A collaboration between The Kitchen Sisters Davia Nelson and Nikki Silva, NPR, independent producers, and stations and listeners nationwide, The Sonic Memorial Project was created with audio artifacts, rare recordings, and the input of thousands of people who called in with their personal stories.
From the collection of photographs "Here is New York": Images from the Frontline of History: A Democracy of Photographs Artists, bankers, office staff, elevator and maintenance workers—each tower had a thousand sounds; every floor had a thousand stories. The Sonic Memorial Project gathers some of these in a reflection and richly textured document of this moment in our history. We hear from the architect and engineer of the Towers, the piano player from Windows on the World, aerialist Philippe Petit who walked on a high-wire between the buildings 105 floors up. We hear from artists who had studios in the World Trade Center, creators of music and soundscapes based on recordings from the Towers. We hear the stories and remembrances of some of the many who died.
New York writer Paul Auster hosts this re-mixed and remastered special, featuring stories that focus on little-known aspects of the life and history of the World Trade Center and surrounding neighborhood, including Radio Row: The Neighborhood Before The WTC, the district of electronic shops displaced by the building of the WTC. The Building Stewardesses: Construction Guides at The WTC and Other Little Known Tales of The Creation of The Towers 1968-1971: stories of the politics and public opinion surrounding the Towers are told by the man who masterminded the construction of the buildings and by the young college co-ed construction guides he hired to educate the public and put a friendly face on the project.
Sunday, September 11 at 2 p.m. on NPR 89.1/1550AM
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