News
September 10, 2015State Museum Adds Newly Acquired Artifacts to World Trade Center Exhibition
The New York State Museum today announced the addition of new artifacts to the World Trade Center: Rescue, Recovery, Response exhibition. The “Response” case now features the story of St. Paul’s Chapel, a place of refuge used by emergency responders and recovery workers following the September 11 World Trade Center attacks. On display through August 21, 2016, St. Paul’s: A Place of Refuge features a pew from St. Paul’s Chapel, a selection of images, and a video titled “The Spirit of St. Paul’s” that chronicles the chapel’s time as a respite area.
A selection of World Trade Center artifacts that were recovered at the site in the weeks after September 11, then preserved at Hangar 17 at John F. Kennedy International Airport, will also be on exhibit, including: a fiberglass Tweety Bird from the Warner Brothers store located on the concourse level of the World Trade Center, an antenna fragment from the World Trade Center’s North Tower, and a table and chair from the Commuter Café located on the concourse level of the World Trade Center. These artifacts have never been on public display.
“Earlier this year, the Museum acquired two pews that were used when St. Paul’s Chapel served as a relief center for emergency responders and recovery workers following the September 11th World Trade Center attacks,” said State Museum Director Mark Schaming. “These artifacts from this historic church resonate with the history of the days after September 11, 2001. We are also exhibiting for the first time a selection of artifacts from the World Trade Center site that were recovered and preserved at JFK Airport’s Hangar 17 since 2002. The Board of Regents and the State Museum are honored to share these artifacts with the public and hope visitors leave the exhibition with a deeper understanding of the impact of September 11th.”
Located just a few hundred yards from the World Trade Center, St. Paul’s Chapel survived the collapse of the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001. Built in 1766, it is one of the oldest churches in New York City and has been a place of refuge during difficult times throughout the City’s history, witnessing the American Revolution and the Great Fire of New York in 1835. Following the September 11th attacks, St. Paul’s served as a relief site for police, firefighters, emergency responders, and recovery workers. For eight months it was open around the clock to provide workers with food, physical therapy, and a place for rest and reflection.
In late September 2001, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) appointed a committee tasked with making recommendations for the salvage of objects from the World Trade Center site. These objects would be archived for possible inclusion in future memorials or cultural institutions. The vast quantity of material set aside by the committee was stored at Hangar 17 at John F. Kennedy International Airport. In the fourteen years since the attacks of September 11, 2001, the New York State Museum has collaborated extensively with the PANYNJ. Many of the State Museum’s most significant pieces relating to the World Trade Center and September 11th were acquired through the Port Authority’s World Trade Center Archive Project at Hangar 17.
Photos from the exhibition are available here: http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/PRkit/2015/StPauls/.
The State Museum is the nation’s largest repository of artifacts recovered from the World Trade Center site after September 11, 2001. Artifacts are rotated through the Museum’s permanent World Trade Center exhibition, which opened in September 2002. The Museum also supports other institutions nationwide and around the world with World Trade Center-related exhibitions.
The State Museum is a program of the New York State Education Department’s Office of Cultural Education. Located on Madison Avenue in Albany, the Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Admission is free. Further information about programs and events can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the Museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.
