Welcome back to National Parks & other public lands with T! This is a special post in remembrance of the victims of the 9-11 terror attacks.

Empty Sky is New Jersey’s State Memorial to its victims of the September 11th attacks. It is in Liberty State Park on the waterfront, directly across from the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan. If you stand in the center of the western end, the empty sky framed by the walls of the memorial are where the Twin Towers once stood.

The walls are meant to symbolize the towers laying on their sides and are inscribed with the names of New Jersey’s 746 victims. At the entrance to the walls stands a sculpture made from one of the twin towers steel beams.

I took these photos on a bright morning in May of 2016 while waiting with a photography group for the ferry to Ellis Island. Though nearly 15 years had passed since the attacks, gazing at the empty sky through the steel walls was still a hushed and solemn moment for all of us.

May the departed rest in peace and may their children go on to make the world a better place.

Location: 1 Audrey Zapp Dr, Jersey City, NJ 07305

Designation: State Memorial

Date designation declared: 9/10/2011

Date of my visit: 5/15/2016