the 9/11 Tribute Museum, located on Greenwich Street, is expected to close permanently due to lack of visitors. It is one of two museums built in honor of the victims of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in Manhattan, but is less well known than its counterpart, the September 11 Museum, where the memorial is located, consisting of two pools created from after the footprint of the twin towers, inaugurated in 2011.
The Tribute Museum association, with 150,000 members in 2019, recorded only 26,000 memberships/visits in 2021, marking a drop of 83% In two years. 40% of visitors to the museum came from abroad, a very high figure when we know that international travelers represented 20% of the 66 million visitors to New York before the pandemic. However, the number of international tourists has fallen by 50% in New York.
The Tribute Museum was created in 2006 by the families of the victims of the attacks, in order to allow survivors to testify. A team of ten people and more than 300 volunteer teachers trained more than 1,000 speakers to share their personal experiences with visitors who came to hear first-hand accounts. Volunteer guides showed around the museum’s exhibits and the neighborhood, while telling their stories.
With the closure of the museum, educational programs and visits will also stop. “My fear is that history will be lost. The next generation will not know what people have seen”saddened Joan Mastropaoloboard member of the 9/11 Tribute Museum.
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