Staircase
- Description
- Wood platform staircase and wood posts covered in handwritten messages and signatures.
- Historical Notes
- Shortly after 9/11, the New York City Mayor’s Community Assistance Unit and other members of the city administration began escorting relatives of victims to the World Trade Center site. The city, respectful of the families’ wishes for a private place in which to mourn, pray, and remember their loved ones, provided a platform that offered a protective overlook onto the site. Built under the direction of the Port Authority, it was transformed into a memorial filled with flowers, teddy bears, and cards. Its wooden surfaces, including the support posts, were inscribed with personal messages to those who had been killed.
Curator's Comment
Thousands gravitated to Ground Zero to pay their respects to victims of the disaster and witness the devastation firsthand. New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and New York State Governor George Pataki personally escorted visiting dignitaries to the World Trade Center site. Although photography was prohibited, many visitors brought cameras to document their pilgrimage and the enormous task of recovery. To allow visitors a safe and dignified place for reflection, New York City officials worked with architects David Rockwell, Kevin Kennon, Elizabeth Diller, and Ricardo Scofidio to create a temporary ramp and platform at Fulton Street.
The public viewing platform opened on December 30, 2001, and was accessible with free, timed tickets. Its plywood walls were left bare so that visitors might inscribe their own messages and read those left by others. By the time the platforms were disassembled in the summer of 2002, the boards were filled with signatures, inscriptions, memorial cards, and tributes left by tens of thousands of visitors from around the world.
The public viewing platform opened on December 30, 2001, and was accessible with free, timed tickets. Its plywood walls were left bare so that visitors might inscribe their own messages and read those left by others. By the time the platforms were disassembled in the summer of 2002, the boards were filled with signatures, inscriptions, memorial cards, and tributes left by tens of thousands of visitors from around the world.
- Accession Number: C.2011.179.132
- Dimensions: 107 in X 95.5 in X 91 in
- Dimensions (Metric): 271.78 cm X 242.57 cm X 231.14 cm
- Source: Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (donor)
- Credit Line: Recovered from the World Trade Center site after September 11, 2001
Collection 9/11 Memorial Museum, Courtesy of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
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