The Tribute in Light installation will return this September according to the Gothamist’s recent report. Until this year, the iconic light ceremony has been run by the Municipal Art Society (MAS), but there was always trepidation as to whether there would be enough funds to continue the annual memorial. It’s great to see that the 9/11 Memorial and Museum has taken over the management. The installation will turn on at sunset on September 11th in lower Manhattan (West and Morris Streets) and end at sunrise.
Six months after the attack in 2001, two artists Julian LaVerdiere and Paul Myoda installed the “Phantom Towers,” what we know now as the Tribute in Light, in partnership with several architects and Paul Marantz, the original lighting designer. LaVerdiere told New York Times Magazine, “It is an emotional response more than anything…the towers are like ghost limbs, we can feel them even though they’re not there anymore.” Untapped Cities previously had the opportunity to get up close to the mechanics of Tribute in Light–see our behind the scenes photos from the ceremony in 2011.
An image commissioned by the New York Times Magazine for the September 23, 2001 cover six months before the initial installation of “Phantom Towers.”
9/11, 9/11 Memorial, Tribute in Light, world trade center
It’s great to see the Twin Towers illuminated tribute once again. America and the Free World are still waiting to see Freedom Tower # 2 completed. NY is not NY without her. Lets hope the final completion will be prior to the 15th Anniversary.