World Trade Center Memorial Museum Programming Workshop Summary

Over 100 downtown residents, concerned citizens and victims’ family members attended two interactive workshops on the evenings of September 19 and October 11, 2005 to review preliminary programming concepts for the World Trade Center Memorial Museum. Sponsored by the Civic Alliance to Rebuild Downtown New York in partnership with the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) and the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation, the workshops used a focus-group format to evaluate initial ideas for the content of the museum that will tell the story of 9/11 at Ground Zero for generations to come. Held at the NYU School of Continuing and Professional Education in the Woolworth Building, the workshops generated a range of detailed comments on the Museum’s preliminary programming ideas, which are summarized in this report.

This report is intended to serve as a record of public feedback on the preliminary programming concepts for the World Trade Center Memorial Museum and to assist the LMDC, the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation, their programming consultants, and future exhibition design consultants as they continue to refine the programming and design of the museum. The report will be distributed to workshop participants and public agencies working on the rebuilding process, and made available for download on the website of the Civic Alliance.

These workshops represent one step in an ongoing process of refining the museum’s content and exhibitions. The LMDC and the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation are now conducting a national search to hire a Museum Director to manage the continued curatorial and content development of the museum. They are also in the process of identifying an exhibition designer, who will design the physical presentation of the programming ideas discussed at these workshops. The LMDC continues to coordinate the architectural design process for the Memorial Museum, working with the architecture firm Davis Brody Bond. The Foundation will assume responsibility for the museum during construction, which is estimated to start in Spring 2006, with hopes to open the museum’s doors to the public by September 11, 2009. The Foundation will own the museum, with long-term responsibility for programs and operations.

The World Trade Center Memorial Foundation is leading a $500 million fundraising campaign for private donations for the construction of the Memorial, the Memorial Museum and the cultural program at the World Trade Center site to match $300 million in public funding. The Foundation announced in October 2005 that it has already raised over $100 million towards that goal.

The Civic Alliance to Rebuild Downtown New York remains committed to public participation in the rebuilding process and will continue to seek opportunities to provide forums for public discussion of evolving Lower Manhattan plans. The Civic Alliance will also follow up with the LMDC and the Memorial Foundation to ensure that the discussions documented in this report are given strong consideration.