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

The son of a friend of Michael Spear's began working in the WTC two weeks before 9/11. He remembers the sounds of loved ones mourning this boy.

In the 1970s, Douglas Kravenhoft snuck into the unfinished second tower when it was under construction. By hiding from construction crews, he was able to make it to the highest floor that had been built.

This anonymous caller belongs to the New York Association of Hotel Concierges. They held an annual banquet at Windows on the World and he has video footage of the event.

Annie Goodman traveled to NYC from Colorado to attend her best friend's wedding reception at Windows on World in the 1980s. The elevator ride made her sick, but the view was great.

Commuter Tish remembers the ding-ding of the PATH train--it doesn't sound the same now that it goes to 9th Street. She also misses the mall below the WTC because it was a fun meeting place.

Mike Roche recommends looking for sound from videotape made by ENG (electronic news gathering) cameramen.

Richard Wolf remembers the way the WNYC Morning Edition radio broadcast sound cut out as the tower burned.

Ferris Cook describes a short super-8 animated film that she made about the WTC in 1973.

In the late 1970s Ohio resident Bruce Kinney went hiking at Bear Mountain in the Hudson Valley. He recalls seeing bands of orange light in the sky that he realized were reflections of the sun on the WTC towers.

On 9/11 Mike Cohen thought of the scene from the movie Godspell in which the cast dances on the top of the still-unfinished WTC.

Jodie Anderson describes being new to New York and meeting friends at the glamorous Windows on the World.

Floridian Rosie Fussell is mourning for America. She feels the Sonic Memorial project will be healing.

Sister Eileen Fickner, a Salesian nun who lives in New York, remembers the awesome silence on the streets after 9/11.

Corporate pilot Kevin Graulty remembers the New York skyline from the air. He used to use the WTC to gauge visibility and help him get oriented from Teterboro Airport.

Philip Armor, a visitor to New York from Santa Fe, remembers feeling like he had made it when he drove around the monolithic, silent Twin Towers just two months before 9/11.

Ruth Anne Kocour, who lost a friend on 9/11, reads letter she received from a person in Bhutan sending condolences for America.

Tennessee resident John Fagan once met his cousin by chance in front of the WTC towers. He remembers going to the observation deck as a kid and, on the way down, jumping in the elevators to touch the ceiling.

Michigan resident Brian McDonald was in the Coast Guard and was posted in New York from 1971 to 1973. He watched the towers being built and remembers the drone and hum of cranes echoing across the harbor.

Carl, an electrical contractor, describes working on the initial installation of the WTC TV tower and a more recent renovation of the observation deck.

Joann Adinolfi was born on Staten Island and saw the WTC every day from the ferry--she once watched lightning bounce off the rooftop lightning rods. She also remembers that the bathroom doors in the WTC would clank as the tower swayed in the wind.

Collection Tree

  • Audio
    • The Sonic Memorial Project