NEW YORK (AP) — A look at the Sept 11 memorial and 8-acre plaza, which opens publicly at the World Trade Center site on Monday:
DESIGN: The memorial occupies half of the 16-acre World Trade Center site. Twin reflecting pools with cascading waterfalls are set within the one-acre footprints of the original twin towers. More than 400 swamp white oak trees are planned for the plaza (225 trees have been planted so far).
NUMBERS: The memorial is 176 feet in perimeter. The waterfalls are 30 feet deep from street level. Each pool pumps 26,000 gallons of water per minute.
NAMES: The 2,983 names of the victims of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and Feb. 26, 1993, World Trade Center truck bombing are inscribed into bronze parapets surrounding the twin memorial pools.
ARCHITECTS: Architect Michael Arad and landscape architect Peter Walker created the memorial design selected from a global design competition that included more than 5,200 entries from 63 nations.
COST: $700 million-plus to build. Annual operating budget, $50 million to $60 million.
ADMISSION: Public admission is free but requires reserving a ticket.
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Online: www.911memorial.org
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