STATE MUSEUM OPENS WORLD TRADE CENTER "FAMILY ROOM" EXHIBITION
A new exhibition that honors those lost in the September 11 World Trade Center attacks will open on September 11, 2014 at the New York State Museum, a program of the New York State Education Department. The Family Room at One Liberty Plaza – World Trade Center Site includes personal remembrances, photographs, and tributes from the Family Room at the World Trade Center site. The Family Room was established as a private place for families to remember their loved ones killed in the 2001 attacks. Contents from the Family Room were transferred this summer to the State Museum.
"America suffered tremendous loss on September 11, 2001," said Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl H. Tisch. "The family members of those lost at the World Trade Center have remembered and honored their loved ones at a private Family Room for over a decade. The Board of Regents and the State Museum are humbled to preserve the Family Room's personal remembrances and tributes for future generations. We consider ourselves a temporary home. We're going to use this opportunity to find a permanent place closer to ground zero that would be of significance to the families."
"History is sometimes written in tears. Thanks to the dedicated family members who worked with us to preserve the memory and history of the Family Room, we can share that history with all of New York," said State Education Commissioner John B. King, Jr. "We are honored to be entrusted with the thousands of personal memorials and tributes from the Family Room. The exhibition at the State Museum will give visitors a deeper understanding of the ongoing impact of September 11 and the immense grief families experienced in the days, months, and years following the attacks."
"It is an honor to serve as the permanent repository of the Family Room's precious legacy," said State Museum Director Mark Schaming. "The families of those lost on September 11 have allowed us into this very personal place for the first time. The countless personal photos and reflections speak to the enormous loss that the families have experienced since that tragic day."
Soon after September 11, 2001, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) recognized the need for a private space near the World Trade Center site for families to grieve and remember their loved ones. A room adjacent to the LMDC offices on the 20th floor of One Liberty Plaza was designated as the Family Room, which overlooked the World Trade Center site, and was closed to the media and the public. Over the past 13 years, family members installed thousands of photographs, notes, tributes and other personal objects in remembrance of their loved ones.
In 2014, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum opened and a new family space was established. Most of the original Family Room's contents have been transferred to the New York State Museum with the cooperation of family members who are dedicated to preserving the memory and history of this special room.
The exhibition includes artifacts from the Family Room, quotes from family members, large photographs of the room, and a visitor-operated digital program that includes full 360-degree images of the Family Room.
More information about the exhibition is available at: http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/familyroom/. Photos from the exhibition are available at: http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/PRkit/2014/familyroom/.
NOTE: Attached are quotes from family members who visited the Family Room at One Liberty Plaza.
The State Museum is the nation's largest repository of artifacts recovered from the World Trade Center site after September 11, 2001. Artifacts are rotated through the Museum's permanent World Trade Center exhibition, which opened in September 2002. The Museum also supports other institutions nationwide and around the world with their World Trade Center-related exhibitions.
The State Museum is a program of the New York State Education Department's Office of Cultural Education. Located on Madison Avenue in Albany, the Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free. Further information about programs and events can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the Museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.
Below are quotes from family members who visited the Family Room at One Liberty Plaza:
"For so many years the Family Room was all we had. Many of us had no remains of our loved ones. The 9/11 Memorial and Museum were not yet open, and the Family Room became a place of pilgrimage, tribute, quiet reflection and pride—it was our place to grieve, to connect to our loved ones. Through years of visits and tributes, it grew organically, and over time, the space was infused with a power and sacredness." – Anthony Gardner, brother of Harvey Joseph Gardner III (1 WTC, 83rd Floor) and Founding Director of The September 11th Education Trust.
"The Family Room was a place where we could collectively, as family members, memorialize our loved ones and express in some small way the grief we were feeling and the love we had for those we lost so senselessly on 9/11. Whenever I visited the Family Room, I would always go to my sister's picture to see her beautiful face and to think about how much I miss her. While there I would make sure to also look at all the faces of the people whose pictures hung on the wall. Over time those faces became so familiar to me and I was able to connect with them by seeing the personal tributes their families left for them and hoped families visiting the room felt that same connection to my sister, Lorraine." – Patricia Reilly, sister of Lorraine Mary Greene Lee.
"My visits to the room were not long, 15 minutes or so were about all I could absorb. On every visit I was always taken aback by the breadth and the depth of 9/11 as a tragedy; raw emotion and surreal reality were the norm. It became such that there was no longer room to leave a memento of remembrance for my husband, so on my visits I would sit and write a short letter to him in the journal book. I would cry in the elevator up to the Family Room, while I was in the room, and then in the elevator down to the lobby. These tears flowed without any urging, it was just what happened and I suppose will always happen when I am surrounded by and remember such personal sorrow. This room was as difficult for me to enter as it was to leave and here's the reason why. Inside the room I found neither peace nor justice and I found even less outside of the room. I would describe this room as an infinite collection and compilation of respectful grief, contained anger, exacting despair, fleeting hope and traumatic, somber reflections around unwarranted and unjustified death." – Lynn S. McGuinn, wife of Francis Noel McGuinn.
"I never put up a missing flyer of Gary. I knew he was dead. I didn't want to return to the site. It was the dedication of the Family Room at One Liberty Plaza that brought me downtown for the first time, after having worked in the World Trade Center for so many years. You will not see a picture of my 36 year old brother in the Family Room. It was never there. That did not however stop me from going to that organically formed room of love, loss and remembrance countless times. By sharing our Family Room with you we share a piece of ourselves. We share our love for those we lost. We entrust you to share in their memory." – Edie Lutnick, sister of Gary Lutnick (Cantor Fitzgerald, 104th Floor).
"Part of my job, while working at the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, was taking care of the Family Room. It was an extremely emotional, yet gratifying task. Sometimes I would sit alone in the room, at the end of my day, switch off the lights, breathe in the scent of fresh flowers, and I swear I could feel the presence of angels among me. This room, created by and for family members, will forever hold a special place in my heart. It was truly a memorial and a tribute to my brother John and all our unforgettable loved ones." – Anthoula Katsimatides, sister of John Katsimatides.
"Al and I came to the family room often in the early days. We would look out at the site and see the "progress." What was so special about this room is that it was away from everyone. It was a quiet space filled with the faces of those who were "lost." Everyone in the room had the same pain so crying and sadness was OK because we all felt the same. We continued to come for many years. The pictures increased and each time we came we looked at different pictures. In spite of the overwhelming sadness we were comforted and felt safe in this room. Our journey to healing began here and we feel sad that the room is no more." – Retired Deputy Chief Alexander and Maureen Santora, parents of firefighter Christopher A. Santora, Engine 54.
"The Family Room space was like no other. The moment you entered you were transported back to that time. It was a singular intersection where horrific tragedy and boundless caring and love meet. Each visit was a new experience and familiar all at once. Selectively visited, I always found it comforting to be there. Somehow, it brought me closer to Glenn, and all those lost, peaceful souls. And that is good." – Jay S. Winuk, brother of Glenn J. Winuk, Attorney and Volunteer Firefighter/EMT, 9/11 Rescuer. Jay Winuk is a co-founder of 9/11 National Day of Service and Remembrance.