From New York to Hawaii, towns and cities across the nation have constructed moving memorials so that we never forget the thousands who were lost during the September 11 terrorist attacks.
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From New York to Hawaii, towns and cities across the nation have constructed moving memorials so that we never forget the thousands who were lost during the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Built in the exact spots in lower Manhattan where the World Trade Center buildings stood, the 9/11 memorial in New York City is profoundly moving. Two pools, nearly an acre in size each, contain the largest manmade waterfalls in North America. The stunning pools are surrounded by a railing with the names of those lost in the attacks. The nearby 9/11 Memorial Museum is the country’s preeminent institution for information and mementos about the day this city and the world will never forget.
This memorial is situated in the rural Pennsylvania field where Flight 93 crashed on September 11, 2001. Included in the memorial is the Tower of Voices, which was completed in September 2020. The tower is a unique musical instrument that stands 93 feet tall and has 40 chimes (to represent the 40 crew and passengers on Fight 93). It’s a living memorial in sound to remember the voices of those we lost.
Located southwest of the Pentagon is a memorial garden to remember those who perished in the building or on Flight 77. A competition was held to see who would design the memorial, with 1,126 proposals submitted from all around the world. The honor was given to Julie Beckman and Keith Kaseman, two architects from Philadelphia. Their design includes 184 benches—each of them bearing the name of someone who died in the attack—creating a quiet place for prayer and mourning.
The 9/11 memorial in the small city of Grapevine, Texas, honors the 33 flight crew members on the four planes that crashed on September 11, 2001. The memorial is also dedicated to current flight crew members, who continue to stay vigilant in their work to keep passengers safe.
Credit: Alamy Stock Photo
5 of 20 Beverly Hills, California
This memorial stands in Beverly Hills in Los Angeles County and, like many memorials around the country and world, includes a structural piece of the World Trade Center. The site also holds a piece of the plane from Flight 77, which crashed into the Pentagon, and the flight captain’s wings.
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6 of 20 Havelock, North Carolina
In the coastal city of Havelock, North Carolina, this memorial was erected in 2011, on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. It includes a piece of the World Trade Center and stands in front of the headquarters of the Havelock Police Department. The benches surrounding the memorial hold the names of the sites of attack and at what time they happened. They serve as a place where the people of Havelock can come to reflect and mourn.
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7 of 20 Jersey City, New Jersey
Located just across the Hudson River from where the World Trade Center towers once stood is a memorial called “Empty Sky.” Designed by Jessica Jamroz and Frederic Schwartz, this memorial commemorates the 746 New Jerseyans who died in the 9/11 s and the 1993 World Trade Center attacks. Their names are on the two walls that make up the memorial and the memorial points toward Ground Zero.
Along the Wenatchee River in Riverfront Park is a powerful memorial called “Spirit of America.” It includes four bronze statues—a fireman, a flight attendant, an office worker, and a military officer—holding hands and resolutely facing outwards. The memorial also includes pieces of the World Trade Center and Pentagon. The plaque on the memorial calls it “a place of peace, reflection, and education for everyone.”
Credit: Alamy Stock Photo
9 of 20 Phoenix, Arizona
This dynamic memorial in the city of Phoenix has a unique design. Located in Wesley Bolin Plaza, the memorial is a large metal ring that stands at an angle. Various sentences about the events of 9/11 are cut into it—such as the time the towers collapsed, or statements like “We must never forget” —and are projected on the base of the memorial when the sun shines through it.
Credit: Alamy Stock Photo
10 of 20 Greenport, New York
This memorial, located at the Greenport Yacht Club at the end of Long Island in New York is titled “Morning Call” and depicts a large osprey spreading its wings. The base the sculpture stands on is a piece of the World Trade Center. Designed by artist Roberto Julio Bessin, the osprey is meant to symbolize rebirth and renewal in the wake of tragedy.
Credit: Alamy Stock Photo
11 of 20 Honolulu, Hawaii
Located outside of Honolulu’s City Hall, this memorial includes a quiet fountain and an eternal flame which always stays lit. The text on the memorial reads: “Let this eternal flame unite our country in memory of those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001 and honor the brave men and women who put themselves in harm’s way to save others. The love and spirit of our grateful nation and the hearts and prayers of our people will always be with them.”
Credit: Alamy Stock Photo
12 of 20 Bayonne, New Jersey
The 9/11 memorial in Bayonne is called “To the Struggle Against World Terrorism.” It is also called “Tear of Grief” and the “Tear Drop Memorial.” The memorial stands 10 stories high and depicts a cracked structure with a single metal tear drop in the middle. It was designed by artist Zurab Tsereteli and was given to the United States by the Russian government as a memorial to the victims of the 9/11 and the 1993 World Trade Center attacks.
This simple but powerful 9/11 memorial in the city of Dover, Delaware, sits outside the Air Mobility Command Museum in an area called Commemoration Park. The memorial has various historic artifacts from that day, including two pieces of the World Trade Center, a rock from the Flight 93 crash site, and a piece of the damaged area of the Pentagon.
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14 of 20 Laguna Beach, California
At Heisler Park in Laguna Beach, California, is a memorial called “Semper Memento,” or “Always Remember.” Created by artist Jorg Dubin, the memorial sits in a beautiful and peaceful garden. It includes two steel beams from the World Trade Center, a concrete base in the shape of The Pentagon, and a reflective sphere in the middle. Dubin told The Orange County Register, “I wanted people to see their own reflection and become part of the memorial.”
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15 of 20 Valhalla, New York
Located in Kensico Dam Park in Westchester County, New York, this memorial by architect Frederick Schwartz is called “The Rising.” It was named after Bruce Springsteen’s song of the same name which he wrote in response to the 9/11 attacks. In his artistic statement, Schwartz says, “The intertwined strands… rise 80 feet from the ground reaching upward to the heavens. They are bound together in a literal and symbolic gesture exemplifying the strength of the Westchester community and the families who lost loved ones.”
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16 of 20 Indianapolis, Indiana
The city of Indianapolis erected their 9/11 memorial in the downtown area near their fire station. It has two steel beams from the World Trade Center, with a bald eagle on top of one, pointed toward New York City. The effort to create the memorial was started by Greg Hess, an Indianapolis firefighter and paramedic who participated in the FEMA search and rescue mission at Ground Zero.
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17 of 20 Boston, Massachusetts
Set in the Boston Public Garden in a section called the Garden of Remembrance, this memorial is dedicated to 9/11 victims from or with ties to the state of Massachusetts. It is a stark reminder that the effects of that tragic day can be felt in states across the country and countries across the world. The inscription for the memorial reads: “The people of Massachusetts will always remember our families: our husbands, wives, sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, grandparents, grandchildren, companions, friends, and neighbors.”
This beautiful memorial was designed by West Palm Beach artist Mark Fuller; he titled it “Juno Beach Reflection on 9/11.” He incorporated four birds into the design which is meant to symbolize the four planes that were used in the attacks. The location of the memorial is significant, according to city council member Jim Lyons, who said in an interview with Palm Beach Florida Weekly that “So many people are from the Northeast in Juno Beach. They’re from the New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts area. I think they all have been affected in some way.”
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19 of 20 Staten Island, New York
The 9/11 memorial on Staten Island is titled “Postcards,” and honors the 274 Staten Island residents who died in the attacks. The memorial commemorates each victim with a postcard-sized granite plaque that includes their name, date of birth, where they worked, and a silhouette of their profile. It was designed by New York architect Masayuki Sono who constructed the two walls and the silhouette profiles to point toward Ground Zero.
