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One World Observatory towering over New York City skyline.

One World Observatory

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Statue of Liberty against blue sky, New York City.

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Elephant exhibit in the American Museum of Natural History atrium.

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Children exploring ship controls at the Intrepid Museum, New York.

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Visitors at the entrance of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.

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Whitney Museum modern facade with vertical windows in New York City.

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Bronx Zoo entrance with historic dome and archway surrounded by greenery.

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Marylin Monroe wax figure with visitors at Madame Tussauds, New York, holding a clapperboard.

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New York Historical Society building with exhibition banners and city street.

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St. Patrick's Cathedral facade with visitors and a yellow taxi in New York City.

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Quick overview

  • Access: Included in all 9/11 Memorial & Museum tickets
  • Separate ticket: Not required
  • When you’ll see it: Near the end of the core museum route
  • Visit duration: 10–20 mins self-guided/10–15 mins on a guided museum route
  • Best time: First timed entry on a weekday, before school groups and midday museum traffic build
  • Restrictions: No photography. Quiet, respectful conduct is expected.
Foundation Hall with Last Column at 9/11 Museum, New York City.

In Memoriam is included with all 9/11 Memorial & Museum tickets. No separate ticket is needed. You’ll reach it within the museum itself, typically after the main historical galleries, and there’s no way to enter it directly without following the museum route. Book 9/11 Memorial & Museum tickets for a self-paced visit, or choose Ground Zero 9/11 Memorial tour & 9/11 Museum skip-the-line tickets if you want more context before you arrive.

How to best experience In Memoriam

Best time to visit

The first timed entry on a weekday is the calmest option. You’ll usually reach In Memoriam before the museum’s busiest midday stretch, so the room feels quieter and less compressed. Avoid late-morning weekend entries if you want more space to pause.

How long to spend

Plan 10–20 minutes if you want to move through the portraits and read a few profiles, or closer to 20–30 minutes if you read carefully. Guided visits usually pause more briefly. If you rush, the room reads as scale, not individual lives.

Where it fits in your itinerary

Most visitors reach In Memoriam after the main historical sections, when emotional fatigue is already setting in. Budget at least 90 minutes before it if you’re doing the museum properly. Don’t spend all your attention in the first galleries.

Crowd patterns

The room usually stays quieter than the museum’s large artifact halls, but overall traffic peaks around 11am–2pm, especially on weekends and school-break dates. At those times, people linger less. Earlier and later timed entries make reflection easier.

What to prioritize if time is short

If you only have 10 minutes, start with the portrait walls, then stop at two or three individual profiles and read them fully. That shift from scale to person is the core experience. Skip the gift shop first, not this room.

Common mistakes to avoid

Many visitors arrive emotionally spent and walk through too quickly after Foundation Hall. Pause for a minute before reading the first profile. Also, don’t reach for your phone here — photography is not permitted in this gallery.

Best tickets to experience In Memoriam

Ticket typeWhy choose it

Standard timed entry

Best if you want to set your own pace and spend longer in In Memoriam without following a guide’s schedule.

Guided Ground Zero + museum entry

Best if you want outdoor context first, then a more meaningful stop once you reach the gallery inside.

Family pass

Best for families with older children who need museum access plus the flexibility to pause, step out, and talk together.

Why it’s worth seeing

What makes In Memoriam irreplaceable inside the 9/11 Museum is that it stops telling the story of the day and starts introducing you to the people who lived it. Most visitors expect a list of names; instead, they enter a quieter portrait space that turns scale into individual lives. Use this room slowly. These are the details worth focusing on once you’re inside.

The portrait walls

Start at the walls lined with photographs rather than scanning the whole room at once. Pick one face at eye level and stay with that person for a moment. The room changes when a victim stops being part of a total and becomes an individual.

The profile stations

Use the interactive profiles to open 1 or 2 biographies in full instead of tapping through many quickly. These short life details — family roles, jobs, routines — restore ordinary life to a public tragedy in a way the larger galleries cannot.

The center of the room

Pause near the center of the circular space before you leave. From there, the portraits surround you at once, and the scale of loss becomes legible without explanation. It’s the best place to understand what the gallery is trying to do.

Historical and cultural significance

Opened with the museum in 2014, In Memoriam gives individual presence to the 2,983 people killed in the September 11, 2001, attacks and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. What could have remained a roll call became a permanent portrait and biographical record inside the museum. Today, the gallery still functions as an active space of remembrance, shifting visitors from event history to human loss.

Know before you go

  • Museum hours: Wednesday–Monday, 9am to 7pm
  • Last entry: Around 5pm for general admission
  • Closed: Tuesdays, except for schedule changes tied to holidays or observances
  • Free-admission window: Mondays, 5:30pm to 7pm, with limited tickets released online at 7am the same day

Address: 180 Greenwich Street, New York, NY 10007

  • Nearest subway: World Trade Center (E), Fulton Street (A, C, J, Z, 2, 3, 4, 5), and Cortlandt Street (R, W), all within a short walk
  • Entry point: Enter through the museum pavilion on the Memorial plaza; In Memoriam has no separate entrance
  • Position in route: Usually reached near the end of the core museum path; allow about 90–120 minutes from entry if you’re seeing the main exhibitions
  • Direct access: Not possible; you reach the gallery as part of the full museum visit
  • Wheelchair access: Yes; the museum route and In Memoriam are step-free and wheelchair accessible
  • Elevators and ramps: Available between street level and the underground exhibition levels
  • Support services: Open-captioned videos, hearing loop systems, Braille materials, and staff assistance are available
  • Service animals: Welcome throughout the museum
  • Facilities: Accessible restrooms, seating, and quiet pause points are available if you need a break
  • Photography: Not permitted inside In Memoriam
  • Security: All visitors, bags, and personal mobility devices go through screening before museum entry
  • Bags and items: Large bags, luggage, outside food, and drinks aren’t permitted inside the museum
  • Conduct: Keep voices low and treat the gallery as a remembrance space
  • Re-entry: Museum tickets are single-entry; once you exit, you can’t return on the same ticket

Frequently asked questions about In Memoriam

Yes. Entry to In Memoriam is included with every valid 9/11 Memorial & Museum ticket. No separate ticket exists.