Hello New York,
Today, and every day, our thoughts are with the city and its people. On the 25th anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center, we at The City Reliquary are reflecting on New York City’s strength in the aftermath via a collection of paper artifacts. With this in mind, we wanted to share a note from our founder, Dave Herman, retired FDNY firefighter.
Sometimes the most ethereal objects can hold long lasting memories.
Lifted by a plume of smoke, millions of pieces of paper floated into a cloudless sky over Manhattan on the morning of September 11th.
From a distance, fluttering white specs appeared like a pigeon mumbler’s flight.
These pages instantly became the artifacts of our collective history. Most of them drifted away, some landed in Brooklyn, or sank into the Mahicantuck, the river that flows both ways.
In the days and weeks following this moment of tragedy, a tapestry of paper pages was woven by our community and blanketed the city. Our neighbors, united, built the sincerest memorial with heartfelt and desperate urgency.
The streets of the city were still softened by documents, newspapers, receipts, and mundane paper detritus that rained from the falling towers.
The public walls, fences, and street furniture were swathed with paper posters swiftly collaged together with photos, names, phone numbers and addresses. Descriptions of tattoos, clothing, and hairdos that were last seen on loved ones, typed up or scrawled in with ball point pens or markers. Some were stapled with original Polaroid photos. Some blurred by multiple generations of Xerox copies.
These sincerest love letters were shared with us, the people of New York, a de facto support system of saddened survivors.
The temporal pages of that moment have become the cornerstone of a new New York.
The preservation of these paper relics is a commitment to collective memory. The City Reliquary Museum was born from the resilience of a city unified and strengthened in its sincere passion. We are the love letter to New York. You are New York.
– Dave Herman
Founder, City Reliquary Museum & Civic Organization
Retired FDNY L104
“The Southside” Williamsburgh, Brooklyn, NYC
See below to explore our collection of paper artifacts collected in the aftermath of 9/11.
Remembering the Faces and Names of Our Neighbors
A collection of found photographs of individual flyers of missing New Yorkers. Photographer unknown. Contact information has been removed to respect the privacy of the families.
Paper Relics Collected in the Aftermath of the Attacks
A single page of a Polish newspaper that became airborne and landed in Brooklyn from the World Trade Center after the collapse of the Twin Towers, 2001.
A Polaroid photo of a letter posted in Lower Manhattan with the words “Thank you for all your help in New York City.” Photo by Dave Herman, 2001.
A postcard reading “New York Needs Us Strong.” The back reads “Every New Yorker has been touched by Sept. 11 and its aftermath. If you need to talk, help is available.” 2001.
Photograph of clouds of smoke and debris after the towers collapsed with a boat in the foreground. The first volunteer responders arrived by boat to transport civilians off of Manhattan Island. Photographer unknown, 2001.
Photograph of clouds of smoke and debris after the towers collapsed. Photographer unknown, 2001.
Photograph of clouds of smoke and debris after the towers collapsed. Photographer unknown, 2001.
Photocopy of a painting by Adam Petrella, which he distributed from his newsstand on the corner of Bowery and Canal St, 2001.
