Exit through the 9/11 Museum gift shop

[FindingNamo]

I think I want the Tribute to the Dogs of 9/11 buttons and maybe the Nalgene bottle, because a person can work up a mighty thirst never forgetting.

One source says under 10% of the merch was made in the USA. Which I think speaks volumes about the taste of American companies.
Is "tasteless crap" too harsh?

[FindingNamo]

Here's a link to the actual Museum Gift shop webpage.

It's obviously a very tricky thing, but it's hard not to see cynicism in "the officially licensed co-branded I Heart NY/9-11 Memorial t-shirt with the heart in 9-11 Memorial blue."




Link to its website!

[~~tiny3~~]

CNN's doing a story on this right now.
I have to admit that since 9/11 happened, I always thought that NoTHING should be built there. It IS a cemetery after all. Of course, NYC being NYC, no good piece of real estate can "go to waste". NOt many people agree with me...so be it.

[Sutton Ross]

Tiny, 16 acres in Manhattan is such a massive space. It's probably some of the most lucrative, prime real estate in the world. I do think they have done a beautiful job with the memorial, and the museum is a beautiful tribute for those who rest there. They shouldn't have put anything in that gift shop that wasn't made in America, though. Yuck.

If you have Netflix, I would recommend the documentary "16 Acres" which is all the behind the scenes stuff on rebuilding after 9/11.

Also, this is an interesting article about a brother losing his sister, and his experience visiting the museum.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/stevekandell/the-worst-day-of-my-life-is-now-new-yorks-hottest-tourist-at

[Marianne2]

I think it is too soon for something like this. I also find it a little gross that they are charging $24 to get in. I think that is a bit much for something of this nature. If other museums of less sensitive nature like the Met or Natural History museum have a suggested donation like that, then I think this should as well.

[PalJoey]

The gift shop should be shUt down and the swag should not be sold onsite.

The Anne Frank House in Amsterdam has a bookshop, at which you can buy books, DVDs, postcards and educational materials.

The people who came up with the idea to sell 9/11 key chains and Ground Zero mouse pads and Downtown NYC snow globes (REAL HUMAN ASH!) should be ashamed of themselves.

[SNAFU]

I am sure Nancy Beuche, my deceased lover's sister in law, who freaking died while waiting for an elevator that day would be so F*CKING pleased there was a water bottle and a hoodie for inflated prices because of the event! FU World Trade Center Memorial! I am sure Nancy's child will rush to buy up the merchandise!

[Sutton Ross]

Regarding the $24 admission fee, I think it's just needed to maintain security and its very high operating costs. The Oklahoma City National Memorial and the Anne Frank House both charge admission fees for the same reason.

I think the gift shop should sell books and educational DVDs. A "darkness" magnet? An iPhone 4 case? Eww...

[FindingNamo]

I agree with Su'. Eww...

[BroadwayNYC2]

I went to the museum this week for an advanced tour and thought it was very tasteful and very well done. The gift shop, not so much.

[SNAFU]

There is absolutely NO REASON FOR A F*CKING GIFT SHOP!

[FindingNamo]

I think they need to rethink their price points. iPhone cases are 10 bucks and under while a bookmark is $13?

I also wonder if the incredibly somber looking blank journals come with a referral list for mental health services?

[SNAFU]

This whole thing pisses me off to NO END! It is nothing more the the government, from the top, making profit from this act of Terrorism. Folks. the biggest F U and to honor to those who died would be to recreate that what was once!

[Marianne2]

Agreed, Snafu. I think if anything did have to be made, they should have waited longer. Call me awful, but I don't really want to relive that day. Which means I probably won't go. Can you imagine the school field trips and the reactions from kids? "We're going to the 9/11 Memorial Museum. Yay!" That's not exactly appropriate.

[Kad]

The Worst Day Of My Life Is Now New York’s Hottest Tourist Attraction

[Sutton Ross]

Already posted two hours ago :)

[SNAFU]

I lived at 99 John Street on that day, four blocks from the site. After the first tower fell I went down to Ground Zero to see if I could help.Couldn't see a thing and could barely breathe. A cop, white with ash emerged from the mist. "what can I do to help?" I asked him. The look of terror on his face , to this day, freezes my very soul. "There is nothing we can do except go to a safe place!" he told me. I made it home through the ankle depth debris just before the seondfiower fell.

[Jane2]

"The people who came up with the idea to sell 9/11 key chains and Ground Zero mouse pads and Downtown NYC snow globes (REAL HUMAN ASH!) should be ashamed of themselves."

Yes, and I blame the higher ups who gave the OK to put it into practice.

[Brian07663NJ]

I'm not surprised...by the admission, by the gift shop, none of it.

Probably because it is the way I have tried to heal - I am uninterested in going to this location, the museum, all of it. I don't want to hear about it. I don't want to look at it. I'm tired of it. Again - not out of disrespect but maybe just self preservation to want to forget about it. I smelled it. I saw it.

To those who were not in the proximity that we all were here in the tri-state area...this is a draw, an attraction. They watched from miles away. This was the moment in a life-time where people will say - where were you when...? To another generation it is a visit to the eternal flame in Arlington Cemetery. I've been there. I've stood before the grave of JFK and it certainly did not impact me the way I am sure it does generations older than I was who can ask the question - "Where were you when Kennedy was shot?"

For the generation that was alive for this event - this is a painful wound that volumes of salt are poured into. Perhaps we will never want to revisit this tragic location because we live it. Generations to come will visit, will not be as emotionally impacted as we are and they will not forget what atrocities took place that day. This location is for the future generation, for those who lost loved ones and find comforting in visiting...

[Kad]

Even before this museum, the area surrounding Ground Zero has been appalling. Tourists stopping to take photos of themselves, vendors trying to get them to buy photo booklets and trinkets - it's a little Times Square, centered around a tragedy. It makes me physically uncomfortable to even go near the area.

[Roscoe]

Do they sell copies of MY PET GOAT?

[Marianne2]

I'll admit, I did go down there about a month after they opened up the area with the 2 reflection pools or whatever you call them. I was just interested in seeing what they did and were doing. I did take some photos, but that was it. I hated it when my parent's friends from Colorado were out here and wanted to see it. There was nothing but a construction zone at that time.

[GlindatheGood22]

Are you SH!TTING me with the stuffed German Shepard? Wouldn't be NYC without a bunch of dust-magnet crap to prove You Were There. I wouldn't object to a bookstore that steered clear of the conspiracy theory and whistle blower books, but I guess that'd be too much to hope for.

As for the hoodies and snow globes, if you absolutely must get one I'd be willing to bet my reproductive organs that you could find what you were looking for in any of the seedy 8th Ave shops.

[FindingNamo]

The german shepard is too much. The stuffed black lab is totes adorbs, though.

[tazber]

Thank god they're not selling Jenga.

I hope that wasn't too offensive of a quip.

The whole thing is crass beyond belief, and yet classically American.

Who else would sell trinkets at a site of national mourning?

[Ex-Siny]

The museum costs a lot of money to run and $24 entrance fee does not even begin to cover it. I think it should be supported by the federal government, but as long as it's not they have to make the money somehow.