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1 of 11A shattered portion of the enormous broadcasting antenna that topped the north tower of the World Trade Center.Floto+Warner for TIME -
2 of 11Some of the massive artifacts salvaged from the towers almost have the appearance of abstract sculpture, like this 10,000 pound elevator motor.Floto+Warner for TIME -
3 of 11The exterior skin of the museum’s irregularly shaped entry pavilion is banded with alternating stripes of polished and matte finish stainless steel, which meet an angular wall of clear glass.Floto+Warner for TIME -
4 of 11Two 80 ft. (24 m) “tridents” from the World Trade Center’s facade rise through the glass-enclosed atrium of the museum’s entry pavilion, with its crisscrossing steel trusswork. The stairway leads down to the mostly belowground museum.Floto+Warner for TIME -
5 of 11The remains of “Ladder 3." On the morning of the attacks, it carried 11 firefighters to the scene. All of them died in the collapse of the towers.Floto+Warner for TIME -
6 of 11A photo by modern pictorialist photographer Joseph Ruzicka, an early member of the Camera Club of New YorkJoseph Ruzicka—CCNY -
7 of 11An interior gallery displays the “Cross at Ground Zero." A steel T-beam salvaged from the wreckage of the towers, it became a rallying point for rescue and recovery workers at the site.Floto+Warner for TIME -
8 of 11A twisted fragment of steel from the north tower testifies to the immense heat and pressure of the Trade Center collapse.Floto+Warner for TIME -
9 of 11This pay phone, found in the wreckage at Ground Zero, was once installed on the 107th floor observation deck of the south tower, more than a quarter mile above the street.Floto+Warner for TIME -
10 of 11A river line valve sits in the museum’s Foundation Hall before a portion of the Trade Center’s slurry wall, a barrier that held firm after the towers collapsed, preventing the Hudson River from inundating lower Manhattan.Floto+Warner for TIME -
11 of 11The “Survivors’ Stairs” were an escape route used by many people on 9/11. At the museum they have been installed alongside the final stretch of the ramp by which visitors make their way down to the exhibition galleries.Floto+Warner for TIME
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