The 9/11 memorial consists of two enormous reflecting pools that sit in the very footprints of where the Twin Towers once stood. A cascade of water falls from each wall and into the pools in a continuous stream. The pools are surrounded by bronze panels that are inscribed with the names of the nearly three thousand people who died in the attacks of 2001 and the World Trade Center bombing of 1993. Each of these components highlight the gigantic void that resulted from the attack. That is, they symbolize devastating loss.
Encompassing the memorial is the memorial plaza. The surface of the plaza is decorated by a forest of swamp white oak trees. One tree, however, is different. It is a callery pear tree, now known as the, “Survivor Tree”. This tree was at the site on September 11, 2001. It was discovered in a pile of debris, nursed back to health, and returned back to the site. This is meant to represent …show more content…
It, like the memorial, is representative of devastating loss and is also uplifting. In terms of devastating loss, the greatest example is the museum’s wall of portraits. The portraits depict all those who have died. Because their faces are shown, it is even more intimate than the names that are on the bronze parapets in the memorial. Devastating loss is felt even more. In terms of how the museum is also uplifting, a great example is the museum’s display of the historic "Survivors' Stairs”. This staircase is the stairway that hundreds on 9/11 used to escape. It is a powerful reference to their story and the story of 9/11. More importantly, though, it is also a symbol of hope, as it was a glimmer of hope to these survivors on the day of the attack. Because of the symbolism and how it tells the tale of 9/11, the museum is then in a sense a memorial; it commemorates