Pair of sandals worn by Maria Cecilia BenaventeĪhead of the first anniversary of 9/11, associate curator David Shayt offered Smithsonian magazine a preview of the museum exhibition “ September 11: Bearing Witness to History.” Most of the 50 or so artifacts on display, he said, were “perfectly ordinary, everyday objects we might otherwise not collect, except for the extraordinary nature of their context.”Īmong these items was a pair of backless sandals owned by Maria Cecilia Benavente, who worked at Aon Risk Services, Inc., located on the 103rd floor of the World Trade Center’s South Tower. She adds that the museum is committed “to keeping the memory of that day alive by working with a wide range of communities to actively expand the stories of Americans in a post-September 11 world.”īelow, read about 31 Smithsonian artifacts (listed in bold) that help unravel the complex story of 9/11 and its aftermath. 11, 2001,” says the museum’s director, Anthea M. “After two decades, we continue to feel the lasting and complex personal, national, and global ramifications of the terrorist attacks of Sept. Today, hundreds of objects linked to the attacks, from office supplies recovered at the World Trade Center to firefighters’ gear used at the Pentagon to fragments pulled from the crash site of Flight 93, reside in the national collection.
This damaged floor marker, labeled “Stairwell C, Floor 102,” was recovered from the debris of the World Trade Center. “We want our audience to tell us what 9/11 means to them, not necessarily just for remembrance’s sake, but also to hear some of these stories that have not been heard.” (Learn more about how the Smithsonian is commemorating the 20th anniversary of 9/11 here.) “This is the time to start looking to create more context, to look more broadly, to be more inclusive,” says Yeh. Twenty years later, as the first generation with no firsthand memories of 9/11 comes of age, the American History Museum is adopting a new approach, shifting away from preserving what happened on that day to discussing the events’ long-term effects on the nation. Lefler later donated the bag to the Smithsonian. Left behind by Aon Risk Services employee Lisa Lefler, this briefcase was found amid the debris at the World Trade Center and returned to her. I don’t mean holes in the curators’ work, but, there were areas not covered because it was impossible to cover the entirety of the story.”
Book found in rubble lost to time mountain plus#
“This effectively put a net over the story, covering what happened on that day, then plus one month, plus one year,” says Cedric Yeh, curator of the museum’s National September 11 Collection. As time passed, curators expanded their purview to include the nation’s response to the tragedy, recording 9/11’s reverberations across the country. After Congress designated the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History as the official repository for all related objects, photographs and documents, staff focused their attention on three areas: the attacks themselves, first responders and recovery efforts. Following the tragedies that took place on September 11, 2001, curators at the Smithsonian Institution recognized the urgency of documenting this unprecedented moment in American history.
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