Mourning from the Sixth Borough: Empty Sky Memorial

In the silhouette of the former Twin Towers, the metallic brilliance of the Empty Sky Memorial memorializes the nearly 750 New Jersey lives lost on 9/11.

The names of the 749 victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks line the walls of the Empty Sky memorial. The two walls create a corridor directly towards Ground Zero. The enclosed space creates a solemn space with only the empty sky above. “The empty spaces in this design are punctuated by elegant structures that help define the human loss of a community. The result is a moving tribute to those lives that were lost, and to those who remember them,” a jury member who help choose the design of the memorial said.

From across the Hudson River on the New Jersey shoreline stands the Empty Sky Memorial, dedicated to the 749 New Jersey lives lost during September 11. The open spaces of its surroundings in Liberty State Park is starkly contrasted to the high rises of lower Manhattan directly across the water. The view on a clear day from this side of the Hudson — colloquially referred by some as “West Wall Street” or the “Sixth Borough” — stretches from Manhattan to Brooklyn, Staten Island, and even the Bronx. Of the nearly 2,700 lives lost in Manhattan, 674 were residents of New Jersey.

Designs from architects Jessica Jamroz and Frederic Schwarz were unanimously chosen by 12-member jury of the families of the victims. In many ways, the jury selection reflected a desire for remembrance but also hope. “In a world of dysfunction, distraction, and distance, the dilemma of how to remember and inspire is near to impossible,” commented a jury member according to the Society for Experiential Design. “Yet this courageous monument solves all of this with ease and leaves us touched, curious, and hopeful.”

Empty Sky serves as a stark reminder to what was once there, with its two walls, mimicking the width and height of the towers were they to lie on their sides. They create a corridor directly to Ground Zero, reflecting an “empty sky” where the two towers had once dominated the skyline, as recalled by an unnamed visitor. Echoing this sentiment, another jury member noted “the empty spaces in this design are punctuated by elegant structures that help define the human loss of a community. The result is a moving tribute to those lives that were lost, and to those who remember them.”

Consisting of families who lost loved ones, and owned and operated by the state of New Jersey, the memorial opened to the public with more than 3,000 participants in attendance on September 10, 2011. The memorial continues to serve the community, as a place of mourning and remembrance.

Speaking during the opening event, Port Authority Chairman David Samson recognized that “of course it’s a restatement of our losses, but it is another step in the healing process… and it’s a commitment and demonstration of our strength as a country.” This seems appropriate as the Empty Sky Memorial today has been witness to the resilience of lower Manhattan with the Freedom Tower in direct view and the Statue of Liberty — America’s symbol of liberty and freedom — to its right.

A view of the memorial from the Liberty Landing Ferry arriving from downtown Manhattan. The Empty Sky Memorial stands in the foreground with the old Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal to its immediate left and the Statue of Liberty on its far left.

Berms sloping gently upward toward the walls on both sides of the memorial open up to the view of downtown Manhattan where the twin towers once stood.

A lone visitor at the memorial remembers her friends, an engaged couple who perished at the World Trade Center. She reflects on the “unfulfilled dreams and hopes” of her friends along with all the other people whose names have been etched onto the memorial.

The names of the 749 lost on the day of the 9/11 attacks are etched into the walls on either side of the passageway leading to downtown Manhattan. At night, the walls are illuminated from below. A kiosk near the entrance of the memorial can illuminate the name of each individual.

Steel beams are placed on the west end of the memorial. The shadows cast from the beams are reminiscent of the cross found at Ground Zero. The two walls create an illusion of where the two towers would have stood in downtown Manhattan.