September 11 Digital Archive

The Sonic Memorial Project

Title

The Sonic Memorial Project

Description

SonicMemorial.org is an open archive and an online audio installation of the history of The World Trade Center. It collected stories, ambient sounds, voicemails, and archival recordings to tell the rich history of the twin towers, the neighborhood and the events of 9/11. Led by NPR's Lost & Found Sound, The Sonic Memorial Project is a cross-media collaboration of more than 50 independent radio and new media producers, artists, historians, and people from around the world who have contributed personal and archival recordings. To date, we have gathered more than 1,000 contributions, many of which have been woven into feature stories by Lost & Found Sound and broadcast on NPR. SonicMemorial.org is produced by Picture Projects and dotsperinch in collaboration with Lost & Found Sound.

Items in the The Sonic Memorial Project Collection

Doug Weingarten, a blind man, describes his audio archive of the news radio and newspaper audio service reports. A computer-generated voice reads the news to him.

Brooklyn resident Tim Gerken got voicemail from his cousin and watched the first tower fall from his roof.

Down Town Glee Club president Jerry Osterberg talks about rehearsing at Trinity Church. On 9/11, he spent time tracking down club members.

Melody Graham describes the voicemail her husband left on his way to work at the WTC on 9/11. She plays a message from a worried friend who knew Melody often had business meetings downtown.

Rebecca Tally, who worked five blocks from the WTC, describes the voicemail messages she left and received on 9/11, as well as the communications problems she experienced.

Paul Borst walked away from the WTC on 9/11 but couldn't reach anyone to say he was safe until noon. He saved voicemails from his girlfriend and his brother.

Bob Krutzel describes his 1976 wedding at Windows on the World. He and his wife, Barbara, were about to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary there.

Katherine Mueller tells about her daughter Katelyn, who watched from her school window while the towers fell. Katelyn later wrote a song called Tuesday about her experience.

WBAI radio programmer John McDonagh describes doing a special show after 9/11. They interviewed John's young daughter, who was pulled out of school; John's sister, who is a police officer; firemen; a friend who worked on the 37th floor of the WTC;…

Mike Samson, a television producer, collected hours of footage about the 9/11 attacks to use for a special documentary episode of NBC's The Third Watch. The episode, the show's season premiere, aired on October 15, 2001.

Freelance reporter and writer Steven Manning recorded this tape on 9/11. That morning, he was on his way from his home in Brooklyn to the J&R music store downtown. When he heard the first plane, he went toward the WTC and interviewed people. Here he…

Poet Benjamin Thompson reads a work written on 9/11 and talks about harvesting black popcorn in South Dakota to send to firemen in NYC.

Robert Olin works at Thatcher, Thomas and Wood, which was on the 38th to 40th floors of 2 WTC. He had videotaped the office two weeks before 9/11.

Shaun Gerien is a reporter for WSHU Long Island. He describes working on two WTC-related stories--one about a firefighter and the other an interview with an office worker.

Mark Farago, a resident of Wharton, NJ, was moved by a news segment on Channel 12 that featured kids from a local school, St. Mary's, singing about 9/11.

Cheryl Moch, a resident of Battery Park City, talks about the voicemail she received on 9/11 from a friend who thought it was a small plane that hit the building. She also tells how a friend of a friend had to run for cover from the falling debris.

Cindy Weil, a downtown resident, used her digital video recorder to capture her experiences on 9/11. In the background, you can hear sirens, Cindy's baby, and friends calling.

Joan met an AT&T employee named Boo. When she was assigned to document the timing of calls from 9/11, Boo felt as though she were invading people's privacy during their last moments.

Brooklynite Cindy Jeffers offers the voicemail messages she received on 9/11.

Felicity, a former Barnard student, reminisces about her summer job in NYC and the sound of the trains in the subway under the WTC.

Collection Tree

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