Caught short: $500m 9/11 memorial site has been designed without any restrooms for visitors

By Daily Mail Reporter
Updated: 06:09 EST, 23 May 2011

Designers of the $500 million memorial to the 2,982 victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks have been caught short after it was revealed it will not have any toilets.

Millions from around the world are expected to flock to the site where the Twin Towers in New York once stood, but if they need the loo they will probably have to go across the street.

The National September 11th Memorial and Museum trust, which is running the $508 million project, will open its monument this year in time for the 10th anniversary of the World Trade Centre attacks. 

But a design blunder means the closest bathrooms will be inside a nearby discount department store called Century21, across the road on Cortlandt Street in lower Manhattan.

Tribute: What the U.S. September 11 Memorial and Museum will look like, but when it opens it will not have toilets.

Tribute: What the U.S. September 11 Memorial and Museum will look like, but when it opens it will not have toilets.

The store's manager, who wished to remain anonymous, has told the New York Post that they are expecting a flood of visitors wanting to use their toilets when the monument opens.

'Every time they have something for 9/11, we expect a crowd at our bathrooms,' he said.

'When President Obama visited, we had extra staff at the bathrooms to accommodate the crowd. We know we're going to have to make adjustments when they open the memorial.' 

City Hall officials in New York have now admitted the design mistake at the site, which will have a giant bronze panel featuring the names of every victim.

The memorial will also include two large reflecting pools and waterfalls to make it place for quiet contemplation of those who died during the terror attacks.

The World Trade Centre site as the building of the new memorial and museum started.

The World Trade Centre site as the building of the new memorial and museum started.

An attached museum to the monument, which will be under the memorial, will have toilets but is not likely to be completed until Autumn 2012.

Tragedy: The destruction caused when planes crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre killing almost 3,000 people.

Tragedy: The destruction caused when planes crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre killing almost 3,000 people.

'It was absolutely critical that we open the 9/11 memorial for the 10-year anniversary, and that commitment is being met,' memorial foundation board member Julie Menin said.

On the morning of September 11, 2001, 19 hijackers took over four planes to San Francisco and Los Angeles from Boston, Newark, and Washington DC in the United States.

At 8.46 am American Airlines Flight 11 was crashed into the World Trade Centre's north tower, followed by United Airlines Flight 175, which hit the south tower less than 20 minutes later.

Another group of hijackers flew American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon and the fourth flight, United Airlines Flight 93, crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after the passengers on board fought with the terrorists. It was believed to be heading the Capitol Building in Washington DC or the White House.

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