Although 10 years has passed since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the memories of the tragic event are not forgotten.
A new photo exhibition at the Field Museum, “Ground Zero 360°,” commemorates the heroic lives of the New York City policemen, firefighters, ironworkers and other rescue workers who put themselves at the epicenter of the destroyed towers.
The exhibition, which opens to the public Sept. 2, features previously unpublished photographs, artifacts and sound recordings of the day of the attacks and the months following.
Irish photojournalist Nicola McClean and her husband Paul McCormack, previously a commanding officer of the 41st precinct of the New York City Police Department, created the exhibit. They combined McClean’s beautiful, yet haunting photographs and McCormack’s eye-witness account of the day to craft the chilling and powerful presentation.
“When 9/11 happened, my wife was deeply affected by what she saw,” McCormack said at Tuesday’s exhibit preview.
“She made a decision to try and capture the moment and create something to honor the victims of that horrible day.”
McCormack said it is a great honor to have the exhibit in Chicago.
“I’ve seen Chicago police and firefighters in their uniforms working at ground zero…in their checkered hats,” he said.
“It was just a magic feeling–as a New York City police officer–to know that the law enforcement firms from around the country have our back.”
The Field Museum’s President and CEO John McCarter said it’s estimated that police officers, firefighters and rescue workers saved over 15,000 lives by evacuating the two buildings. This exhibit is a way to recognize the heroism of those individuals, McCarter said.
The charred and scratched helmets of fallen police officer Brian McDonnell and fire lieutenant Paul Mitchell– along with their medal of honors–are featured artifacts on display. Other artifacts include fragments of granite and steel I-beam from the World Trade Center, which visitors will be allowed to touch. An American flag that flew over ground zero is folded neatly in a display case.
“I don’t know if words can demonstrate what we felt that day…but I feel the emotions building up inside of me,” Ald. Robert “Bob” Fioretti (2nd Ward) said.
In the center of the exhibit room, hundreds of missing person flyers–which at one time hung along the streets of New York City–are plastered to a stark, white wall. One of the missing men holds his baby as he smiles.
On the opposite side of the wall, a panoramic photo that McClean took on Sept. 21, 2001 captures the grim faces of emergency workers with makeshift tents and the smoldering remains of the two towers in the background. Underneath the panoramic photo are smaller stills. One is a temporary hospital in what once was a café. The café is tagged with a bright orange cross on the window. These are just two of many of McClean’s photos that cover the museum’s walls.
Ald. Fioretti said the Chicago City Council passed a resolution on July 28 to honor the “Ground Zero 360°” exhibition and commemorate the tenth anniversary of Sept. 11.
“The public visiting the exhibition will understand the potential dangers that our communities face and realize how much we citizens of Chicago depend upon the police, fire and emergency professionals to protect us from harm and safeguard our buildings,” Fioretti said, reading from the resolution.
The exhibition opens Sept. 2 and runs until Jan. 2, 2012. It is free with paid general admission to the Field Museum, located at 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive. Ground Zero 360, Inc. is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to preserving the memory of all victims of Sept. 11.
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