Tribute in Light

Background

After the September 11 attacks, several people independently conceived the idea of using lights for remembrance. These efforts were merged under the umbrella of the Municipal Art Society and Creative Time.

Tribute in Light began construction on March 11, 2002, and initially ran as a temporary installation from March 11 to April 14, 2002, and it ran again on September 11, 2003, to mark the second anniversary of the attack. Since then, it has been repeated every year on September 11. It was announced that 2008 would be its final year, but the tribute was continued in 2009.

On December 17, 2009, it was confirmed that the tribute would continue through the tenth anniversary of the attacks in 2011. In 2012, plans were underway for the National September 11 Memorial & Museum to assume the lease for the MTA property used during this tribute, and to begin transitioning operation of the tribute from the Municipal Art Society parking garage at The Battery to the National September 11 memorial foundation. However, the moving of the tribute has not yet occurred as of 2025.

The lights are produced by an Italian company named Space Cannon, which sends a team every year to help with the installation. A Las Vegas-based company, Light America, was also part of the team who implemented the project.

Each year, about 30 technicians, electricians, and stagehands work for about ten days to install the lights. During a testing phase of several days, observers in Brooklyn, Staten Island, New Jersey, and uptown Manhattan help make sure that the beams are adjusted accurately.

The project was originally going to be named Towers of Light, but the victims' families felt that the name emphasized the buildings destroyed instead of the people killed.

A permanent fixture of the Tribute in Light was at one point intended to be installed on the roof of One World Trade Center, but it was not included in the finished design.

Since 2008, the generators that power Tribute in Light have been fueled with biodiesel made from used cooking oil collected from local restaurants.

Effects on birds

The light pollution from Tribute in Light has caused confusion for over a million migrating birds, trapping them in the beams. Even at an altitude of several miles, birds can be affected by the lights. As a result of this effect, the beams are switched off for 20-minute periods to allow the birds to escape. To ensure the lights do not affect migrating birds, the Municipal Art Society works with the NYC Bird Alliance on the illumination. A 2017 study found that the installation "dramatically altered multiple behaviors of nocturnally migrating birds—but these effects disappeared when lights were extinguished".

In popular culture

Tribute in Light was featured in Boyz II Men's music video for "Color of Love". It made a notable appearance during the opening credits of Spike Lee's 2002 film 25th Hour. The tribute was also shown and referenced in the CBS series Blue Bloods. These lights were featured in the music video of U2's "You're the Best Thing About Me".

The video game adaptation of the film Spider-Man 2 features the lights at the approximate location of the WTC site, while another video game adaptation of the film The Amazing Spider-Man 2, the lights are seen on the construction site of One World Trade Center at night.

References

References

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7. Yong, Ed. (2022-06-13). "How Animals Perceive the World".
8. (August 18, 2011). "The End of Tribute in Light: Memorial Goes Dark Forever on 9/12". Observer.
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21. (September 15, 2008). "Tri-State Biodiesel fuels Sept. 11 memorial". Biodiesel Magazine.
22. (2017-10-02). "High-intensity urban light installation dramatically alters nocturnal bird migration". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
23. Allen, Nick. (September 15, 2010). "10000 birds trapped in Twin Towers memorial light". Daily Telegraph.
24. Laermer, Emily. (August 18, 2011). "Tribute in Light seeks funders". Crain's.
25. Quenqua, Douglas. (2017-10-02). "Yearly 9/11 Tribute Shows Light Pollution's Effects on Birds". The New York Times.