The first memorials to the victims of the September 11 attacks in 2001 began to take shape online, as hundreds of webmasters posted their own thoughts, links to the Red Cross and other rescue agencies, photos, and eyewitness accounts. Numerous online September 11 memorials began appearing a few hours after the attacks, although many of these memorials were only temporary. Around the world, U.S. embassies and consulates became makeshift memorials as people came out to pay their respects.

The first reading of the names of the victims of 9/11 took place at the World Trade Center site on September 11, 2002.

The Tribute in Light was the first major physical memorial at the World Trade Center site. A permanent memorial and museum, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center, were built as part of the design for overall site redevelopment. The 9/11 Memorial consists of two massive pools set within the original footprints of the Twin Towers with waterfalls cascading down their sides. The names of the victims of the attacks are inscribed around the edges of the waterfalls. Other permanent memorials have been constructed around the world.

One of the places that saw many memorials and candlelight vigils was Pier A in Hoboken, New Jersey. There was also a memorial service on March 11, 2002, at dusk on Pier A when the Tribute in Light first turned on, marking the half-year anniversary of the terrorist attack. A permanent September 11 memorial for Hoboken, called Hoboken Island, was chosen in September 2004.

The Sphere, the monumental and world's largest cast bronze sculpture of modern times created by German artist Fritz Koenig stood between the twin towers on the Austin J. Tobin Plaza of the World Trade Center in New York City from 1971 until the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The artefact, weighing more than 20 tons, was the only remaining work of art to be recovered largely intact from the ruins of the collapsed Twin Towers after the attacks. Since then, the bronze sphere, primarily known in the United States as The Sphere, has been transformed into a symbolic memorial to commemorate 9/11. Having become a major tourist attraction, the unrestored sculpture was rededicated on August 16, 2017, by the Port Authority at a permanent location in Liberty Park overlooking the September 11 Memorial.

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Temporary memorials

Soon after the attacks, temporary memorials were set up in New York and elsewhere.

On October 4, Reverend Brian Jordan, a Franciscan priest, blessed the World Trade Center cross, two broken beams at the crash site which had formed a cross, and then had been welded together by iron-workers. On October 13, the North Charleston Coliseum raised a special banner featuring the retired number of Mark Bavis, who was on United Airlines Flight 175. Bavis had played for the ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays, and his retired number hangs in a special corner, independently from the Stingrays' retired numbers (#14, #24) and awards banners (1997 and 2001 Kelly Cup Championships), with the years he played for the team (1994–96), the date of his death (September 11, 2001), and an American flag. Also on October 13, The September 11 Photo Project was founded. The Project was a not-for-profit community-based photo exhibit in response to the September 11 attacks and their aftermath. It toured seven cities over two years, collected photographs from more than 700 participants, and had over 300,000 visitors over its run. The Project provided a venue for the display of photographs accompanied by captions by anyone who wished to participate. The exhibit aimed to preserve a record of the spontaneous outdoor shrines that were being swept away by rain or wind or collected by the city for historic preservation. The Project was also made into a book titled "The September 11 Photo Project" in May 2002. It has sold over 60,000 copies to date. On March 11, 2002, the damaged sculpture The Sphere, formerly displayed in the World Trade Center, was dedicated by the city as a temporary memorial in Battery Park City.

In other countries In Europe, Nissoria was one of the first public places that dedicated a memorial to September 11 in Europe. Nissoria is in a small town located in the Province of Enna in Sicily, Italy. Two family members of this community, Vincenzo DiFazio and Salvatore Lopez, died on Sept 11 at the World Trade Center.

The then-mayor Dr. Marco Murgo along with the Chiara family Benito Sr. and son Mario developed the project to dedicate a small plot of land adjacent to a local school and museum that was entitled "Parco 11 Settembre". The Commanding Officer of the nearby U.S. Naval Air Station Sigonella met with this delegation from Nissoria.

Ever since its dedication, and thanks to the present-day Mayor of Nissoria Dott. Armando Glorioso and Dott. Alberto Lunetta, a representation of both American and Italian military personnel from the nearby Military base NAS Sigonella come to visit and annually commemorate along with all local Italian Authorities, Dignitaries and citizens.

According to Radio Farda's website, when the attacks' news was released, Iranian citizens gathered in front of the Embassy of Switzerland in Tehran, which serves as the protecting power of the United States in Iran (US interests protecting office in Iran), to express their sympathy and some of them lit candles as a symbol of mourning. This piece of news on Radio Farda's website also states that in 2011, on the anniversary of the attacks, the United States Department of State, published a post on its blog, in which the Department thanked Iranian people for their sympathy and stated that they would never forget Iranian people's kindness on those harsh days.تشکر وزارت خارجه آمریکا از همدردی ایرانیان با قربانیان ۱۱ سپتامبر. (Persian). Radio Farda. Sunday, September 11, 2011. (Iranian Hijri date: ۱۳۹۰/۰۶/۲۰). . Retrieved and Archived on June 30th, 2016. Mechanized Translation by Google Translate is available, here. After the attacks, the President and the Supreme Leader of Iran condemned the attacks. BBC and Time magazine published reports on holding candlelit vigils for the victims by Iranian citizens on their websites. Permanent Archived Link.

Permanent memorials In addition with the main permanent memorial in New York City, other permanent memorials are located mostly across the United States.

