The plaza will be closed to the public during the remembrance ceremony and much of the rest of the day, but it will open from 6 pm to midnight for those who want to pay respects and view one of the most evocative observances the twin beams called the Tribute in Light from an especially "meaningful vantage point," memorial President Joe Daniels said in an email yesterday to victims' families.
The memorial plaza, with its massive reflecting pools etched with the names of the dead, opened in 2011. But to control crowds amid construction elsewhere on the World Trade Centre property, tickets and security screening were required until this spring. Since the ticketed, underground memorial museum opened in May, open access has been allowed during days and evenings at the plaza, which joins the streetscape of lower Manhattan even as it serves as a place of remembrance protected by police and security guards. Museum officials said that security measures would be in place for the public hours on Sept 11 but that they couldn't disclose details.
It shines from a roof near the trade centre, traditionally from sunset to dawn. Formed from 88 powerful bulbs positioned into two squares that echo the fallen Twin Towers, the light memorial reaches six kilometres skyward, according to the Municipal Art Society, a nonprofit group that orchestrates the USD 500,000-a-year project.