Sign, Recovered
- Description
- Steel sign that has been bent and damaged, with its white and black paint significantly faded, chipped, and removed. The text of the sign is still visible and reads: "Stairway B Floor 19."
- Historical Notes
- This floor stairway sign was recovered at the Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island, where workers searched World Trade Center debris for human remains and criminal evidence. In 2002, Port Authority Police Department officers gave the sign to Nancy Seliga, a Port Authority of New York and New Jersey employee.
Curator's Comment
Nancy Seliga’s career at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey spanned the life cycle of the World Trade Center. She was hired as a junior stenographer shortly after completing high school and began working in the towers while the World Trade Center was still under construction.
On September 11, 2001, Seliga was the building manager for the North Tower. By then she had become highly knowledgeable about the operations and daily life in the Twin Towers, from their subterranean basement levels to the transmission tower atop the North Tower. Preparing for a staff meeting that morning, Seliga recognized the need to act as soon as she felt the jolt of hijacked Flight 11 strike the building and saw broken glass outside the windows. She put on a vest identifying herself as a person of authority, picked up her keys and walkie-talkie, and reported to the fire command desk, ready to assist with the evacuation. Eventually ordered to exit the building, she set up a command center in 3 World Trade Center, planning to collect and disseminate information, guided by her experience in supporting building occupants following the February 26, 1993, bombing.
Certain that many friends and colleagues had been killed, Seliga nonetheless continued working throughout the day from a Port Authority facility in Jersey City. A file copy of her World Trade Center identification card was found among the rubble and returned to her by the Port Authority Police Department, along with other items that she later donated to the museum.
On September 11, 2001, Seliga was the building manager for the North Tower. By then she had become highly knowledgeable about the operations and daily life in the Twin Towers, from their subterranean basement levels to the transmission tower atop the North Tower. Preparing for a staff meeting that morning, Seliga recognized the need to act as soon as she felt the jolt of hijacked Flight 11 strike the building and saw broken glass outside the windows. She put on a vest identifying herself as a person of authority, picked up her keys and walkie-talkie, and reported to the fire command desk, ready to assist with the evacuation. Eventually ordered to exit the building, she set up a command center in 3 World Trade Center, planning to collect and disseminate information, guided by her experience in supporting building occupants following the February 26, 1993, bombing.
Certain that many friends and colleagues had been killed, Seliga nonetheless continued working throughout the day from a Port Authority facility in Jersey City. A file copy of her World Trade Center identification card was found among the rubble and returned to her by the Port Authority Police Department, along with other items that she later donated to the museum.
- Accession Number: C.2008.930.2
- Dimensions: 10 in X 1.5 in X 8 in
- Dimensions (Metric): 25.4 cm X 3.81 cm X 20.32 cm
- Source: Nancy Seliga
- Credit Line: Gift of Nancy D. Seliga, The Port Authority of NY & NJ
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