Tower of Voices

Near the entrance to Flight 93 National Memorial, a tall concrete tower is built to be heard as much as seen. The Tower of Voices holds forty wind-activated chimes, one for each of the forty passengers and crew who died on United Flight 93 on 11 September 2001.

The National Park Service gives its height as approximately 93 feet, with some variation, and describes a C-shaped cross-section 15 feet across, built of precast concrete segments. The polished aluminium chimes are tuned using music theory so that each produces a different note. The architect, Paul Murdoch Architects, says the design was inspired by the passengers' final phone conversations and drew on a musician, an acoustical engineer and a wind consultant. The firm also says eight precast columns recall the trunks and branches of the hemlock grove at the crash site.