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

A caller recommends talking to Bernard Goldstein, a radio executive who knew everyone down there on Radio Row.

John Rollins, the former publisher of Spin magazine, recalls the concert he put on with English techno band Spiritualized at Windows on the World.

Fred Abt, the former owner of Derf Radio on Hudson Street, knew merchants on Radio Row. He moved when the WTC was built, but his sons, Alan and Daniel, still have a business in New Rochelle.

Former downtown office worker Richard Penberthy remembers the fruit vendors at the WTC farmers market, the bustle of the annual orchid show, and the sound of drivers honking at the corner of Church Street.

Patrick, a native of Queens, recalls being a student and seeing the view of the Towers across the river. After he grew up, he was called to work at the WTC. He remembers that his toolcase had to be sniffed by a police dog on the way in.

Brooklynite Hugh Klitzke saved the voicemails he received on 9/11.

Jane Herschlag, the curator of readings at the West Side Y, has a recording of the readings program After 9/11

Mary Biffoni, a retired office worker from 7 WTC, recalls the toddlers on leashes outside the child care center in the building.

Californian Victoria Slind-Flor recalls a 1992 trip to New York with her late husband, who had AIDS. They saw Philip Glass's opera, The Voyage, at the Met and then went to the WTC. It was a profound experience for both of them, and helped them come…

Radio producer Ginger Miles, who lives next to Ground Zero, has been making an audio diary. She talks about the confusion of reporting and experiencing the event.
With funding from the New York Council for Humanities.

James Pedersen, who lives two blocks south of Ground Zero, was engulfed in a dust cloud on 9/11 as he tried to leave the area. He remembers choking, the scream of his cat he had put in his backpack, and the neighbors running and screaming.

Kahnawake Mohawk Lynn Beauvais of Quebec talks about the members of the Kahnawake nation who built many buildings in NYC, including the WTC, and who also volunteered at Ground Zero.

Nikki Stern, the wife of Jim Potorti, who was killed at the WTC, has a recording of him.

Remembrances of Joe Jocks, Mohawk Ironworker [Voicemail]

Builder Joe Jocks's granddaughter Lynn Beauvais remembers Cane's Corner, where the Mohawk ironworkers would gather in the early 1960s. Her grandfather talked to her about working on the world's largest buildings, what it was like to be in New York.

Dina Vonsweck had to be evacuated from her home for 30 years, 3 blocks from the WTC. She reads a poem about that day.

The agent for the Latin band Son Boricua, talks about taking pride in the towers. The group played at the WTC; their song Boricua Blues was written for the WTC before 9/11.

Lydia Robertson's mother, Valerie Hanna, worked on the 97th floor of 1 WTC and was one of the victims of 9/11. Lydia talks about her mother's life--she had 40 foster children and was a senior vice president at Marsh & McLennan Technology.

Carolyn Schunter, an EMT in Iowa, wonders why there is no news coverage of paramedics or the security guards who worked at the WTC.

Gary Shelber, a native New Yorker who now lives in San Diego, recalls being stuck in a traffic jam on September 11. He is reluctant to revisit his former home, now without the WTC. He reads a poem he wrote about 9/11.

Helen Simpkin, whose sister Jane died on United flight 175 on September 11, reads her sister's poem entitled Why I Hate Dan Rather. Jane wrote it before September 11, but Helen now finds her sister's words painfully timely.

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