MESSAGE FROM GARY SUSON
Founder, 9/11 Museum Workshop
The 9/11 Museum Workshop opened on September 7, 2005, in New York City’s Meatpacking District. It was created by a collective of people who believed deeply in telling the most realistic and respectful account of the Ground Zero Recovery Period ever assembled. Family members of 9/11 victims, FDNY firefighters, first responders, sound engineers, foreign-language specialists, and experts in graphics and technology all came together to help bring the private world of inside Ground Zero to life.
Our Museum is intentionally non-graphic and kid-friendly, and has become a trusted place for parents and educators to introduce young people to this chapter of history.
As the Official Photographer for the FDNY, I spent seven months inside the World Trade Center site. It was a life-changing experience and a profound honor. In 2002, I began suffering severe lung complications from toxic exposure at Ground Zero. While traveling through Europe for medical consultations, I visited the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. That experience helped me fully understand the power of a small, intimate space to convey the truth of unimaginable events.
I returned to New York determined to create a similar museum — one that would allow visitors to experience what it was like to work alongside FDNY firefighters and recovery crews after September 11. I also wanted to preserve the images and stories of Ground Zero for the future. From that vision, the 9/11 Museum Workshop was born.
The Recovery Period was vast and complex: K-9 search teams, sacred Honor Guard ceremonies, dangerous work deep in the PATH tunnels, and the relentless 24/7 excavation for victims. Scattered throughout the rubble were thousands of artifacts, each carrying a story. Above all were the faces of Ground Zero — the men and women who endured harsh winter conditions, personal sacrifice, and unimaginable loss while digging day and night for nine months to bring families closure. As many rescue and recovery workers now battle illnesses linked to toxic exposure, their sacrifices must never be forgotten.
Our Museum brings this period to life through photographs, rare artifacts, and 100 immersive audio stories presented in BOSE Dolby Stereo in four languages: English, Italian, Spanish, and French. We have also incorporated rare video and authentic sound recorded at Ground Zero — from K-9 dogs and heavy machinery to radio transmissions and chaplains offering prayers during Honor Guards. We are the only 9/11 Museum that allows visitors to hold select artifacts, creating a deeply personal and human connection to history.
Our goal is education and healing. We do not show graphic footage of the attacks themselves. Instead, we focus on the Recovery — a nine-month effort to locate the missing within a 100foot-deep cavern of steel, dirt, and twisted metal. This approach has resonated with visitors of all ages, including children as young as five, who carefully listen to our audio stories and engage with the experience.
We are honored to have received TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Awards in 2013 and 2014, to have maintained a five-star rating for nine consecutive years, and to be included in TripAdvisor’s Top 25 Museums in the United States alongside institutions such as the Frick and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In 2015, we were inducted into TripAdvisor’s Hall of Fame.
Beyond education, we are committed to giving back. Over the years, the Museum has raised and donated tens of thousands of dollars to support FDNY families, sick and disabled first responders, and the FDNY Widows & Children’s Fund. Supporting those affected by September 11 remains central to our mission. Creating the Museum Workshop was not a “job” as I derive zero salary — this is a volunteer position for myself, just as working at the World Trade Center site was.
I am proud to welcome you to the 9/11 Museum Workshop. This Museum breaks the mold of traditional institutions and offers a deeply human experience — one that honors resilience, sacrifice, and the strength of the human spirit. I believe your visit will stay with you long after you leave, just as my time at Ground Zero and my visit to the Anne Frank House remain forever embedded in my memory.
Gary Suson
FDNY Honorary Battalion Chief
Official Photographer at Ground Zero, FDNY
