Since construction began on the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, there’s been one man who’s seen every angle, view and development.

Joe Woolhead, the photographer capturing the World Trade Center site and memorial and museum’s construction, is working together with Silverstein Properties to document the progress.

Born and raised in Dublin, Woolhead now works and lives in New York City with his wife and son.  He became a professional photographer on Sept. 11 after capturing the events of that day and the subsequent days.  His shots were published all over the world.  The event led to many more opportunities for Woolhead, including work with the premier photography agency, Sipa Press.

In May 2004, Woolhead began to work with Silverstein Properties.  Now, he works at the World Trade Center site photographing the ongoing construction.  Due to his work at the site, Woolhead has invested more of his time in architectural photography.

Woolhead’s photos have been featured in The New York Times, Time, Town & Country, Esquire, Gotham, New York Post, Daily News, and Wall Street Journal, along with many other national and international publications.

To access more information about Joe Woolhead and his photography, you can visit http://www.joewoolhead.com/.

By Meghan Walsh, Communications Associate with the 9/11 Memorial

A church in Vernon, N.J., will soon join dozens of other communities across the country by building a memorial to victims of the Sept. 11 attacks with a piece of World Trade Center steel serving as the centerpiece.

The national 9/11 Memorial will open next year at the World Trade Center.

According to a report on New Jersey.com, Rev. John Boland, the pastor of St. Francis De Sales Church, said: "People should be remembered. They are part of who we are and will always influence us."

St. Francis lost two of its parishioners on 9/11, Boland told New Jersey.com. The steel that will be used for the church's memorial is about 4 feet by 2 feet and has crosses cut into it.  The crosses, which were cut out by firemen, were presented to various victims' families, according to the report.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which is building the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, is seeking proposals from public and city agencies and not-for-profit groups interested in acquiring a piece of 9/11 World Trade Center steel for public display. Tons and tons of WTC steel are being stored at a JFK airport hangar and  pieces of the steel are being shipped nationwide.

By Michael Frazier, Sr. Communications Manager for the 9/11 Memorial

A 20-foot beam from the remains of the destroyed World Trade Center was greeted with bowed head, tears and prayer when it was recently received at a fire district in Louisiana.

According to a St.Tammany News report by Suzanne Le Breton, Fire District 12 Deputy Chief Steve Krentel has been trying to get a piece of WTC steel for use for a memorial for years. The beam reportedly arrived this month on a trailer, draped in an American flag, "serving as a reminder of the many coffins holding firefighters and other first responders that were laid to rest in the days and months following September 11."

The beam is to be used as a centerpiece for a proposed memorial proposed at the fire station at the intersection of Louisiana Highway 36 and Louisiana Highway 32 in Covington, La., about 42 miles north of New Orleans on the other side of Lake Pontchartrain. The fire district plans to erect the memorial featuring the beam in time for the upcoming anniversary of Sept. 11

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which is building the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, is seeking proposals from public and city agencies and not-for-profit groups interested in acquiring a piece of 9/11 World Trade Center steel for public display. Tons and tons of WTC steel are being stored at a JFK airport hangar.  Communities across the country are receiving pieces of remnant steel.

Several large pieces of WTC steel will be part of the exhibition experience of the 9/11 Memorial Museum, which is scheduled to open in 2012.

By Michael Frazier, Sr. Communications Manager for the 9/11 Memorial

In case you missed it. Children from across the globe handmade most of the 3,000 heartfelt gifts that make up the one-of-a-kind “Dear Hero” collection, which is comprised of poignant letters, heartfelt drawings and other tokens of gratitude delivered to firehouses across New York City after the 2001 terrorist attacks.

The items were sent to the city's fire companies and firefighters as a show of gratitude, and to recognize their heroic efforts and sacrifice.  On 9/11, 343 members of the city's Fire Department were killed.

Tanya Hoggard, a Delta airlines flight attendant who volunteered at the World Trade Center during the recovery,  is behind the collection of the items. She began preserving them in early 2002 as fire stations began dismantling displays of the letters and drawings. Hoggard named the tokens the Dear Hero collection because that was often the salutation used by children in their notes and letters. The collection has been stored in Cincinnati, Ohio, and has returned  to New York City after nearly nine years.

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum recently acquired the items and have added them to the permanent collection.

"For me, this is what I've been waiting for," Hoggard recalled. "Ideally, there will be a person who can one day show his or her own child what they sent to a rescue worker after 9/11."

In addition to numerous letters and artwork from children, the items include a U.S. flag fashioned from paper and $1 bills, ceramic angels, decorative quilts and a large wreath covered with dozens of small white teddy bears. Some items came from abroad, such as a flag signed by residents of Italy, a banner from Pakistan and a string of 1,000 origami cranes from Japan symbolizing world peace.

By Michael Frazier, Sr. Communications Manager for the 9/11 Memorial

Donning a hard hat, blindingly bright safety vest and dark shades concealing his eyes, 9/11 Memorial Project manager Ron Vega scaled a section of the outside wall of the north pool of the 9/11 Memorial at the World Trade Center construction site.

"Soon the plaza will come up to here," he said, making a chop motion at the height of his knees before adding, "And this is where the names will be located."

