Fought over, stalled, reconceived, and finally built, the National September 11 Memorial Museum has followed a tortuous path since it was first proposed in Daniel Libeskind’s 2003 master plan for Ground Zero. While nearly every part of the redevelopment effort at the World Trade Center site in lower Manhattan has generated debate, the museum has been a lightning rod for particularly intense criticism and controversy. Its role as the main keeper and shaper of the 9/11 narrative made such struggles inevitable, since so many different groups were affected by the 2001 attacks: those who died and their families, people who witnessed the horrifying events, residents of lower Manhattan, businesses in the area, and citizens of the city, the nation, even the world. On September 12, we were all New Yorkers and we all had our own particular connection to the events of the day before.
The museum opens to the public on May 21, but President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will dedicate it on May 15 at the start of a six-day period of visits by 9/11 survivors, relatives of victims, rescue workers, and Lower Manhattan residents.
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