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

Seventeen-year-old Katelyn Mueller wrote this song, Tuesday, three days after 9/11 to express what she and her friends were feeling at the time.

Peter Klein, his wife Melody, and their son Noah saved their voicemails from 9/11. Melody and Noah were downtown when the attacks occurred.

Elisa Karp's audio journal--a New York Everyman's journal--documents her experience at home on Manhattan's Upper East Side on September 11. She kept her tape recorder rolling as she made telephone calls and exchanged instant messages with friends…

Elisa Karp's audio journal--a New York Everyman's journal--documents her experience at home on Manhattan's Upper East Side on September 11. She kept her tape recorder rolling as she made telephone calls and exchanged instant messages with friends…

Elisa Karp's audio journal--a New York Everyman's journal--documents her experience at home on Manhattan's Upper East Side on September 11. She kept her tape recorder rolling as she made telephone calls and exchanged instant messages with friends…

The Sound of New York City is a CD put out by Logan Susnick in 2000. It includes ambient tracks from all over the city. Here you can listen to the WTC concourse atmosphere as the afternoon crowds leave work.

Photographer Neil Selkirk taped the tolling of the bell at St. Luke's Church on 9/11. You can hear sirens wailing in the background.

Tilman Reitzle had always been dazzled by the sights and sounds of rush hour at the WTC. Finally, on June 27, 1986--a Friday--he brought his SONY ProWalkman. That morning, he stood at the entrance and recorded this ambient noise. You can hear kids…

Tilman Reitzle had always been dazzled by the sights and sounds of rush hour at the WTC. Finally, on June 27, 1986--a Friday--he brought his SONY ProWalkman. That afternoon, he recorded this ambient noise from the plaza beneath the towers and the…

Tilman Reitzle had always been dazzled by the sights and sounds of rush hour at the WTC. One Friday afternoon in 1986, he recorded this ambient noise from the plaza beneath the towers and the concourse inside the WTC, using his SONY ProWalkman. You…

Tilman Reitzle had always been dazzled by the sights and sounds of rush hour at the WTC. Finally, on June 27, 1986--a Friday--he brought his SONY ProWalkman. That evening, he stood in the concourse near the turnstiles to the PATH train and recorded…

Lucien Samaha was a DJ at Windows on the World. He recorded the music and the sounds of the people at one of his weekly parties.

Lucien Samaha was a DJ at Windows on the World. He recorded the crowd noise at one of his weekly parties.

In the spring of 1999, Jerry Osterberg's glee club practiced one of their songs at the Trinity Church, just around the corner from the WTC.

Many tourists visiting the World Trade Center chose to learn about the place by taking an audio tour. There have been several different versions of the tour. This one, produced by Antenna Audio in August 2001, was to have been introduced later that…

Many tourists visiting the World Trade Center chose to learn about the place by taking an audio tour. There have been several different versions of the tour. This one, produced by Antenna Audio in August 2001, was to have been introduced later that…

Many tourists visiting the World Trade Center chose to learn about the place by taking an audio tour. There have been several different versions of the tour. This one, produced by Antenna Audio in August 2001, was to have been introduced later that…

Many tourists visiting the World Trade Center chose to learn about the place by taking an audio tour. There have been several different versions of the tour. This one, produced by Antenna Audio in August 2001, was to have been introduced later that…

Many tourists visiting the World Trade Center chose to learn about the place by taking an audio tour. There have been several different versions of the tour. This one, produced by Antenna Audio in August 2001, was to have been introduced later that…

Many tourists visiting the World Trade Center chose to learn about the place by taking an audio tour. There have been several different versions of the tour. This one, produced by Antenna Audio in August 2001, was to have been introduced later that…

Collection Tree

  • Audio
    • The Sonic Memorial Project