Site Plan
Birds Eye View of Memorial Site
Flight 93 National Memorial
Site Plan
Design Concept
Reflections of Heroes: The Flight 93 National Memorial
This Memorial honors the 40 Heroes of Flight 93 with an uplifting expression that reflects the lives and heroism of individuals united in strength, who took action and inspired our Nation on September 11, 2001.
The primary Memorial is positioned to overlook and embrace the Crash Site and Sacred Ground. Approached from either the Road of Sacrifice that mirrors the Flight Path, or a more direct Winter Road, one glimpses 40 Ponds of Heroes. Water, with its unique ability to reflect the heavens, is used to honor each individual with a Memorial Pond. The Ponds form a landscape necklace around Sacred Ground, and organize on-site water, diverting it from the crash site.
The Ponds culminate in the Plaza of Honor, where 40 Individual Monuments reach out over a Common Pond and are linked with an array of Cables that converge in support of the Flight 93 Memorial Tower. The Common Pond is ringed with flowering Cherry Trees and the Pergola of Tribute, which accommodates offerings of remembrance from the public, and provides wind protection for the Plaza. With references to our Nation's Capitol, we are reminded of what the Heroes of Flight 93 helped preserve on September 11, 2001.
The Memorial Chapel, a place for gathering, reflection and prayer, overlooks the Plaza. Limestone sidewalls of the Chapel would be engraved with the names of all of the victims of 9/11. Near the entry to the Chapel and Pergola stands a Cairn, where visitors can add to a growing mound of small stones, a time-honored tradition of memory and respect.
The Ponds and grade change can limit the public to areas north of the Ponds and Memorial Plaza, using the Ponds and elevated Plaza as a natural barrier. If acceptable to the families, public access paths would be provided to the lower bowl area and the perimeter of Sacred Ground. Also included is an optional Family Retreat nestled in the existing Hemlock Grove within Sacred Ground, with a private Family Chapel and/or Burial Ground with marker(s), incorporated at the discretion of the Families.