Remembering September 11, 2001: 25 Years Later
1st floor, Joel I. & Joan Picket Museum Treasures Case
Rescue Company 2, based in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, is one of five elite New York City Fire Department companies trained to respond to exceptional emergencies. On the morning of September 11, 2001, just 15 minutes after hearing the alarm, Rescue Company 2—Lieutenant Peter Martin and firefighters William Lake, Daniel Libretti, John Napolitano, Lincoln Quappe, Kevin O’Rourke, and Edward Rall—arrived at the unfolding World Trade Center tragedy and ascended the North Tower. All seven were killed when the building collapsed. In all, 2,977 lives were lost that day, and thousands have died from illnesses related to the attack's aftermath. This truck door was salvaged at the Fresh Kills Landfill in Staten Island.
In the days and weeks that followed, The New York Historical staff ventured to lower Manhattan and beyond to gather objects and artifacts that had borne witness to the tragedy. That impulse continues to the present day through our ongoing initiative, History Responds, which collects history as it unfolds to capture the past for future generations.
Exhibitions at The New York Historical are made possible by the Saunders Trust for American History, the Evelyn & Seymour Neuman Fund, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. WNET is the media sponsor.
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