The National September 11 Memorial & Museum yesterday celebrated its first year anniversary. Located on eight of the 16 acres of the World Trade Center site, the museum welcomed about 2.7 million visitors from all 50 states and more than 150 countries during the Museum’s first year of operations since its dedicated opening on May 15, 2014.
It opened to the public on May 21 after a days-long dedication period for 9/11 family members, first responders, survivors, rescue and recovery workers, lower Manhattan residents and others.
U.S. and foreign dignitaries have been among the visitors, including President Barack Obama, former President George Bush, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond Odierno and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh. Other prominent visitors include major sports teams, cultural icons and veterans groups, including Wounded Warriors, Team Red, White and Blue, The Mission Continues and Gold Star Mothers, which have been some of the most meaningful visits.
In recognition of the first anniversary of the Museum, the National 9/11 Flag, a tattered flag recovered from Ground Zero that was restored in “stitching ceremonies” held across the country will be exhibited beginning on May 21, 2015. The Museum will also feature a new exhibit called Beyond Ground Zero: 9/11 and the American Landscape, Photographs by Jonathan C. Hyman, which is open in the Museum’s South Tower Gallery. This selection of images chronicles various ways in which the public paid tribute to 9/11 victims and examined the attacks through improvised memorials and grassroots gestures created within days of the events and over the years.
To learn more about the 9/11 Memorial and Museum and plan your visit, go to 911memorial.org.
