09/11/2026
Our world shook the morning of September 11, 2001. It shook in the depths under the 16-acres of Lower Manhattan that had, just the day before, held aloft New York City’s self-image. It shook in the walls of the Pentagon and in the earth of an otherwise quiet field in Pennsylvania. It shook in the hearts of hundreds of first responders who ran into the maelstrom, and in the bodies of those who showed up to help. It shook in the homes of the 150,000 residents of lower Manhattan, and in the psyche of a nation who watched it all on TV non-stop for the ensuing weeks. It shook, one final violent time, for 2,996 people.
The next day, signs for the missing, with photographs and names, and cards from coworkers and loved ones, were taped to walls across Lower Manhattan. Memorials and shrines, assembled by innumerable New Yorkers in mourning, also began appearing. By October the memorial in Union Square had grown to fill most of the south end of the park, and the fence of St. Paul’s Chapel on Broadway was covered.
Photojournalist and City Lore’s Director of Photography, Martha Cooper, known for taking some of the first photographs of graffiti writing and B-Boy culture in New York City, immediately began documenting these markers of dying hope and mourning as they slowly turned into testaments to resilience and commemoration. When these memorials started to come down in January, City Lore in collaboration with the New-York Historical Society, and the help of many thoughtful and courageous New Yorkers, were able to preserve much of the artwork and artifacts that made up these memorials.
With these materials and photographs, City Lore curated “Missing: A Streetscape of a City in Mouring”, an exhibit at the New-York Historical Society, which ran from March-July 2002. Soon after, we put together a virtual exhibit of the same name, featuring the collected materials and photographs, and it is now only viewable thanks to the Internet Archive’s WayBack Machine. [https://web.archive.org/web/20210622171902/https://citylore.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/911_exhibit/911_home.html]
After the exhibit, most of the artwork and artifacts were returned to their creators, the rest can be found either still at the New-York Historical Society or at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. The photographs, taken by Martha Cooper, became The “Missing: Streetscape of a City in Mourning” Collection, consisting of 1,272 color photographic slides, which can now be found in the Library of Congress American Folklife Center’s collections.
Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20210622171902/https://citylore.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/911_exhibit/911_home.html
Captions:
1. Flowers looking onto the ruins of the World Trade Center at Ground Zero, December 13, 2001. Photograph by Martha Cooper. © City Lore / Martha Cooper.
2. Mourner lighting candles in Union Square Park, Fall 2001. Photograph by Martha Cooper. © City Lore / Martha Cooper.
3. Missing posters cover Ray’s Pizza on the corner of 11st St. and 6th Ave., September 2001. Photograph by Martha Cooper. © City Lore / Martha Cooper.
4. The memorials covering the fence of St. Paul’s Chapel on Broadway, October 7, 2001. Photograph by Martha Cooper. © City Lore / Martha Cooper.
5. Laborers memorial built at Ground Zero, January 28, 2002. Photograph by Martha Cooper. © City Lore / Martha Cooper.
6. Supporters waving on rescue workers on West Street, October 7, 2001. Photograph by Martha Cooper. © City Lore / Martha Cooper.
