Postcards is anoutdoor sculpture inSt. George,Staten Island,New York City, United States. Built in 2004, it is a permanent memorial honoring the 274 Staten Island residents killed in theSeptember 11 attacks of 2001 and in the1993 World Trade Center bombing.[1][2] The dead include many who worked at theWorld Trade Center, police and firefighters who joined the rescue effort and were killed when the towerscollapsed, and one passenger onUnited Airlines Flight 93, who died in the crash inShanksville, Pennsylvania. One individual who was killed in the1993 World Trade Center bombing is also represented.
Each Staten Island victim is honored with a 9-by-11-inch (23 cm × 28 cm) granite plaque bearing their name, birthdate, and place of work on September 11, 2001, as well as their profile insilhouette.[3]
The centerline between the two walls (postcards) points directly atGround Zero, thereby referencing the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center destroyed on 9/11. The individual silhouettes all look in the same direction, toward Ground Zero. The effect of standing between the walls can be quite powerful—some have experienced a kind of "oneness" with those who were lost represented in silhouettes as all look together toward the site of the missing towers.[4]
The attack on the towers created such massive burning and destruction that few identifiable remains were recovered for burial. According toJames Molinaro,Borough President of Staten Island, "Maybe 60 percent of those of the people whose profile is here, their next of kin, their loved ones, didn't receive any remains. This is their cemetery."[5]
The memorial was designed by New York-based architectMasayuki Sono, who won the design competition held in early 2003.[6] It was commissioned for this site, along the North Shore Waterfront nearSt. George Terminal, and overlooking theNew York Harbor,Lower Manhattan, and theStatue of Liberty.[7] Construction began on September 11, 2003 at New England Boatworks.[8] The opening and dedication took place on September 11, 2004.[9]
In 2018, upon the request of borough presidentJames Oddo, the office of mayorBill de Blasio allocated $250,000 from theNew York City Economic Development Corporation to renovate the memorial.[10] Cleanup began in July 2019.[11]
Media related toPostcards (9/11 memorial) at Wikimedia Commons40°38′48″N74°4′35″W / 40.64667°N 74.07639°W /40.64667; -74.07639