The American Express “Eleven Tears” Memorial, designed by landscape architect and Ken Smith, commemorates the memory of eleven American Express employees who lost their lives on September 11, 2001.
The memorial features: Eleven silver strands of light, Eleven facets of a gleaming heart, Eleven tears, forever falling, on Eleven names in a tranquil pool.One tear for each person disturbs the water’s surface several times a minute. The tears sparkle, reflect light, provide animation, and produce a quiet sound. The crystal focuses attention on the water, the pattern of dropping tears, and the pool’s eleven sides where the names of the American Express employees are memorialized. Remembrances of the eleven, selected by members of their families, are etched into the bottom of the pool and the date, September 11, 2001, lies under the crystal.
