Arlington's Pentagon 9/11 Memorial visitor center moves forward
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The exterior of the proposed project. Image: Courtesy of the Pentagon Memorial Fund
A long-delayed visitor center at the Pentagon's 9/11 Memorial is moving forward — 25 years after the attack.
Why it matters: The Pentagon is the only location of the three Sept. 11 attack sites without a museum or visitor's space dedicated to the significance of the site and the lives lost there.
Driving the news: A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled Saturday for the $100 million 9/11 Pentagon Memorial Visitor Education Center.
- The National Park Service also recently designated the site — which draws more than 1 million visitors annually — as an affiliated area of the NPS system.
The big picture: Twenty-five years ago Friday, a hijacked plane crashed into the Pentagon, claiming the lives of 184 people.
- The proposed center, sitting on 4 acres near the outdoor memorial, would tell the story of that day and how the country moved forward from the attacks.
- Plans call for exhibits, educational programs, a cafe, a bookstore and event spaces. Admission would be free.
- It's being spearheaded by the Pentagon Memorial Fund, a nonprofit created by the families of people killed in the attack. The nonprofit was also behind the memorial that opened in 2008.
Construction is anticipated to start soon, with a hoped for opening date of 2029, Pentagon Memorial Fund executive director Joseph Kornhoff told the Washington Post.
Yes, but: Saturday's ceremony is mostly symbolic. There are still several steps before the project is fully greenlit, including final sign-off from the Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission.
- Plus: Funding has been the project's biggest obstacle, Kornhoff told the Post. Organizers have secured about 20% to 25% of the project's anticipated costs.
- The funding plan calls for around 70% of the project's costs to come from state and federal sources, with the rest from private funding.
- The memorial fund is seeking another $35 million from the federal government in next year's budget.
What they're saying: Former Virginia governors Terry McAuliffe (D) and Bob McDonnell (R) called the project "long overdue" in a joint newspaper column this year.
- "With each passing year, the void created by the absence of an educational experience at the Pentagon grows larger," they wrote.
Zoom out: The museum spaces at the other two 9/11 sites are the National September 11 Memorial Museum in New York, which opened in 2014, and the Flight 93 National Memorial's visitor center in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, launched in 2015.
