Unspecified/General

Set on the second floor of a building at 420 West 14th Street in the Meatpacking District, the 9/11 Museum Workshop is a deliberately small and personal counterpoint to the larger memorial downtown. It was founded by Gary Marlon Suson, who served as the official photographer for the Fire Department of New York during the nine-month recovery effort at Ground Zero, and it opened to the public in September 2005. Rather than recounting the attacks themselves, the exhibit concentrates on the months of digging and cleanup that followed. It should not be confused with the official National September 11 Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Center site, which it predates by several years; this is a separate, privately run space well to the north. The collection mixes Suson's photographs with objects recovered from the site, and the workshop bills itself as the only 9/11 museum that lets visitors pick up and hold certain artifacts. Among the items on display are a clock stopped at the moment a tower fell, a charred page from a Bible found in the rubble, and what is described as the largest surviving piece of World Trade Center window glass. Around a hundred audio stories, presented in English, Italian, Spanish and French, layer in sounds captured during the recovery, from search dogs and machinery to radio chatter and prayers. Tours run on a small, fixed schedule and reservations are advised, since space is limited and the rooms are intimate; visits are guided and last about two hours, weaving together a short film, the audio tour and time spent with the objects. The museum has earned a place on travel-industry lists of top United States museums and directs proceeds to firefighter and 9/11-related charities. Its location places it within easy reach of the High Line, Chelsea Market and Little Island, so many visitors fold it into a wider afternoon in the neighbourhood. Reactions tend to be emotional; the appeal lies in the closeness to real objects and first-hand testimony rather than scale or spectacle, and the experience is pitched to stay non-graphic enough for families.

Type: Tourist Attraction

Address: 420 West 14th Street, Floor 2, New York City, NY, United States

Telephone: (347) 225-7779

Website: https://groundzeromuseumworkshop.org/

Opening Date: 07/09/2005