacks. U.S. Ambassador to Israel James Cunningham, Air Attache Colonel Richard Burgess and U.S. Congressman Erik Paulsen led a U.S. delegation attending the ceremony dedicating the monument. They were joined by Israeli Cabinet ministers, former Israeli Prime-Minister Ehud Olmert, Israel Fire and Rescue Services Commissioner, Knesset members and families of the victims.
  • In September 2008, a $3.5 million 9/11 memorial in the form of a glass cube was dedicated at Logan International Airport in Boston. The two jets that destroyed the World Trade Center had departed from Logan, and the memorial commemorates the 147 innocent victims aboard those flights.
  • On September 11, 2009, the Defense Intelligence Agency dedicated a permanent memorial to the seven DIA officers who died on 9/11 while working at the Pentagon. The memorial is part of the Defense Intelligence Analysis Center on Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C., the largest of DIA's facilities.
  • On May 31, 2010, during a Memorial Day ceremony, a nine-foot steel construction beam from the World Trade Center, was unveiled with the description "WTC 9 11 01" engraved on it. This beam stands in front of the Combined Joint Task Force Headquarters at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan.
  • On July 6, 2010, the Queen Elizabeth II September 11th Garden in Hanover Square, downtown Manhattan was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II. It commemorates the 67 British victims of the attacks.
  • In September 2011, the Firefighters from Clyde, North Carolina, unveiled a monument dedicated to the victims of the attacks. It is composed of sections of steel from the World Trade Center, with fencework designed to look like the lobbies in 1 and 2 WTC. It is located in front of the Clyde fire department.
  • Empty Sky, the official New Jersey memorial to 9/11 victims, dedicated on September 11, 2011, in Liberty State Park, New Jersey.
  • On September 11, 2011, the State of Maryland unveiled the 9/11 Memorial of Maryland at Baltimore's World Trade Center.
  • On September 11, 2011, the Hartsville Fire Company in Hartsville, Pennsylvania, dedicated a September 11 memorial. The memorial honors the firefighters killed in the attacks in New York City and contains two columns representing the World Trade Center along with a piece of steel from the World Trade Center.
  • On September 11, 2011, the King of Prussia Volunteer Fire Company dedicated the King of Prussia Volunteer Fire Company 9/11 Memorial in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. The memorial consists of two steel beams recovered from Ground Zero at the World Trade Center in New York City.
  • On September 11, 2011, the City of Kennewick, Washington, dedicated a memorial at the Southridge Sports and Events Complex that includes a section of the steel beam from the World Trade Center.
  • On September 11, 2013, the City of Yuma, Arizona, unveiled a memorial at Yuma Fire Station No.1. The memorial composed a section of steel I-beam from one of the towers of the World Trade Center and on the base holding the steel beam has 4 plaques remembering the victims of 9/11
  • On September 11, 2013, Bremerton, Washington, dedicated the Central Kitsap 9/11 Memorial at Evergreen Park, including steel girders from the World Trade Center, limestone from the Pentagon, and sand from the Shanksville, Pennsylvania crash site
  • Outside the Air Mobility Command Museum building near Dover, Delaware, there is a 9/11 memorial consisting of two pieces of steel from the North Tower, a rock from the United Airlines Flight 93 crash site, and a block from the Pentagon. The memorial was completed in 2013, making Delaware the last U.S. state to receive an official 9/11 memorial.
  • Jerry Taylor Veterans Plaza in Sunnyside, Washington, a veterans memorial the size of a city block with a panel dedicated to 9/11, was begun in 2014
  • On September 11, 2014, the City of Ybor, Florida unveiled a permanent memorial including a group of stainless steel figures and actual 9/11 debris.
  • On September 11, 2015, a small memorial was unveiled at Edmonds, Washington Fire Station 17 as an expansion of the existing Firefighters Memorial Park.
  • Hayward 9/11 Memorial, Hayward, California, dedicated May 30, 2016, to the first responders who died, and to the city's own fallen first responders, and the city's fallen soldiers
  • Huntington Beach 9/11 Memorial, Huntington Beach, California – A design plan was selected and the Memorial was opened to the public on September 11, 2016. The Memorial was built outside the Huntington Beach City Hall building and was dedicated on September 11, 2013. The Memorial design features two stainless steel towers, incorporating two girders from the World Trade Center provided by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The words "We Will Never Forget" is etched along the base of the memorial. Funding was obtained through fundraising events and donations from private citizens.
  • In September 2015, the Plano Firefighters Association created a World Trade Center and Ground Zero memorial at their office in Downtown Plano, Texas. It features a 6,600-pound piece of debris, given by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
  • In 2015 the two intact Port Authority Trans-Hudson cars saved from the WTC station were donated, one each to the Trolley Museum of New York and the Shore Line Trolley Museum. These cars were saved by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey originally for use by the National September 11 Memorial & Museum but it was decided to make these cars available to other museums instead.
  • In August 2012, a memorial was opened along the Schuylkill River Trail in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The memorial features a steel beam pointing in the direction of ground zero. The granite base is inscribed with the names of three Philadelphians who lost their lives in the attacks.
  • On September 11, 2016, the Absecon 9/11 Memorial located in Heritage Park in Absecon, New Jersey, was completed and dedicated. The memorial includes a beam from the 39th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
  • Double Helix, sculpture at University of Nevada, Las Vegas Lied Library, dedicated on September 9, 2011
  • Memorial - Dedicated 6/25/2011 in Kensington, MD, Donated to KVFD by "9/11 Families Association". includes artifact structural metal from WTC North Tower point of impact; damaged façade from Pentagon, & plaque for Shanksville, Pa.. Historical note: KVFD crew responded to Pentagon in aftermath of the tragedy.
  • 9/11 memorial - A steel pipe from WTC North Tower outside of Castle Rock, CO Fire Department.
  • World Trade Center Memorial, located in the Washington Irving Memorial Park and Arboretum in Bixby Oklahoma, Contains a steel beam from the World Trade Center. Dedicated September 11th 2002.
  • Quincy, Illinois 9/11 Memorial - This 7,000 lb, 15 ft, 8-sided section of a communications tower that supported a television broadcasting antenna and a 5 lb, 1 ft piece of the antenna were located on World Trade Center Tower One when it was attacked on September 11, 2001. The antenna was designed and manufactured by Harris Corporation at its Quincy plant.
  • Fresno, California Todd Beamer Park is named after the Flight 93 passenger famous for the phrase "Let's Roll"