All Available Boats: Harbor Voices and Images, 9.11.01

Summer 2004, July 26-August 20

Sponsored in association with the Pfizer Medical Humanities Initiative

This exhibit tells the little-known story of the everyday heroes who participated in the maritime evacuation of lower Manhattan following the tragedy of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Their stories are told through photographic images and recorded oral histories collected by New York City's South Street Seaport Museum, where this exhibition was originally installed.

Carolina Salguero, photographer

A photograph of a U.S. Park Police patrol boat that answered the call for "all available boats." It was part of the massive rescue operation that evacuated thousands of workers and residents from the area of lower Manhattan, in the vicinity of the World Trade Center, to the safer shores of Staten Island and New Jersey. Privately owned boats, commuter ferries, tugboats and even historic vessels answered the call for assistance. It was the largest spontaneous wartime rescue operation since the evacuation of over 338,000 British soldiers stranded on the French shores of Dunkirk.

For Further Study: The exhibit is on view at the Burns Library from July 26 to August 20, 2004, Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The virtual exhibit Harbor Voices and Images 9.11.01 is available at the web site of the South Street Seaport Museum.

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