World Trade Centre

The subway line we took to the end of Manhattan, the blue line, ended at a stop called World Trade Centre. It felt very strange climbing the stairs, not knowing what we would find. The site of the two towers is all fenced off, with security guards at every entrance. It is full of noise, cranes and construction equipment.

Off to one side is a 9/11 memorial information centre. It has all sorts of souvenirs with NYPD and Fire Service emblems, and memorabilia designed specifically to raise money for the memorial that is being built on the site. There are models and artist's impressions of the memorial.

As well as all of that there is a detailed timeline on the wall of the events of the day, from the planes taking off and being hijacked, through their crash landings, the grounding of all planes over the USA, to the president's speech to the nation. There are short videos with commentary from survivors and relatives, and various other displays. The centre was full of people who moved around quietly and respectfully reading and listening to the presentations.



One display that we found particularly moving, maybe partly because of our friend Marty the electrician who rides a Harley, was the story of a young man, an electrician who was working on the south tower. He was very keen on going for rides on his bike with his brother and mates. When he had been missing for several days his brother decided to make his bike a tribute to his memory.



Can't seem to rotate this, but a part of the bike decoration lists the ten or so electricians who died at the scene of 9/11.

The centre is recording stories from people about where they were when the planes hit the towers. They estimate that two billion people, about a third of the world's population, watched the events unfold that day. Do you remember where you were? We certainly do!

;-) Ann-a-Gram