Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Tribute In Light Shines Tonight Until Sunrise
By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 11, 2015
Modified Sep 11, 2015
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Gothamist
View all 11
By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 11, 2015
Modified Sep 11, 2015
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
At sunset, the Tribute in Light, the beautiful light installation honoring those lost during the 9/11 attacks, will be turned on. The lights, which represent the Twin Towers of the original World Trade Center, will fade into dawn tomorrow.
The project, designed by John Bennett, Gustavo Bonevardi, Richard Nash Gould, Julian Laverdiere, Paul Myoda and lighting designer Paul Marantz, was put together by the Municipal Art Society and Creative Time, and was first lit on the six-month anniversary of the attacks. The MAS continued to present Tribute through 2011; from then on, the 9/11 Memorial and Museum has been carrying on the lovely tradition.
The NY Times' David Dunlap elegantly explained why Tribute is so powerful:
It succeeds because it offers no narrative, no interpretation, no mediation. At a distance, it is not even clear whether the shafts are soaring upward or beaming down from the heavens.
You can read them as a divine symbol or as abstract architecture or simply as an annual public art project. The pinstripes created by 88 lamps may remind you of the striations in the twin towers’ facades, or the rivulets in the memorial waterfalls, which may in turn suggest the passage of souls through space. Or not.
The point is: No one is telling you what to think. You are merely invited to do so.
The MAS says, "The memorial was originally going to be called the Towers in Light, but MAS received feedback from 9/11 families that a name paying tribute to the lives lost rather than the buildings that had once stood would be a more powerful remembrance," and notes, "The Tribute in Light rises miles into the sky and can be seen from 60 miles away. As of 2002, the two arrays cast the strongest shaft of light ever projected from earth into the night sky."
The lights are located just south of the World Trade Center at West and Morris streets. Here are photos of the Tribute last year taken by Paul Ker.
Tagged
9/11
9/11 attacks
tribute in light
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Staten Island fire injures 2, but spares historic 'Godfather' church
Dozens of firefighters responded to the blaze, which started in a vacant warehouse. It was contained within three hours.
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Oct 18, 2026 at 10:34 a.m. ET
Bail reform remains major issue in NY governor's race, 7 years after it became law
Repeat offenders are a big talking point in the governor's race.
By
Gino Fanelli
News
Bail reform remains major issue in NY governor's race, 7 years after it became law
Repeat offenders are a big talking point in the governor's race.
By
Gino Fanelli
NYPD searching for 'person of interest' in fatal Midtown subway platform shooting
By
Ryan Kost
and
Elizabeth Kim
Have you seen this Yorkie? NYPD looking for adorable pup dognapped from her Queens home
By
Ryan Kost
Being reigning champions is weird for Knicks fans, but we could get used to this.
By
Catalina Gonella
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .