Located on the Greenwich side of Engine and Ladder Company 10, this massive bronze memorial is a tribute to the 343 firefighters who lost their lives responding to the attack on the World Trade Center. The bas-relief sculpture depicts firefighters engaged in rescue operations and mourning the loss of their fellow citizens, rescue workers, and neighbors.
Sculptor Fritz Koenig designed the twenty-seven-foot bronze monument to represent the connection between global trade and global peace. The statue was damaged but remained standing after the terrorist attacks on September 11th, and soon became a symbol of the city and the world's resilience in the face of global terrorism The statue now includes an eternal flame that memorializes those who lost their lives while also symbolizing hope for peace. The “Sphere” is located near the St. Nicholas National Shrine and overlooks the National September 11 Memorial.
Dedicated in 2012 in honor of the mounted cavalry scouts in Afghanistan who became the first American soldiers on horseback since 1942, this became the first monument dedicated to the United States military service members assigned to special operations units. The “Horse Soldier” statue stands in front of One World Trade Center where the terror attacks took place on September 11, 2001. The “Horse Soldier” statue represents the anniversary, on October 19, when special operations troops responded to the terrorist attacks with boots on the ground in Afghanistan. Unfamiliar with terrain and guerrilla warfare, special operations troops quickly adapted and overcame enormous operational challenges. One of these challenges was transportation over the rough terrain. These troops were given horses to navigate Afghanistan and overcame the harsh territory’s challenges, pushing the surviving members of Al-Qaeda into the mountains of Pakistan. In response, they became known as America's “Horse Soldiers.”
The World Trade Center buildings were attacked on September 11th, 2001, by Al Qaeda forces that hijacked American airplanes. These attacks prompted the war in Afghanistan, which is, in some ways, still occurring in the Middle East. This is important not only in American history, but military history. If not for these terrible attacks on the World Trade Center, the war in Afghanistan would have never occurred. Along with the attack of Flight 93 and the Pentagon, this day will live on to be one of the worst attacks on American soil.
With the memorial opening in 2011 and the museum opening in 2014, the 9/11 Memorial includes a variety of memorial spaces and a museum located at the World Trade Center's former Twin Towers location in New York City. The memorial was built in dedication to those who lost their lives during the attack on September 11, 2001. The memorial has the name of those that were killed in the terrorist attacks on the WTC, which killed approximately 2,977 people, as well as those who died during the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, which killed just 6 people. For many people who experienced 9/11, even from afar, coming to this site is a kind of pilgrimage. Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Former President Barack Obama made the dedication to the victims with the opening of the museum.
On September 11, 2001, the deadliest terrorist attack in history occurred in New York City, when two commercial airplanes, American Airlines 111 and United 175, were hijacked by the al-Quaeda terrorist group. The hijackers crashed these planes into the North and South towers of the World Trade Center, respectively. That day, 2606 people died in and around the location of the World Trade Center. The desire to memorialize the events of September 11th was immediate, and a competition was held for the construction of the World Trade Center Memorial.This museum memorializes the attacks on the World Trade Center in 1993 and 2001 and contains artifacts from Ground Zero, including the "Survivor's Staircase", photographs of the victims, interactive displays, and two main exhibitions. The mission of the museum is to explore the implications and "continuing significance" of the 9/11 attacks. The collection also includes an online catalog and oral histories from first responders and family members of victims.
Before September 11, 2001, the World Trade Center was best recognized by two buildings known as the "Twin Towers". On that Tuesday morning, American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, were hijacked by terrorists and flown into the North and South Towers. In remembrance, a monument known as "Ground Zero" and the new ONE World Trade Center were built. Today, The ONE World Trade Center is the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, and the fourth tallest building in the world, at 1776 feet. ONE World Trade Center amassed a price tag over $3.9 billion before furnishing a single floor or office. The majority of the World Trade Center is office space. However, there are many reminders, tributes, statues, and monuments memorializing the tragic events of the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks on the former complex- an event that left almost 3,000 dead.
This cross was created by artist Jon Krawczyk and installed at this location in 2011 after the original World Trade Cross, two intersecting beams among the wreckage of the September 11th attacks that resembled a Christian cross, was moved to the September 11th Museum.
This Tour is a Walking Tour.
Get a QR Code for this tour
The tragic events of September 11th, 2001 shaped the history of the 21st century. This short walking tour includes monuments, markers, buildings, museums, and other sites around Ground Zero and the National September 11th Memorial Museum.
