Yesterday, the "Preview Site" for the National September 11 Memorial and Museum opened to the public. The actual memorial won't be ready until the 10th anniversary next year and the museum won't open until 2012, so the Preview Site has photographs, mementos (like an 8-foot Statue of Liberty covered in condolence cards and tributes), videos, models, and more from the day. Monica Iken, whose husband died during the 9/11 attacks, told the Daily News, "This is going to allow people to see what this memorial and museum will look like in the future. It's been difficult, but this is a wonderful day and it makes you realize it's going to happen - we are going to have this wonderful memorial."
The Preview Site is on Vesey Street at Church; the memorial and museum's president Joe Daniels said, "The Preview Site will offer visitors a unique opportunity to learn about and participate in the creation of the Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Center. Through models, renderings, films, and real-time images of construction, visitors can understand the plans and progress being made at the site." You can also watch the construction webcam here. Curbed has more pictures.
