The Tribute in Light, Explained

Once a year, not every night

Searches for the two beams over Lower Manhattan often assume a nightly display. The tribute is lit only on the night of 11 September, from dusk to dawn. On other nights the memorial plaza is lit until 8 pm and then roped off; the memorial-at-night page describes it.

The lights

Eighty-eight xenon searchlights of 7,000 watts each stand in two squares on the roof of the Battery Parking Garage, six blocks south of the site. The two squares recall the two towers. The 9/11 Memorial & Museum has presented the tribute since 2012; it was first produced by the Municipal Art Society.

Seen from 60 miles

On a clear night the beams are visible up to 60 miles away. They are therefore seen from the outer boroughs, from New Jersey and from Long Island as well as from Lower Manhattan.

The bird pauses

Migrating birds circle in the beams in September. On advice from bird monitors the lights are switched off for 20-minute periods when birds gather, and then relit. A pause during the night is part of the display, not a fault.

Where to watch from

The memorial plaza itself is roped off after 8 pm, so the beams are watched from the surrounding streets, from Brooklyn Bridge Park across the East River, or from the Staten Island Ferry, which passes the Battery. Any open view south over Lower Manhattan works. The days around the anniversary are the busiest of the year at the museum, which runs special hours then; the best-time page covers the week.

Since 2002

The tribute was first lit on 11 March 2002, six months after the attacks, and has returned every 11 September since. The history page places it among the site’s other dates.

Frequently asked questions