9/11

The New York State Museum is home to the largest and most comprehensive collection of artifacts pertaining to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. The collection encompasses materials from the World Trade Center, including building materials and objects of daily office life; a significant number of artifacts pertaining to the heroic efforts of first responders; fragments of the aircraft; and material documenting the tremendous global response to the attacks.

World Trade Center Commuters Photograph

World Trade Center Commuters - The Kristen Artz Collection

These photographs document morning commuters entering the World Trade Center Mall weeks prior to the attacks of September 11, 2001. The images include several dozen people from every walk of life in the original Mall at the World Trade Center.  Shot in the days before handheld devices people are seen rushing by with coffee, others reading the paper, and some are just gazing into space.  

If the Twin Towers were still standing, these would be merely snapshots of everyday people on their way to work in 2001. Instead they are a historical record documenting space that no longer exists and possibly people that are no longer with us.

 

New York State Museum Collection, H-2020.25