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 September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center elicited a large response of local emergency and rescue personnel to assist in the evacuation of the two towers, resulting in a large loss of the same personnel when the towers collapsed. After the attacks, the media termed the World Trade Center site "Ground Zero", while rescue personnel referred to it as "the Pile".
The World Trade Center site, often referred to as "Ground Zero" or "the Pile" immediately after the September 11 attacks, is a 14.6-acre (5.9 ha) area in Lower Manhattan in New York City. The site is bounded by Vesey Street to the north, the West Side Highway to the west, Liberty Street to the south, and Church Street to the east. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) owns the site's land. The original World Trade Center complex stood on the site until it was destroyed in the September 11 attacks.
The National September 11 Memorial & Museum is a memorial and museum that are part of the World Trade Center complex, in New York City, created for remembering the September 11, 2001, attacks, which killed 2,977 people, and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, which killed six. The memorial is located at the World Trade Center site, the former location of the Twin Towers that were destroyed during the September 11 attacks. It is operated by a non-profit institution whose mission is to raise funds to program and operate the memorial and museum at the World Trade Center site.
The New York Marriott World Trade Center was a 22-story 825-room hotel within the original World Trade Center complex in Manhattan, New York City. Situated on the original Three World Trade Center, It opened in April 1981 as the Vista International Hotel and was the first major hotel to open in Lower Manhattan south of Canal Street since 1836. In November 1995, it was bought by Marriott Corporation and renamed the Marriott World Trade Center.
6 World Trade Center was a seven-story building in Lower Manhattan in New York City. It opened in 1974 and was the building in the World Trade Center complex that had the fewest stories. The building served as the U.S. Customs House for New York. It was demolished in late 2001 due to the damage sustained by the collapse of the North Tower during the September 11 attacks. Its site is now the location of the new One World Trade Center and the Perelman Performing Arts Center.
The Sphere is a monumental cast bronze sculpture by German artist Fritz Koenig (1924–2017).
The World Trade Center cross, also known as the Ground Zero cross, is a formation of steel beams found among the debris of the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan, New York City, following the September 11 attacks in 2001. This set of beams is so named because it resembles the proportions of a Christian cross. The beams have been part of an exhibit at the September 11 Museum since 2014.
James Rosati was an American abstract sculptor. He is best known for creating an outdoor sculpture in New York: a stainless steel Ideogram that was located in the World Trade Center Plaza.
Zuccotti Park is a 33,000-square-foot (3,100 m2) publicly accessible park in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is located in a privately owned public space (POPS) controlled by Brookfield Properties and Goldman Sachs. Zuccotti Park is bounded by Broadway to the east, Liberty Street to the north, Trinity Place to the west, and Cedar Street to the south.
Bent Propeller was a red stainless steel sculpture by Alexander Calder.
Liberty Park is a one-acre (0.40 ha) elevated public park at the World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York City, overlooking the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in Lower Manhattan. The park, which opened on June 29, 2016, is located above the World Trade Center's Vehicular Security Center. The St. Nicholas National Shrine is located within the park, as well as Fritz Koenig's The Sphere, the iconic sculpture salvaged from the World Trade Center site. Another statue, America's Response Monument, is also located in the park.
The World Trade Center Tapestry was a large tapestry by Joan Miró and Josep Royo. It was displayed in the lobby of 2 World Trade Center in New York City from 1974 until it was destroyed in 2001 by the collapse of the World Trade Center.
The original World Trade Center (WTC) was a complex of seven buildings in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. Built primarily between 1966 and 1975, it was dedicated on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed during the September 11 attacks in 2001. At the time of their completion, the 110-story-tall Twin Towers, including the original 1 World Trade Center at 1,368 feet (417 m), and 2 World Trade Center at 1,362 feet (415.1 m), were the tallest buildings in the world; they were also the tallest twin skyscrapers in the world until 1996, when the Petronas Towers opened. Other buildings in the complex included the Marriott World Trade Center, 4 WTC, 5 WTC, 6 WTC, and 7 WTC. The complex contained 13,400,000 square feet (1,240,000 m2) of office space and, prior to its completion, was projected to accommodate an estimated 130,000 people.
The World Trade Center Plaza Sculpture, also called Cloud Fortress, was a sculpture created by Japanese artist Masayuki Nagare in 1975. It was located at the World Trade Center complex at the Church Street entrance to the Austin J. Tobin Plaza.
Sky Gate, New York was a sculpture by the artist Louise Nevelson, located in the mezzanine of the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York, from 1978 until its 2001 destruction in the collapse of the buildings during the September 11 attacks.
An estimated $110 million of art was lost in the September 11 attacks: $100 million in private art and $10 million in public art. Much of the art was not insured for its full value.
The 1993 World Trade Center Bombing Memorial was created to commemorate the six lives lost during the February 26, 1993, bombing of the World Trade Center in New York City. The memorial was commissioned by the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey Art Commission after the events of the bombing, and completed in 1995. It was placed directly above the bomb's blast site —the public parking garage beneath the World Trade Center— and situated squarely between the Twin Towers in what was the Austin J. Tobin Plaza on the grounds of the World Trade Center complex. The Memorial, along with other valuable sculptures and pieces of artwork, was destroyed during the September 11 attacks.
The Austin J. Tobin Plaza, also known as the World Trade Center Plaza, was a large public square that was located on the World Trade Center site from 1966 until its destruction during the September 11 attacks in 2001. It covered 5 acres, making it the largest plaza in New York City by acreage at the time.
The original World Trade Center complex featured a variety of sculptures and other art pieces from 1973 until the destruction of the buildings in the September 11 attacks. Many of these art pieces were located on the Austin J. Tobin Plaza in the center of the complex, or in the lobby of 7 World Trade Center.