The current plaza of the memorial will be raised six feet, allowing future visitors to walk up and touch the bronze panels bearing names of the nearly 3,000 victims of the 2001 and 1993 terror attacks. The names are inscribed in such a way to allow light to shine through. The panels will rim the memorial, marking waterfalls that drop 30 feet into reflecting pools.

Over the past few months, progress has been steady on the memorial, which opens in the fall of next year. The two signature pools - both roughly an acre in size - are fully framed in steel. Much of the needed concrete has been poured and installation of the granite is underway. Hundreds of trees are being stored at a New Jersey nursery and will be planted at the site in the coming months.

Ron assess the progress and what work remains at the eight-acre site, which contains the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.

"We are making leaps and bounds," he said.

In the coming months, more concrete will be added to the memorial plaza to raise it six feet, allowing future visitors to walk up to the edge of the pools and touch the bronze panels bearing the names of the nearly 3,000 victims of the 2001 and 1993 terror attacks.

The plaza will serve as a green roof for the 9/11 Memorial Museum, which is taking shape seven stories beneath the memorial. The trees will be planted on the plaza in a suspended paving system that will contain soil and provide the foundation for a watering system.

Ron finished up for the day and headed back to the 9/11 Memorial headquarters nearby, where more work waited for him.  He walked off the 16-acre site that for years has been known as ground zero. Now it's a site being transformed into a national memorial and unique park space in lower Manhattan for the city's residents and visitors expected from around the world.

By Michael Frazier, Sr. Communications Manager for the 9/11 Memorial

A terrorism trial is heading for a New York City courtroom, but it's most likely not the trial you think.

An anonymous jury is to hear a case against Syed Hashmi of Queens, who's accused of providing supplies to al Qaeda fighters, according to the New York Daily News and the a WABC broadcast report. Hashmi will be tried in Manhattan Federal Court. Update: Hashmi pleads guilty, according to an updated story by the Daily News.

While recent cases of suspects linked to terrorism have been making headlines, the pending prosecution of the men charged in connection to the 2001 attacks have received far more attention after the federal government listed Manhattan as a potential venue for the  trials.

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum has enlisted a panel of experts to discuss the 9/11 terror trials and Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. While the views of the speakers may not be shared by the memorial and museum, the institution wanted to provide a forum for these perspectives.

The terror trial discussion is part of the 9/11, Today and Tomorrow speakers series held at the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site at 20 Vesey St. The event exploring the 9/11 terror trials is fully subscribed, but it can be viewed in HD on May 5 online at  http://www.thirteen.org/forum/ thanks to WNET.ORG's THIRTEEN Forum.  On May 19, a counterterrorism expert will breakdown al Qaeda and expose the inner-workings of the terrorist group.

Visit national911memorial.org for more information on upcoming events in the speakers series and the 9/11 Memorial.

By Michael Frazier, Sr. Communications Manager for the 9/11 Memorial

I'm in a unique position. I see the arrivals of  most of the guests for the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.

They walk by the receiving desk at the lower Manhattan office on their way for construction updates, oral history appointments or consultations on exhibition design.  As they file pass me at breakneck speed, I'm always left with the sense that they're unaware of how many people who have visited this office, people as deeply involved as they are.

I also experience an abundance of telephone calls from some people whose names I recognize. Some I don't. Well, at least not at first.

One day a man called and  identified himself as Mike before asking to speak with 9/11 Memorial President Joe Daniels. Mike turned out to be New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Sitting at the front desk provides the opportunity to interact with many of these people and to see how all of their work is interwoven.  With six departments and more than 75 employees, the 9/11 Memorial & Museum team is a microcosm for the many professions that come together each week to work on a common goal. Ours is next year's opening of the 9/11 Memorial. The 9/11 Memorial Museum is scheduled to follow a year later.

As the opening dates draw near, I am certain many more faces - both old and new - will pass by the front desk.

By Alicia L. DiCristina, Receptionist to the 9/11 Memorial Museum

The old logo for the 9/11 Memorial seen at headquarters.

The new 9/11 Memorial logo that replaced the older one.

Leading design firm Landor, which worked on branding for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, created this new 9/11 Memorial logo. It was first used in

signage for the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site, 20 Vesey St., in Manhattan, where  visitors  can learn more about the future National September 11 Memorial & Museum. The new logo also served as a style guide for The MEMO blog and the redesign of our web site. There was quite a bit of debate on what words to include and what colors to use for the logo. In the end,  we are very proud of what the new logo represents.

By Michael Frazier, Sr. Communications Manager for the 9/11 Memorial

Join others who are contributing to the collection of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum by sharing stories, videos or pictures for the Make History project.  Whether you were in lower Manhattan on 9/11 or watching the events unfold on a television in Serbia, we are encouraging you to contribute to documenting this historic moment.

Make History is a collective telling of the events of 9/11 through the eyes of those who experienced it, both at the attack sites and around the world.

Help Make History today. To submit a photo, story or video from your computer click here.

If you want to share artwork inspired by 9/11, visit the  Artists Registry.  As the curatorial assistant, Adina Langer is in charge of the registry. She works with various artists - professionals and hobbyists - who have filled the database with paintings, photographs and sculptures.

By Michael Frazier, Sr. Communications Manager for the 9/11 Memorial