9-11-01 Related

Ward's September Eleventh related items.
Copyright: T Ward.

WTC seen from Miss Circle Line en route to Liberty Island. 1990's.

WTC seen from Miss Circle Line en route to Liberty Island. 1990's.

WTC and Lower Manhattan seen from inside the Statue of Liberty's base. The vertical dark bars are the edges of the window-opening. Access to Liberty's insides was shut down for a long time under post-9-11 New Security.

Train's route-sign shows a subway stop that was to disappear for a while.

Like so many New York families, the Wards saw "The Buttersticks" from a distance but didn't go inside. There was no actual visiting the interior like tourists until the 1990's —then a trip to the observation deck and a few moves through the concourse tunnels and WTC-WFC footbridges.

WTC observation floor view down to Brooklyn. 1995-ish.


Wee One and Wifey visiting the hundred-Xth floor.


WTC on a bright, clear autumn morning.

This and the next two from this blog's
Poem Dump 1 or 2.

Ward's own September Eleventh [ wiki ] memorial design from October of 2001. Design sent to NYC, NYC, LMDC, and US officials; there was no reply, but of course at the time they had their hands full. Ward sent the design to the LMDC/Municipal Art Society "ImagineNY" website which at the time was collecting designs from the public. Ward's design never appeared on the MAS website, though Ward's design for a 9-11 rescuers' medal did (both designs were submitted on the same day). The later official Tribute in Light [ wiki ] temporary skybeam memorial displays have looked remarkably similar to the 2001 Ward design sent to MAS (MAS organizes each year's Tribute in Light [ see ].

Motif from Ward's Pennsylvania (United 93) memorial [ wiki ] designs submission materials. (Some day the entry might get a page of its own.) The motif was purposefully reversible in order to be usable for paving blocks or at least for surface embossing on 9-11 memorial pathways at any location.
The reversible emblem could also have parade flag use.

NYC PBA badge-wreath of blue flowers placed at a harbor-side memorial honoring lost 9-11-01 police. Words written in glue-glitter are a touchingly homespun reminder that real families were stricken by the attacks.

NW corner with traces of the old color-coded parking garage levels visible. 2004?


Ever-present GroundZeroFluteBum —active circa 2003-2008. Image: 2005.


Gutter flags. Queens. 2004.


Ground Zero recovery composition. 2006.


Ground Zero recovery composition. Concrete-saw sliced sidewalk and double-headed construction/temporary nails.


Traces still visible circa 2005 of September Eleventh rescuers' blaze orange cyphers on neighboring buildings struck by collapse debris. X-mark means structure was searched (mark prevents rescuers wasting time by re-checking already-searched sites) ---date: 9/16. Meaning of "in plane" uncertain.


Traces still visible circa 2005 of September Eleventh rescuers' blaze orange cyphers on neighboring buildings struck by collapse debris ---though this specimen being tagged-over by ignorant or just-disrespectful graffiti noobs. X-mark means structure was searched (mark prevents rescuers wasting time by re-checking already-searched sites) ---date: 9/15. Also marked "searched" and "FDNY Capt 6". Large circle is a blotted-out digit which once told how many corpses were found.

Responders' Cross where it once stood. 2005?



September Eleventh: we will never forget ---or something. The victims' memorial trees planted on Canal Street in 2004 were cut down to the ground for no readily apparent reason. Only the now-orphaned dedication plaque remains ---plus stumps and decorative cobbles. Image: 2010-ish.


SoHo. "If you see something, say something" spoof stickertag. 2005.

May 2012 seen from Jersey City. The historic back-stab memorial in shadow in the foreground.

May 2012. Still under construction and lit by temporary worklights, WTC1's top is lost in a low cloud.

A solidarity (and/or please-don't-hate-us) flag nailed up over a taxi drivers' garage in Chelsea in 2001 —tired but still there in 2012.

The replacement under construction. July 2012.

Ward in 2012:
"Lots of people with a long history with the City stayed away from Ground Zero. Me too. Let the tourists gawk. I did do a few scouting expeditions a few years later though: looking for traces of the historic day —searching for the responders' marking and such. It was urban recent-history "archaeology". I was not in the Financial District a lot though until 2012 when I had to be for an art solo at the Mercantile Exchange. While there has been a comeback of sorts, the area is still in limbo. There had been an effort in the 90's to bring luxury shopping right into the buildings. The Winter Garden's marble floors, posh eateries, and high-end shops sought visitors. In a way those old ways evoke the historical accounts of public parties at the White House in the Jackson era: the common people, unchecked, could readily enter what was a prominent target and national landmark. The restored Winter Garden still has a vestige of the old spirit, but old accessways are closed off, barriers are in place, and the Godiva chocolate shop moved away —maybe not enough foot traffic amid the New Security. The checkpoints discourage visitors even though the site had a tradition of welcoming outsiders. And so the place is in transition: many vacant shopfronts and dusty windows, mostly employees of the WFC the customers, and yet also hosting occasional concerts as a way to lure new people in. Odd times. Sad place."



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