9/11 memorial preview site opens to public

New York, Aug.27 (ANI): Families of those killed in the World Trade Center terror attacks got a closeup look Wednesday at the memorial and museum that will forever remember their loved ones - and that tragic day.

The 9/11 Memorial Preview Site opened to the public, giving hope to the families that progress is being made.

"This is going to allow people to see what this memorial and museum will look like in the future," the New York Daily News quoted Monica Iken, a 9/11 Memorial board member whose husband, Michael, was killed in the terrorist attacks that left nearly 3,000 dead, as saying.

"It's been difficult, but this is a wonderful day and it makes you realize it's going to happen - we are going to have this wonderful memorial," she added.

The 3000-square-foot Vesey St. exhibit features real-time images of the ongoing construction work and a four-minute film with time-lapse photography that shows the progress in recent years.

It also contains photos, architect models and renderings of what the completed memorial, with its manmade waterfalls, will eventually look like.

There is a small recording studio where people will be encouraged to share their stories from that day, as well as a gift shop with souvenir books, postcards and T-shirts.

Reconstruction of the memorial site has been marred by controversy, with a secret report predicting the Freedom Tower will not be completed until 2018 - four years after the date the Port Authority originally trumpeted.

The 9/11 Memorial Plaza, with two reflecting pools and waterfalls marking the footprints of the twin towers, is projected to open on Sept. 11, 2011. The on-site museum should be open for visitors in 2012. (ANI)