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Massive 9/11 Artifacts Headed for Ground-Zero MuseumJuly 1, 2010 7:36am Updated July 1, 2010 7:50am
By Julie Shapiro
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
LOWER MANHATTAN — Enormous artifacts chronicling 9/11’s devastation are scheduled to arrive at the World Trade Center site this fall, as construction on a below-ground museum continues.
The items include a 47,000-pound piece of the North Tower’s antenna and a 10,000-pound elevator motor that once propelled workers up into the skyscrapers.
“These objects have been altered by history and they are invaluable to preserving the story of 9/11,” said Joe Daniels, president of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.
The memorial — a tree-dotted plaza with waterfalls pouring into the tower footprints — is scheduled to open for the 10-year anniversary of the attacks, with the museum following a year later.
The museum’s builders will have to lower the largest artifacts in before the structure is complete because they would not otherwise fit through the front door.
Other artifacts that are arriving this fall include a two steel tridents from the facade of the North Tower, which weigh 110,000 pounds apiece, and the steel T-beam known as the “World Trade Center cross,” which became a makeshift shrine during the recovery efforts. The museum will also display an FDNY Ladder 3 truck that partially melted in the conflagration.
These artifacts will join the “Last Column,” a 37-foot piece of steel covered in mementos that was installed in the museum site last summer.
Daniels expects the memorial to draw 5 million to 7 million visitors a year. The museum, which will require visitors to pass through security, will be able to accommodate 2.5 million people a year.
