At Ground Zero, a Place to Recall a Lost Era

Close to the heart but far from public consciousness, the World Trade Center Memorial Museum - where visitors will be immersed in history in the very crucible where it unfolded - is beginning to take form. There is no director, though a national search is under way. No artifacts have been chosen, though a three-volume catalog suggests how many there are to choose. Boundary skirmishes among the users of underground space on the trade center site are settled enough that officials can say the museum will have at least 110,000 square feet of floor area.

Almost certainly, it will be organized thematically, beginning with a depiction of life at the towers before and between the attacks of Feb. 26, 1993, and Sept. 11, 2001. Exhibits following that would depict the events of 9/11, rendered graphically and unflinchingly (visitors may bypass this exhibit); and the rescue efforts and relief work, the outpouring of support and the broader aftermath.