Structures

The Avalon September 11th Memorial Plaza, in Avalon, New Jersey, includes a beam from the World Trade Center which is a height of nine feet, eleven inches above the Plaza, and leans toward Manhattan at 9 degrees, 11 minutes. It also includes a wall which is nine feet, eleven inches from the beam, and a plaque. It was erected in 2012, and is at 21st Street and Dune Drive.

The Jersey City 9/11 Memorial on the Hudson Waterfront includes steel beams from the WTC, a granite stele, and the sculpture Makeshift Memorial.

Closter NJ 9/11 Memorial: Memorial built to honor 2 Closter citizens who lost their lives helping people escape the WTC.The memorial was completed by 2004. Memorial was designed so that on September 11th of each year at 8:45 am, the sun shines through a small hole in the marble memorial, reflecting a small piece of metal from one of the WTC buildings.

The Hudson Riverfront 9/11 Memorial, also known as the Weehawken 9/11 Memorial, is in Weehawken, New Jersey, commemorates 9/11 boat lift, the emergency response workers, and the five residents of Weehawken who perished. Memorial to Connecticut victims, Danbury, CT. Glass tower by sculptor Henry Richardson Overland Park Fire Department Training Center 9/11 Memorial, Overland Park, Kansas Memorial at Cove Island Park in Stamford, Connecticut.

Reflect 9/11 Memorial, Rosemead, California Flight 93 National Memorial, Shanksville, Pennsylvania Pentagon Memorial, The Pentagon, Arlington County, Virginia Tribute in Light, World Trade Center site (temporary/periodic) Fulton County 9/11 Memorial,World Trade Center Beam Arrives Archboldbuckeye.com Retrieved 28 March 2016Memorial Gets Design Archboldbuckeye.com Retrieved 28 March 2016Work Starts on 9-11 Memorial ToledoBlade.com. Retrieved 28 March 2016. Wauseon, Ohio 9/11 Memorial, Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza, Phoenix, Arizona Postcards, Staten Island, New York Memorial, Eisenhower Park, East Meadow, New York Rockland County September 11th Memorial, Haverstraw, New York Sussex County September 11th Memorial, located on the grounds of Sussex County Community College in Newton, New Jersey, featuring a steel i-beam from the World Trade Center. Honolulu September 11 Memorial. Dedicated November 11, 2001. A monument bearing an eternal flame (placed on top) and a Twin Towers likeness (etched in front) located outside Honolulu Hale (Honolulu Municipal Building) in Downtown Honolulu, Hawaii. 9-11 Remembrance Garden, Winslow, Arizona Beverly Hills 9/11 Memorial Garden, Beverly Hills, California"Beverly Hills 9/11 Memorial Garden" . Retrieved May 28, 2012. 9-11 Memorial Bridge, Saddle Rock, New York; dedicated on December 27, 2001. Seaford 9/11 Memorial, Seaford, New York"Seaford 9/11 Memorial" . Retrieved May 28, 2012. Huntington Heckscher Park 9/11 Memorial, Huntington, New York Freedom Plaza, Metuchen, New Jersey Semper Memento, Heisler Park, Laguna Beach, California Indiana 9/11 Memorial, Indianapolis, Indiana September 11 Memorial Park, Westfield, New Jersey"September 11 Memorial Park Committee, Inc." Westfield Today. Retrieved May 28, 2012. 9/11 Memorial Fairview, New Jersey To the Struggle Against World Terrorism, Bayonne, New Jersey Eagle Rock Reservation, West Orange, New Jersey Samuel Oitice Memorial, Peekskill, New York 9/11 Flight Crew Memorial, Grapevine, Texas September 11 Memorial, Vista Verde Cemetery, Rio Rancho, New Mexico September 11 Memorial, Patriots Park, Venice, Florida Flight 93 Memorial, Union City, California John F. Kennedy Space Center 343 first responder victims memorial, Cape Canaveral, Florida. 9/11 Memorial, Naperville, Illinois. Located on the City's Riverwalk between the DuPage River and the City's Municipal Center, it includes 140 faces made by local school children to symbolize the victims of the attacks, a sculpture made from 100 pounds of debris from the Pentagon, granite from the region in Pennsylvania where United 93 crashed, a steel beam from the World Trade Center, and an Eternal Flame."Commander Dan Shanower - Sept. 11 Memorial" . Retrieved August 27, 2015. College of DuPage 9/11 Memorial. Located in the lobby of the college's Homeland Security Education Center, it features several exhibits about the attacks and at the center is a steel beam from the World Trade Center.College of DuPage Homeland Security Education Center . Retrieved August 27, 2015. Hero's Memorial, University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, Richland Township, Pennsylvania Appleton 9/11 Memorial, Appleton, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada In 2011 the South Carolina 9 -11 / First Responders Memorial was erected by First Responders Memorial Committee in Columbia. The Texas State Cemetery has a memorial to the September 11 victims. It is composed to symbolize the damaged Twin Towers, made with two twisted iron girders that had been part of the WTC and salvaged from the Ground Zero wreckage."Monuments" . Texas State Cemetery. accessed September 15, 2011.O'Connor, Hollie. "Perry honors 9/11 victims, responders" . My San Antonio. September 11, 2011 The Crazy Horse Memorial, South Dakota, has a 9/11 memorial dedicated to the victims and first responders of the attacks. It is located at the entrance of the Crazy Horse Tourist Center. Frank Hotchkin Memorial Training Center in Los Angeles has an upright trident steel from the WTC on display in memory of firefighters lost.